You’re hard at work on your own choreography. You dance and spin, struggle and sweat, practice and perfect, fall and get up again. You’re nearly there. Just a bit more work, a couple more adjustments…

What if… you had a professional at hand to help you make the finishing touches by offering tailored advice?

What if… an expert could give you customised feedback on your work in progress?

What if… you felt even more confident after our coaching? And who knows, maybe you will even be ready to perform your choreography in front of an enthusiastic audience?

What if… you registered for the Great Belgian Dance Showcase?

The Flemish arts field has a special architecture. It grew from the bottom up and draws its strength and innovation from a close collaboration between large and small players. As a small structure that is close to the individual artists, we would like to be clear about where we stand in relation to the announced cuts. And that is why we would like to share our thoughts, in analogy with the statement of Vooruit and other organizations in the arts field.

We want to share the following:

• that saving on culture is just the opposite of what Flanders needs today if it wants to be generous, hospitable and innovative;
• that a cut of 60% on project resources is detrimental to the cultural future of Flanders;
• that an almost empty project pot for individual artists, literally and figuratively touches the heart of wpZimmer;
• that it will force us to radically re-evaluate our way of working together with the artists;
• that, despite the cuts, we will save our artistic budget and will do it with one less employee;
• that we ask ourselves why it would be more valuable to invest in companies and in economy;
• that small organisations with a focus on development are extra fragile because their flexible, tailor-made operation is often invisible and closely linked to that of the individual artists;
• that we ask the cultural world to show what solidarity really is, and to go further than a new profile photo on Facebook;
• that we will contribute to solidarity actions for the arts and beyond and that we will commit ourselves to the social struggle for a socially and ecologically just society;

The team of wpZimmer

wpZimmer is an international workspace for the arts, with a focus on performance, dance and hybrid artistic practices. The organisation revolves around the needs of the artists, their desire to research or create and the development of their skills and practices. A budget cut off -60% has disastrous consequences for the artists. Please sign this petition to give a clear signal. #thisisourculture #stateofthearts

This weekend, Sat. 2 Nov. & Sun. 3 Nov., Christian Bakalov organizes a public showing of ETERNAL, the last part of the trilogy ETERNIA. Stop by at wpZimmer between noon and midnight.

Work In Progress Cooperative settles down in Arenberg (Antwerp). Eight artists from Antwerp show Work In Progress and take the audience on the marvelous route of their creative process. After each ‘WIP’ a selection of professionals (dramaturgists, programmers, producers, …) enter into dialogue with the artists about their work and their future plan(s). During these breaks, the audience can be inspired by pitches about artistic initiatives in the city or enter into dialogue with the artists.

The ‘WIP’ formula, which has been an important working element of the Mestizo Arts Platform (MAP) since 2009, is a cross-fertilisation between forty or so organizations in order to fine-tune feelers and help artists move on to the stages. wpZimmer is one of these organizations. On the initiative of MAP and with the cooperative philosophy in mind, this formula has germinated into an interurban co-production in Antwerp, Brussels and Ghent, with an annual Work In Progress in each city.

The program in Antwerp:

07.11 // THE ARTISTS (theatre & hybrid forms ): Younes Van den Broeck, Mike De Ridder, Zukisa Nante and Khalid Koujili El Yakoubi

08.11 // THE ARTISTS (dance & hybrid forms): Bruno Agbozo, Luke Jessop, Alex Akuete en Daisy Wouters

20.11// WIPCOOP @ KVS, Brussels

28.11 // WIPCOOP @ CAMPO Victoria, Ghent

Next summer Carine Meulders will say goodbye to wpZimmer, where for 14 years she drew the artistic outlines. In recent years, she has helped to develop wpZimmer into an international residence site with a solid network at home and abroad, where artists can develop their trajectory and work in a sustainable manner.

“I feel that it is time for a new chapter. In the light of the new policy that is coming up, it is a good time for wpZimmer to pass the torch and make room for other voices, new forms of work and organization and inspiring visions of the future. I do not yet have any concrete plans for the future, but I would like to continue working with artists,” she says in response to her departure from wpZimmer.

From September 2020 on, the artistic policy of wpZimmer will be taken up by a multi-voiced artistic team led by Helga Baert.

On 7 & 8 November the new creation Haiti o Ayiti from Cecilia Lisa Eliceche and Leandro Nerefuh will premiere in Brakke Grond (Amsterdam).

Currently Charlotte Goesaert is working in wpZimmer on her research. After making her three performances EPIC FAIL, Loophole and ChitChat, she feels the urge to explore new ways to translate the theme of imperfection on stage through a long-term research.

Sunday 8.09 Gosie Vervloessem brings her Horror Garden in its natural habitat, the Lustwarande in Tilburg. Click here if you want to know more of the program of Brief Encounters ’19 #2.