On Saturday evening, us two gals marched to the Poelaert square and began an Art trip through the city.
It was the 11th edition of the Brussels Nuit Blanche. The concept is this: art conquers the city and spreads like a fabulous gangrene. 31 projects materialised in the streets of Brussels covering the widest possible spectrum of culture. From plastic arts to light projections. From art installations to dance choreographies.

Did you know that the concept was initiated in Paris in 2002? It was then exported to many other cities such as Rome, Montréal, Toronto, Madrid, Lima… and Brussels.


Sara and I had decided to split ways to try and take it all in. To cover more ground and share our experiences later. But as you’ll later discover…we changed our minds.

Anita

Jan was my partner in crime. After dinner at Chaff, in Place du Jeu de Balle, we took the plunge to our little parcours. The whole square was packed with inspired masses. We passed by Les Bains du Centre, rue du Chevrueil, where the pool had been transformed into a huge aquatic screen. The project, dubbed Frigolite Cinema honoured the experimental classics. Sadly we had left our swimsuits at home and skipped that one ;)
 


However, I had taken my new F–Troupe shoes because, well…because they are kind of a light installation in themselves ;)


It’s not like we saw much art per se. But I was in the mood for art and kind of saw it everywhere. Walls seemed to sweat it out.

We moved to the lift of the Marolles, where Stéphano Masson had turned the lift into a red-fish aquarium. It was impressive. Luminous. It sadly doesn’t translate in the pictures.

Arrived to the Poelaert Square, we met Sara and Nicolas and watered down the art with beer and weird sandwiches.
Our final stop: Place de la Chapelle. The Dutch Titia Ex team had installed “Awakening of Mary“. 

I will admit that I was expecting something…different. I thought I´d be moved by the iconography. I´m not a believer but the figure of Mary has somehow always appealed to me. Instead, I just saw a big projection of different Maries. And just as I thought they were pictures…they starting blinking and gesturing. It caught me by surprise and I was a tad freaked out. But then again, I should have expected it… Awakening Mary wasn´t clue enough? Duh.

Sara

The first time I went to the Nuit Blanche was ages ago, when I still was a teenager. I didn’t remember a lot of it. Just like Anita, I also was accompanied by a gentleman. My accomplice was Nicolas (you sure do know him by now). 

We actually joined Ana & Jan from the very beginning of our expedition, so the four of us followed the exact same itinerary ^^. So much for wanting to split ways, I guess we gals love each other a lot.

Pic taken by Jan

Pic taken by Jan

Anyhow, to be perfectly honest, as much as I initially liked the concept of the Nuit Blanche, the whole thing came out as a disappointment for me. I mean, it was exciting to see this many people walking around, but I expected more of a party spirit. Instead we were served with peculiar artworks. In my opinion, this should have been coupled with more music spots and temporary bars. Ok, I’ll stop my rant here. ;)

Sara & Anita