Romania is a guest country of the upcoming edition of the international arts festival Europalia, set to stake place between October 2019 and January 2020. It is the first time the country is a guest at the festival.

Among the projects that will be presented is a Brussels exhibition on Romanian sculptor Constantin Brâncuşi. The exhibition will be open between October 2, 2019 and January 12, 2020 and will focus on the artist’s sculpture and photography. It will encompass works from museums and private collections from around the world, including the Sleeping Muse, The Kiss and Leda. Works of his contemporaries, such as Marcel Duchamp, Medardo Rosso or Auguste Rodin will also be exhibited

At the same time, the team of the Art Basics for Children (ABC) center in Brussels will offer guided tours of the exhibition, while a playground set up within the exhibition will be ready to welcome visitors to browse books, listen to music, play or enjoy the special installations introducing them to the universe of Brâncuşi.

Another exhibition, titled Dacia, includes unique pieces and gold and silver treasures that will let the Belgian public in on the history of the Dacians and the Romanian conquests, among others. The exhibition will be open between October 19, 2019 and April 26, 2020.

Another project especially created for the festival is Traces, where choreographer Wim Vandekezbus drew inspirations from the Romanian virgin forests, among the last standing ones in Europe. The performance will see five musicians and 12 dancers go on stage on the music of Marc Ribot and Trixie Whitley. It will premiere on December 8, 2019 at Concertgebouw Bruges, and further performances are scheduled at KVS (Brussels), Philharmonie (Paris), deSingel (Antwerp) and CCHA (Hasselt).

Since 1969, EUROPALIA has been organizing arts biennales, each focusing on a different guest country. Its four-month multidisciplinary program comprises hundreds of events throughout Belgium and in other European countries, such as France, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany or UK. Guest countries at previous editions were Italy (1969 and 2003), France (1975), Spain (1985), Portugal (1991), Czech Republic (1998), Poland (2001), Russia (2005), China (2009), Brazil (2011), India (2013), Turkey (2015), and Indonesia (2017).

(Photo: Romanian Cultural Institute)

editor@romania-insider.com