Flemish PM opens Belgian pavilion at Venice Art Biennale

Flemish minister-president and minister of Culture Jan Jambon opened the Belgian pavilion at the Venice Art Biennale on Thursday. At the 59th edition, it is Flanders' turn to take care of the pavilion in the Giardini. Curator Hilde Teerlinck and artist Francis Alÿs are representing our country with the project "The Nature of the Game", which focuses on children's enjoyment of play.

On top of the Belgian pavilion's doorpost lies a red ball. The sound of playing children welcomes visitors. These recordings come from the video series "Children's Games", which brings together ten videos of children playing. From a snail race in the Pajottenland region (Flemish Brabant province) to a game of tag in Mexico, to rolling in a car tyre down a hill of mining waste in Lubumbashi: the children play with dedication, which creates an overwhelming experience for those standing in the middle of the room. Two smaller rooms show fourteen postcard-sized paintings which Alÿs made throughout his career in places such as Afghanistan, Iran and Shanghai.

In Flanders' international policy, which has to be ambitious and coherent, cultural policy has a major role to play, Jambon emphasised.

Flemish government leader Jambon visited the Belgian pavilion with his wife on Thursday morning. He met up with Dutch director-general of Culture and Media, Barbera Wolfensberger. He explored the Danish pavilion, where Uffe Isolotto has created an uncanny atmosphere with his hyper-realistic sculptures of centaurs. After a meeting with the Estonian Minister of Culture Tiit Tarik, Jambon also visited the Estonian exhibition, housed in the Dutch Rietveld pavilion.

While officially opening the Belgian pavilion in the afternoon, Jambon spoke proudly of Flanders' place at the art biennale. In Flanders' international policy, which has to be ambitious and coherent, cultural policy has a major role to play, he emphasised. "After all, Flanders can only really shine if it also shines culturally." The work of Alÿs has left a "deep impression" on him, Jambon added. "My grandfather heart bleeds at the thought of all those children in the middle of that war."

(BRV)

Flemish minister-president Jan Jambon pictured during the official opening of the Belgian pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale - La Biennale di Venezia, International Art Exhibition, Thursday 21 April 2022 © BELGA PHOTO JAMES ARTHUR GEKIERE