NEWSLETTER June 2006
FLACC
workplace for visual artists

SARAH VANAGT

How sensitive are the historical and political feelers of children who grow up in one of the most affluent regions in the world? In FLACC Sarah Vanagt(b. 1976, Bruges) continues her study of how children imagine Belgium's colonial past. Following Little Figures (2003) and the documentary film, Begin Began Begun (2005) she presented Les Mouchoirs de Kabila in 2006. In this video film, which she made in Goma, a town on the border of Eastern Congo, children build a miniature city. They also spontaneously put together little plays that refer to recent political developments in the Congo. The approaching elections - the first democratic elections to be held since the Congo became independent in 1960 - play a central role here. Clearly the children in Goma are remarkably well able to portray and explore the rifts in Congolese society today. In June 2006 Sarah Vanagt will bring children from various primary schools in Genk face to face with images of the Congolese 2005 'election game'. She records their reactions on video to discover how the Congo lives on in the minds of the children growing up in today's postcolonial Flanders. What does school teach them about the Congo? What happens when they stage the coming Belgian municipal elections in October? How do migrant children in Waterschei deal with the Vlaams Belang discussion they undoubtedly pick up through the media, the school, in the street, from their parents, etc.?
The results of Sarah Vanagt's project will be exhibited in September 2006 as part of Powerplays - Interior Desires, Exterior Spaces, , a project by the Platform Limburg Beeldende Kunsten (www.platformlimburg.be). A talk by Sarah Vanagt about her workshop project at FLACC will be held after the exhibition in December 2006.

DEBATE – EUREGIONAL FORUM – GENK
22nd June 2006, 7.30 pm – FLACC, Casino Waterschei, Genk
This debate forms part of a study project at the Jan van Eyck Academy in Maastricht on integrity and mobility in the Maas-Rhine Euregion. The BAVO architectural theory research bureau plans to hold debates in various cities on local themes that question the Euregional context. The debate in Genk will deal with the specific problems of the former mining town which should now be reorienting itself towards a contemporary post-industrial society. On the one hand some businesses and consumers have discovered the economic advantages of the cross-border region between the River Maas and the Rhine; this is also evident in the numerous commercial border towns and employment agencies that operate across borders. On the other hand, the Euregion also has a high concentration of the underprivileged, also as a result of its 'coal and steel' past. The Euregional Forum in Genk consists of various experts who will examine the question of whether the Euregion also offers economic and other benefits to those of its inhabitants who are less mobile and wealthy. How can one ensure that everyone in the region has equal opportunities? Armand Ghijssens (chairman of the Genk branch of the SP-a party), Lowie Steenwegen (regional planner and consultant for O2 Consult and local councillor for Groen! in Glabbeek) and Peter Cabus (professor of Economic Geography at Leuven University) have been invited to participate in the debate. The Euregional Forum is an initiative of the Jan van Eyck Academie (www.janvaneyk.nl) and is part of the Euregio Maas-Rhine Identity Project. It is a joint venture involving FLACC, the Stadsgalerij Heerlen and Espace 251 Nord, Luik. BAVO Research is responsible for the compilation of the programme (www.bavo.biz).

KICK OFF
At the end of June FLACC will select a maximum of five final-year art students and offer them a workplace and a grant in the centre as from September 2006. In line with its new profile as a workplace for visual artists, FLACC has opted to offer these 'young hounds' an interesting workplace where they can meet artists at work in Belgium and abroad. They can also familiarize themselves at their own pace with the field of the visual arts. Moreover, FLACC will offer them special guidance in their search for suitable opportunities to present their work. More about this in the following news letter.

FLACC'S RECEPTIVE ACTIVITIES
- Marc Claes (b. 1970, Heusden-Zolder ) has just started working in FLACC on a monumental sculpture for his coming solo exhibition at the Galerie Annette de Keyser in Antwerp. - Marnik Neven (b. 1977, Sint-Truiden) is working on his first animated film in FLACC's digital studio. In addition, several final year students are using the digital studio for their graduation assignment: Diewke Eerdekens, Veerle Kumpen, Kim Schrijvers (MDA, Genk), Philip Jannssens (KASKA, Antwerpen), Esther Eggermont en Brit Geuns (St.Lucas, Brussel).

FLACC

Casino Modern
André Dumontlaan 2, B-3600 Genk
T #32 (0)89 84 52 23
F #32 (0)89 84 52 24
E  flacc@skynet.be
www.flacc.info

Supported by the Ministry of the Flemish Community, the Province of Limburg and Genk town council.