BEING, IN BRUSSELS

With the group exhibition Being, in Brussels Argos will inaugurate its new exhibition space, consisting of 500m² on the ground floor of its premises. This will bring the total exhibition space at Argos to over 800m². The refurbishment of this new space has been undertaken by the internationally acclaimed Rotterdam-based architects MVRDV. The exhibition Being, In Brussels begins with the premise that, if there is one thing that characterises Brussels it is the multi-cultural and international profile of the city. This is also reflected in the increasing number of international artists who have chosen to make Brussels their place of residence and work. Despite this promising situation however, their creative energies seem dispersed and fragmented. The exhibition aims to bring together the diverse practices of these artists in order to generate a discursive space and to engender a collective discussion about what it means to live and make art in Brussels. Rather than articulating some overarching, thematic curatorial agenda, the exhibition is conceived of in a loose and open-ended manner and intends to highlight the practices of these artists rather than imposing some forced dialogue between the works. What is of interest here is exploring the possibilities that may arise from what is, ultimately, a series of chance encounters. The exhibition is thus based on these chance encounters (for which Brussels is the backdrop) rather than a set of fixed or predetermined positions. Being, in Brussels aims to privilege informal discussion, process and unexpected relationships rather than some forced thematic. In effect, the whole project is a proposition that rests on the dynamics of what will or may happen throughout the process. The exhibition does not aim to foster some artificial sense of a ’scene’ but rather to instigate a discussion around what is, in effect, a shared space in the wider sense of the term, i.e. the city of Brussels. Thirteen established and emerging artists from eleven countries will present work in all media. A book will be published featuring contributions from these artists as well as other foreign artists living and working in Brussels.
Curated by Katerina Gregos.

Participating artists are Orla Barry (Ireland), Pierre Bismuth (France), Jota Castro (Peru), Peter Downsbrough (USA), Dora Garcia (Spain), Kendell Geers (South Africa), Agnès Geoffray (France), Aglaia Konrad (Austria), Shelbatra Jashari (Kosovo), Gabriel Lester (Netherlands), Jimmy Robert (Guadeloupe), Charlemagne Palestine (USA) and Beat Streuli (Switzerland).

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• Eric Corijn & Stefan De Corte (Cosmopolis): Brussels, A Small World City