Artist talk:
27 May 17:00

The work by Sammy Baloji can be visited on Thursday May 26th at 14h-21h and on Friday at 12h-18h. The permanent works can be seen whenever the building is open.

Sammy Baloji's sculptures Johari Brass Band (2020) are installed on the stage of the main concert hall De Blauwe Zaal until June 2022. The works are inspired by the sousaphone and the French horn, instruments that were left behind in the 19th century by the French army during their exodus from the colonial settlement Louisiana in the modern-day United States. The instruments were recovered by ex-slaves, who formed brass bands with them and started a new musical tradition from which jazz would also stem. Scars on the instruments refer to the traditional Congolese skin tattoos, an identity practice that was suppressed during the colonisation. ‘Johari’ means 'crystals’ in Swahili, and the metal structures in which the instruments are placed have the contours of minerals that are mined in Katanga. On the stage of the concert hall, they are not only silent witnesses to the lack of recognition for African influences in music history but also remind us that the dehumanising practice of slave trade was ongoing during the time that classical music was being made in Europe.

Drink Edith Dekyndt:
29 May 16:00

Artist talk:
29 May 17:00

Edith Dekyndt conceived of a new work for DE SINGEL that will become part of the permanent On Sculpture art parcours. It functions as a time capsule of transformation, in which clothing moths cohabit with large pieces of felt that they will eat and transform over the years to come. The moths are lauded for the exceptional sounds that they produce, sounds that are normally not perceivable for humans, but have been made audible in an audio installation that is integrated into the work. The materiality of the felt, also used in different ways to mute music and to store instruments safely, puts the work in relation to the many concerts that take place at DE SINGEL.
Edith Dekyndt invites Dario Martinelli, a professor in semiotics and musicology based in Vilnius. He will talk about his research into zoomusicology, the study of the musical aspects of sound or communication produced and received by animals.

DE SINGEL organizes 'Beeldenparcours DE SINGEL', a short tour that covers the artworks that are integrated in, and around its campus.
With works by: Matt Mullican, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Remy Zaugg, Pierre Bismuth, Walter Swennen, Christophe Terlinden, and Cerith Wyn Evans.
The tour starts at the main entrance, and are organized on:
27 May, 15:00
29 May, 15:00
Register here.

May 27 at 20:00: Vernissage of the double exhibition Critical Care. Architecture for a Broken Planet and Care for Space for Care by VAI.

How can architecture care for our planet and its inhabitants? The exhibitions Critical Care. Architecture for a Broken Planet and Care for Space for Care explore what forms caring architecture can take and what impact this has on the liveability of our environment. A surprising selection of national and international cases introduces a unique way to building for and from the future.