Do you love the live experience, but want to go beyond the theatre’s ‘black box’ and the museum’s ‘white cube’? Then Festival Beyond the Black Box; Exploring Live Arts is for you. For four whole days, Flemish Cultural Centre de Brakke Grond bubbles, boils and bursts at the seams with art that expands our observations.
From dancing walls, collective reading sessions and massage performances to an ambient deep-listening ritual and a trip in a vacuum suit: these works appeal to all our senses, refusing to be pinned down to any one genre or discipline, and are always created on the spot. A real voyage of discovery through the entire building – right down to the broom cupboard.
When we observe not only with our eyes but with our whole bodies, unsuspected aspects and dimensions open up in performers, objects or spaces – and in the world. Our best tip? Dive into the (sensitive) freedom inquisitive artists from Flanders and the Netherlands have seized, and enjoy.
Relaxed venue
During Beyond the Black Box, de Brakke Grond will be a relaxed venue. This means that, during the festival, the atmosphere will be more informal than usual. For example, the audience will be free to make sound during the performances, to move around, to leave the space and come back in again... which means that the festival is also more accessible for young children. We will be making more detailed information about the sensory stimuli and
the content of the productions available online in advance, so our visitors can make well-informed choices. There will also be a quiet space where everyone is welcome to take a time-out during the festival. With these measures, we aim to make the festival more accessible for everyone who is restricted by the usual "theatre etiquette"
Quiet space
This is a space where you can calm down and find peace and quiet in one of the seating areas. The space will have dimmed lights and a calming projection. Fidget toys, sketchbooks and noise-cancelling headphones will be provided. So this space is the perfect opportunity to let the many sensory impressions you have received at the festival quietly sink in.