From the end of August, the current team will be strengthened by two driven women: Dušica Dražić and Latifa Saber. They are both the starting force behind an inspiring place or collective in Antwerp. Dušica founded OUT OF SIGHT in 2018 and Latifa is one of the founding mothers of Baya Collective. 

Dušica will collaborate with the trajectory artists & residents and support the process towards a collective learnscape. Latifa will take charge of the online communication and work on a trajectory around community building. 

Collective project by Maria Lucia Cruz Correia, Aylin Balikci, Lucie Cellier, Zoé Gronchi, Laura Laigo, Abigaël Mackenzie, Morgane Roduit et Clara Rouge.

With Voice of Nature: The Trial, presented last year at the far° festival, Maria Lucia Cruz Correia involved the audience in a transformation process through fiction, magic and documentary. Spotlighting the notion of ecocide, this theatrical process addressed the way laws and justice may serve the Earth’s ecosystems by granting rights to nature. This year, in collaboration with HEAD–Genève (Geneva University of Art and Design), far° has asked the artist to work with students on a new project. Common Dreams: Moving Away Together follows from a workshop run in February. Between fiction and reality, the project focuses on long-term research on education about the future, much like an alternative school to outline strategies to counter climate change. The topics discussed focus on the common good, healthcare, hope and time and will address what unites us and how to teach survival. For Communs singuliers#1, the school has adopted a nomadic form, settling in a forest and on the shores of Lake Geneva. For five days the students unfold a programme, which includes several collective activities such as planting, singing, reading, eating, discussing, contemplating, snorkelling or rebelling… Every day a guest also shares his or her knowledge (of biology, economy, astrology…) and opens discussions on topics relating to the ecological transition. In response to the burning issues of our times, Common Dreams: Moving Away Together offers space and time to explore our capacity to act, to think together and maybe develop common dreams.

Are you an organizational talent? Do you have experience in administration? Are you precise and good in multitasking & planning? Are you proactive, structured & inventive?
Apply here and now for the vacancy collaborator production in wp Zimmer!

Due to the measures taken by the government to stop the spread of the COVID-19 Corona virus, Day of Dance is forced to cancel the 5th edition in its known form. This years edition will take place ONLINE!

Dance on April 25th in your living room, on the pavement in front of your door, in an empty street or open your window and dance for passers-by and share a photo or video of your dance moves via @dagvandedans (Facebook and/or Instagram).

IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR FUTURE RESIDENTS & ARTISTS

The office and residency space is closed till the 3th of April. You can reach us via mail, phone, WhatsApp or Skype. All the residency till the 3th of April are unfortunately suspended.

wpZimmer is a place where different nationalities meet, have lunch together, create, sleep, … Due to the quick spreading of COVID-19 we are forced to take this measure. This in order to safeguard the health of our artists and employees as much as possible. 

We also think of the health of close family and friends, but also of those who belong to at-risk groups or do not have easy access to health care.  

Please stay home. Avoid contact with other people. Keep the following hygiene measures in mind:

• Wash your hands with soap! 
• Use paper wipes to blow your nose and then throw them away. 
• Don’t kiss or hug. Look for an alternative way to greet you.
• Keep at least 1 meter distance between yourself and other people.
• If you have to cough or sneeze, try doing it in your elbow
• If you feel sick, especially if you have a fever, please stay in bed! 
• If you feel your situation is getting worse, contact a doctor or the hospital, they will tell you what to do. 
• If you don’t have access to health care, please let us know. No one should be alone or isolated. We’ll try to help.

Recent information from the Belgian government can be found here: https://www.info-coronavirus.be/nl/

After a little while away in the shadows, MURMUR is back!

The first session of this new year will take place on Monday 20th January in wpZimmer, Gasstraat 90, 2060 Antwerp from 19h-21h.

The topic, proposed this time by Kinga Jaczewska, will be: ‘How does the project oriented mentality affect our (art) practices?’

To start the session, we will read fragments of Bojana Kunst’s article ‘The Project Horizon. On The Temporality of Making‘.

After collectively reading the extracts, Kinga proposes a few simple practical exercises to not only enable discussion, but to offer a way into not only talking about, but finding and practising ways of togetherness.

All are welcome! Please spread the word! Tea and coffee will be available Print-outs will be available at wpZimmer on the night.

Let us know if you are coming by sending a mail to murmurreadings@gmail.com

See you there!

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