Tomorrow, September 12th, we kick off the new season at Off the Grid, with contributions by Denys Shantar, Hussein Shikha & Yasmina Reggad, Joseph Thabang Palframan, (  ) in the mountain and many others. Be our guest and celebrate the start of the rest of the year with us. Fresh drinks and hot borsjtsj included!

Programme

• 18:00: Doors + drinks

• 19:00: Opening presentation ‘God Save the Queers’ by Denys Shantar & artist talk in the context of Let’s Talk Leuven

• 20:00: Inauguration of Flag #7: ‘Huriya, Huriya, Huriya, Huriya’ by Hussein Shikha with a Performative Guided Tour by Yasmina Reggad (start: Cas-co) & a fundraiser for Palestine

• 20:30: Collective visit of the exhibition ‘Atomium and other lessons that came from Pointillism’

• 21:00: Soft launch collective residency ‘How to Build a House: Windows and Doors’ by ( ) in the Mountain

• 22:00: Introduction to the Masterclass ‘BÁRBARA and the ancient stories of the future’ by Sadrie & Désirée 0100

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Seasonal Opening Herfst/Autumn ’24
Off the Grid

Solo Presentation & Artist Talk: ‘God Save the Queers’ – Denys Shantar

During his three-month resi­d­en­cy at Off the Grid, artist and curator Denys Shantar continued his ongoing research ‘God Save the Queers’ and col­lec­ted both on and offli­ne reli­gious ico­no­grap­hy, sto­ries and ephe­me­ra as sour­ces of inspiration. The presentation features amongst others a new monumental tapestry depicting St. Gall and St. John the Russian. By com­bi­ning the­se see­min­gly random saints, the artist aims at cre­a­ting his own ico­no­grap­hy and tell a per­so­nal queer sto­ry of immi­gra­ti­on. Denys will open up on his research during a talk in the context of Let’s Talk Leuven, a platform for artist talks co-organized by STUK, M Leuven, SLAC and Cas-co. After the opening, the presentation stays on view until the 22nd of September. 

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‘God save the Queers’ – Denys Shantar
Off the Grid

Inauguration Flag #7: ‘Huriya, Huriya, Huriya, Huriya’ by Hussein Shikha & Yasmin Reggad

Hussein Shikha is a mul­ti­dis­ci­pli­na­ry artist, wri­ter and grap­hic desig­ner, wor­king with tra­di­ti­o­nal motifs and the rich heri­ta­ge of Southern Iraqi car­pet-making and tex­ti­le, often at the edge of art and design. Hussein takes this per­so­nal expe­rien­ce of navi­ga­ting dis­pla­ce­ment and dias­po­ric cul­tu­ral iden­ti­ty as a star­ting point. Invited to con­cei­ve a flag for 019 and Cas-co, the pie­ce blends the his­to­ry of ear­ly com­pu­ter tech­no­lo­gy and pixels with car­pet-making, Huriya mea­ning free­dom in ara­bic. At 20pm, and depar­ting from Cas-co, a Performative Guided Tour by curator and performer Yasmina Reggad will lead us towards the hoi­sting of the flag. Editions by Hussein will be sold to raise funds for a Palestinian family the artists are in touch with. 

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Vlag #7: ‘Huriya, Huriya, Huriya, Huriya’ – Hussein Shikha
Off the Grid

Collective Visit of ‘The Atomium and other lessons that came from Pointillism’ by Joseph Thabang Palframan

Vaartstraat resident Joseph Thabang Palframan presents ‘The Atomium and other lessons that came from pointillism’, a set of four new paintings, in a previously unused storage space of Studio Minckelers ([removed] Minckelersstraat 139). The works play with the expectations and projections of (historical) memory, the tension between tourism and migration, and forms of affective nationalism.

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The Atomium and other lessons that came from Pointillism – Joseph Thabang Palframan
Studio Minckelers

Soft launch ‘How to Build a House: Windows and Doors’ by collective-in-residence ( ) in the Mountain

The evening proceeds with a performative foreshadowing of the programme ‘How to Build a House: Windows and Doors by ( ) in the Mountain, a col­lec­ti­ve of eight recent­ly gra­du­a­ted artists from various Dutch art aca­de­mies. As a group of inter­na­ti­o­nals, their prac­ti­ce explo­res the rea­li­ty of wor­king as an artist in a coun­try away from. How to find com­fort in each other’s com­pa­ny, and cre­a­te the con­di­ti­ons allo­wing for a com­mon cre­a­ti­ve pro­cess to ari­se, are among their key com­mit­ments. In the con­text of their resi­d­en­cy at Off the Grid, they depart from the question:  when we look out­si­de the struc­tu­re of a home, what are we loo­king for?

Introduction to the Masterclass ‘BÁRBARA and the ancient stories of the future’ by Sadrie & Désirée 0100

Last but not least, the eve­ning will cul­mi­na­te with a quirky and per­for­ma­ti­ve intro­duc­ti­on to a mas­ter­class devel­o­ped by artist duo Sadrie & Désirée 0100. This per­for­ma­ti­ve moment will give a first insight to the mas­ter­class, which will ful­ly expand on October 9^th, invi­ting par­ti­ci­pants to join and explo­re alter­na­ti­ve ways of sto­ry­tel­ling together.