Presentation and Artist talk
Sunday 29.05.22, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.

On Sunday 29th of May, we invite you to the presentation of Arjun Das at Mine Depot Waterschei. Das presents a new series of sculptures, which are on display from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. At 4:30 p.m., Arjun will explain more about his work during an artist talk. The talk will be moderated by Jester.

Arjun Das (°1994) is a visual artist living and working in India. His work reflects on the reality of the working class, with refined skill he translates this theme into reliefs made of stone or robust, weathered wood. During his residency at Jester, Das focuses on the migration history of the city of Genk, and connects it to the stories of the workers from India.

He is interested in the personal experiences and dreams of the local migrant workers, as he shares the same background with them. Like many others from his village, Many others from his village moved away in search of work. Arjun Das himself moved with his brothers to Kolkata at the age of 10, to work in a restaurant. Since his stay with us, Arjun Das has established close relations with a number of former miners from Genk and its surroundings. While exchanging with them, he searches for objects, images or symbols that are important to the worker and form his identity. Not only practical objects, such as the ubiquitous miners' lamps but also a finely carved spine, as a reference to the influence and consequences on the human body due to years of physical labour work. Das places the personal stories and testimonies of the worker at the heart of his work and searches for a mutual sense of meaning between Belgium and India.

Practical information:
At a stone's throw from our studios you can find the Mine Depot Waterschei at the Thor Park under the following address: André Dumontlaan 67, 3600 Genk.

Z33, Vonk and Jester
Workshop strategic thinking and business management for artists
Saturday 11.06.22, 10 a.m.- 4p.m.

VONK, Z33 and Jester (former FLACC/CIAP) join forces and organize a series of workshops around the practice of the visual artist. The workshops will help you take your first steps and offer you handy tools to get started afterwards. The workshops are intended for professional, semi-professional and/or starting contemporary artists with a connection to Limburg and who have followed professional art training.

Part 1: statutes and fees for artists
10 - 12 a.m.

Are you wondering about the different ways to be compensated as an artist? Do you have questions about setting up a non-profit organization or do you want to become self-employed? Then follow the info session by Cultuurloket about statutes and compensations for artists. You do not need any prior knowledge to follow this workshop, A maximum of 30 participants can register.

Part 2: Strategic partnerships
1 - 4 p.m.

Do you have concrete project plans but are stuck in your search for partners, or do you have doubts about how to draw up your project budget? Sarah Indeherberge (managing director, Jester (former FLACC/CIAP)) guides you searching for substantive and financial partners based on your goal and mission. We start from practice and look at the different important points of attention when selecting partners and learn how to set up a matching budget.

Click here to subcribe

Practical information:
The workshops are held in Dutch and participation is free. Note: registration is mandatory. It's possible to register for one part only. Register no later than Monday 6 June using the registration form above. We will confirm your participation no later than Wednesday 8 June. If you register for the whole day, a bread lunch will be provided.

Location: VONK studios, Kempische Kaai 85, 3500 Hasselt

The Chase, chapter 2
Currently in residence

Miram Sentler (1994, DE) is an artist based in Rotterdam. Her practice engages in artistic research around ecologies and disturbed landscapes. Last Summer, we invited Miriam for a presentation and artist talk around The Chase, an audio installation she realised in 2020. This Spring, Miriam returns to create a second chapter or this sound piece.

The work evolves around the memories of some of the older villagers of Keyenberg (DE), a village which will soon be excavated due to the expansion of the North-Rhine Westphalian lignite industry. Those villagers and keen bird observers have reported the loss of a large variety of birds, and other fauna and flora. The Chase examines and highlights a unique composition of birds present within this disappearing landscape. In collaboration with composer Drake Stoughton, a score was made, in which the musician follows the melody of the birdsongs in an attempt to ‘match’ individual sounds with the right notes and thereby ‘map’ them.

Currently, Miriam Sentler is with us in residence to develop the second chapter of this project. The unique relation to landscape historically embedded in Genk and the variety of natural and man-made landscapes offers a rich context for Miriam’s research. With the guidance of ornithologist Johan Schoonaert Miriam made field recordings of local bird species living near the Terrills of Winterslag and Waterschei. These recordings will be translated into a new soundpiece.

Be Courageous
Listen. Truly Listen
Be accepting
Don't Be Clever
Trust – Others, Yourself and the Unknown
Be (in the) present

It is with great pride and excitement that we announce the merger of two well-known organisations for contemporary art, FLACC and CIAP, into a new organisation which we have chosen to name Jester *. You can find us here: www.jester.be

Over the past few years, the teams at FLACC and CIAP have been working hard to find a common direction that preserves the special qualities of both organisations in Jester. In this way, the strong solo exhibitions, editions and publications for which CIAP is known, together with the deepening of particular visions or the possibilities for material experimentation, which lie at the core of FLACC, will be brought to the fore through the new programming.

CIAP has traditionally been a members' organisation. Jester embraces its members, makes room for member projects and aims to further serve increasingly more members from its future location in Genk. FLACC has a tradition of accommodating artists in Genk at different times so that they may work with proper focus and attention. This residency operation will also be retained in Jester.

Soon Jester will be working from its own home, built on the large former mining site C-mine. This is a hub where various global transformation processes and their economic, ecological and demographic consequences manifest themselves and become tangible through art and culture. Through its stimulating, generous and critical presence, Jester aims to make a significant contribution to the creation of a locally anchored, vibrant cultural oasis, with national and international reach.

image © 51N4E

Determined to create a distinctive and singular experience, the team at Jester decided to start from a number of basic concepts found in improvisational theatre. These will provide us and everyone involved in the programme with the opportunity to respond to current events or changes at any given time. Improv makes it possible to create a story whose direction and outcome are not always determined.

The team at Jester invites you to join them in Genk. In the course of 2022, you will be able to enjoy the programme that emerged from FLACC and CIAP's ongoing programming. From 2023 onwards, Jester invites you to embrace the unknown.

Are you curious to see how we work towards a new story?
Join us as a member and follow us via our newsletter or social media!

Warm regards,
Jester

* Jester is a professional joker at a medieval court, who is allowed to hold up a mirror to the monarchs. The stories jester tells are laced with humour, yet often have a serious message at their core.

with Olha Honchar
Tuesday 05.04.22, 7 pm

Conflict Zones is a series of online conversations around conflicts of different kinds, with various degrees of visibility and scope. We start with a weekly edition on Tuesday, April 5th, at 7 pm. Click on this link to follow the conversation on Zoom.

In the series, we exchange thoughts and personal stories with artists and cultural workers who are facing a precarious situation as a result of different kinds of conflict: military and political but also legal, ethical, or other; at a workplace, at home, or in exile.

Olha Honchar

The series gives platform and visibility to the practices that might be underexposed or even under attack at the given moment. During intimate talks, we are trying to unveil different layers of conflict and foreground how they disrupt artistic practices and daily lives alike.

We do not claim to be objective nor comprehensive. The making of the series is inspired by the improv acting methodology that lies at the core of Jester. We always start from a speaker we have a connection with, as an organisation and as people, and from a subject with a sense of urgency. From there, we see how the programme will unfold.

Due to the current war in Ukraine, the topic of conflict became even more imminent in the general programme ideas for Jester. Departing from conversations with Ukrainian curator Alexandra Tryanova, our intern, and some of the Ukrainian artists with whom we have worked in the past, we decided to address this urgency as first within our series. The first four conversations are moderated by Alexandra.

More information about the guests and links to zoom you can find here: www.jester.be and you can keep an eye on our social media.