Patchwork
The project “Patchwork” runs parallel with the Watou Arts Festival. It’s an open call for professional artists and final year bachelor or master students in an art program. Curator Koen Vanmechelen and the city of Poperinge invite you to spend a number of days in Watou during the summer of 2022. Registration is required. A jury will select the participants, based on their motivation, CV and portfolio.
“Watou, located on a linguistic and cultural border, serves as an inspiration for many artists. The similarities with my own culture site LABIOMISTA are countless. Genk is a city that consists of a patchwork of villages and hamlets. In Watou it is also necessary to connect the local wealth and global context in a fertilizing way, and in a way that will strengthen the balance rather than disturb it. My working method in both communities is based on the philosophy of the Cosmopolitan Chicken Project. Letting elements search for each other to give fertilization. The Watou nest, at the crossroads of poetry, landscape, and agriculture is an ideal place for responding to and involving the local community. Searching for a new way of farming, of building and connecting with boots on the ground and the view beyond the horizon.” (Koen Vanmechelen, inspirator)