MoMu not (completely) closed after all
Performances take over the iconic stairwell during ‘Where We Are’ - a three-day takeover curated by theatre-maker Sachli Gholamalizad
February 16, 2022
MoMu may be closing for a few months, but the doors will not be hermetically sealed. During the closure, the imposing entrance hall will be transformed into a stage for the performing arts. The museum has commissioned theatre maker Sachli Gholamalizad to put together a programme which will fill three evenings, on 25 March and 1 and 15 April.
Kaat Debo, MoMu director: "In our operation, we cherish experimentation. With the integration of a performance by Benjamin Abel Meirhaeghe in our opening exhibition E/MOTION, last year we already started to look at how we could broaden our range. In the future, we would like to continue experimenting with other disciplines such as music, dance, theatre and performance and do so outside the walls of our exhibition spaces and outside our usual opening hours. As such, we want to continue thinking about the impact which fashion has on our society and also explore how the museum can represent and share these themes with its audience in the future."
Sachli Gholamalizad: "I found it interesting to bring along artists who are not connected to fashion but can relate to MoMu. For the museum itself, it is an opportunity to let people with a different profile find their way to MoMu."
During the takeover, Gholamalizad invites artists who have long aroused her interest: "What connects them is that they are not mainstream but deserve to be seen, because they have all had an interesting journey. There is no classical thread in the programme. A theme also sometimes has a stifling effect. Queer or artists of colour are often pinned down to a particular theme. It does not lack importance but we must also be able to get past it. "Where we are" is a way to keep going during the past tough period. The real theme is perhaps "authenticity". The artists are all sincere, none of them fits into a certain mould. The path which each of them has taken and who they are is, in itself, a reason to be there."
ON THE PROGRAMME
The main emphasis is placed on a crossover between different disciplines. "I come from the world of theatre myself, but I have chosen for performances, music and dance. With the programme, we want to "mix" different artists from different disciplines with each other's audiences in order to also introduce people to disciplines or work to which they might not otherwise find their way so easily," says Gholamalizad.
On 25 March, you will see Noémie Schellens, Mirko Banovic, Carolina Maciel de França and Thi mai Nguyen at work in the stairwell. On 1 April, Sarah Yu Zeebroek, Geoffrey Burton, Darius Dolatyari and Ariah Lester take over MoMu. Sachli, Sorour Darabi and Lafawndah will close the programme on 15 April.
Each performance will start at 8pm. Doors open at 7pm and close at 11.30pm. The MoMu Café will be open each evening.
EXPLOSIVE ENERGY AT MOMU
Those who can't wait can already go to Sylvie Kreusch's concert at the MoMu stairwell on 26 February. Benjamin Abel Meirhaeghe will be the supporting act. With this performance, MoMu aims to compensate for the earlier ban on late-night openings due to the coronavirus. Thus ensuring that the season still will end with a bang.
PRACTICAL
Where We Are
March 25 & April 1 & 15, doors & bar at 7PM
Ticket prices: € 20 / € 15 (-25 yrs)
More info: momu.be / Tickets: tickets.momu.be/takeover
MoMu Takeover - Sylvie Kreusch
February 26, doors & bar at 7PM
Ticket prices: € 20 / € 15 (-25 yrs)
More info: momu.be / Tickets: tickets.momu.be/takeover
ABOUT SACHLI GHOLAMALIZAD
After her acting studies in Brussels (at the RITCS) and Paris (with Jack Waltzer), Sachli Gholamalizad acted in several films and TV series. However, she felt the role as a performing artist was too restrictive so, since 2013, she has also focused on creations. Her work is strongly inspired by universal themes such as family and multilingualism, and the field of tension between autobiography and documentary, theatre and film. Gholamalizad's first solo show, "A Reason To Talk" (the first of a trilogy), won several awards and toured both domestic and foreign venues, brought in three different languages. In addition, the theatre maker is one of the KVS faces and the artist in residence at the Vooruit in Ghent. She is also a columnist for MO* Magazine.
David Flamee