Freedom Festival 2018

Benjamin Vandewalle: Studio Cité (BE)

IN SITU Pilot Project 

“The public space is where conflicting points of view are confronted without any possibility of a final reconciliation.” (Chantal Mouffe, Agonistics)

In Studio Cité, (working title) Benjamin Vandewalle (Belgium) combines a series of installations, performances and interventions in a public place, square or venue in a city, transforming the urban location into an artistic fun fair, a playground for the human gaze and a space where social encounters, discussions and the exchange of ideas can take place. 

The starting point of Studio Cité is the idea that the way we perceive the world determines how we think about the world and also act in it. By changing the way we perceive reality, we can challenge our thoughts and actions in the world we live.

All installations and performative acts in this project explore how we perceive our everyday reality and questions how our senses operate when we observe, experience and engage with our environment and the people who are part of it. By choreographing the gaze, Vandewalle makes the audience aware of the potential of the world we inhabit everyday.

In 2018, Benjamin Vandewalle was invited for residencies in Norway where he presented the project in Moss at Non Stop festival.

Studio Cité is an IN SITU Pilot Project. We're extremely proud to be one of only three UK partners of the Europe-wide IN SITU Network.

In May 2018, in Hull, IN SITU members selected six pilot projects to collectively support from inception to touring. Six projects with a social consciousness, that address contemporary issues and are relevant in an international contest.  Each project reflects the artistic vision of IN SITU including, scale adaptability, accessibility to large audiences, involvement of local artistic collaborators, leaving a real visual or physical trace. 

Studio Cité an IN SITU Pilot project, has received a creation aid by the ACT project, co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union. The co-producers are Atelier 231 (FR), Festival di Terni (IT), Freedom Festival (UK), La Strada Graz (AT), Lieux publics (FR), Norfolk & Norwich Festival (UK), Østfold kulturutvikling (NO), Oerol Festival (NL), Theater op de Markt (BE), UZ Arts (UK).