Monday November 9 was the big day: start of the third student meeting in our wonderful C.I.A-project. We started with some energizers to get to know each other. Pupils of the Belgian school guided everybody around. After the break we started with the workshop 'philosophical approach to art'. All students had filled in a questionnaire before, so after a power point presentation we started to philosophize which resulted in making a mood board. It was very interesting to see how young people think about art and its place in our society. All mood boards looked quite different: some looked very playful, others more studied. In the afternoon 9 different workshops started. Theme of these workshops was ' poetry, letters, myths in art'. In these workshops students got acquainted with a wide range of techniques, such as printing technique Flex, scratches in Engobe, photography, bookbinding, monotype, calligraphy, paper jewels inspired by Maud Rondot, making a magazine,.. Everybody was very keen and curious to see what the final result will be on Friday.
On Tuesday we visited Antwerp and looked for traces the big painter Peter Paul Rubens left. We saw some paintings he made and visited the house of Rubens. There was also time to check out more modern art like graffiti and new work from Jan Fabre, a well known modern artist. Antwerp is also very well known as a fashion town, where youngsters from all over the world study at the fashion academy. Walking through the city, one can feel the fashion vibes. In the evening we attended the opening of the web shop 'Label 67' where students from the Belgian school make and sell objects with their own designs. It was a nice closure of a very inspiring day!
On Wednesday we divided in groups to visit some local artists. Some of us went to see Mr. Raymond Minnen, a very enthusiastic artist, influenced by pop art and rock music. He really feels the urge to translate his thoughts into tangible objects. Another group of students got a guided tour from group Tatau who introduced LAND ART : a project where artists enter into confrontation with nature. The pieces of art emerging from this way of working are always the result of a dialogue between nature and artistic expressions. The two visits were really interesting! After lunch at school we went to the glass house in Lommel. There we were informed about the making process of glass. Luckily there were glass artists at work in the studio at the moment of our visit. So we could get all the information from first hand! Because of the special date (November 11, armistice day) our following stop was at the German military cemetery. A guide showed us around the endless rows of graves. Hand in hand we listened to the Last Post. It was a very impressive moment and we all felt connected. Top of the bill was the piece of art we could make at the cemetery. Working with little pipes of glass, paint and materials from the nature, we created our own piece of art. The special location and all the impressions this great day left on us resulted in a wonderful piece of art.
Ghent is calling ! On Thursday we visited this very pretty historical city. Walking trough Ghent is like walking in a historical painting of castles, cathedrals, churches and medieval houses. But also modern art is present in this lively city: there is the SMAK, museum of contemporary art, a hall in a very modern architectural style in the centre and also a graffiti street.
Friday and already last day of the meeting. In the morning everybody worked like crazy to finish the creations we started on Monday during the different workshops. The results were shown in the afternoon in our own 'C.I.A. exhibition'. What a divers and colourful mixture of art to end this inspiring, creative, philosophical and great days in Belgium!