AntwerpWeekly

Week 33.

The pace is picking up, restaurants and bars are reopening, and galleries are sending out invites for September openings. Can’t wait. In the meantime:


, of course, in the old gasworks in Minkelersstraat until Sunday. With 3,000 sqm of street art there’s enough eye candy to keep you entertained.


Next Saturday afternoon you can catch a concert by some of Ukraine’s best harpists at Christus Koning Church. They now live in exile since the start of the war. The concert is an opportunity to continue performing. The concert is free but your donations go entirely to the musicians.


We ended up at the other day for lunch and it was delish. I’ve known the owners since the early days when they were still in Vrijdagmarkt (am I showing my age?) and it’s nice to see how they elevated the concept. I also like the fact that they have lunch dishes and sharing dishes.


Hop on the train to Kalmthout on Sunday 20/08 for a meditation at 10.30 am in the gorgeous setting of the .

Photo credits
Meeting of styles Belgium, Christoph Bunzendahl, Camino, Myriam Luyckx.

Week 32.
Rumours of my demise are exaggerated but COVID sucks. It did my brain in this past week but hey, onwards and upwards.


The annual Laus Polyphoniae festival takes a closer look at the soundscape of Antwerp during the city’s Golden Age with a varied programme including world-class ensembles such as Graindelavoix and Huelgas. Also worth checking out: an evening with Michael Pye, the historian who wrote a book about Antwerp’s Golden Age, who will be accompanied by Mario Parecchia on the virginal.


Flex your muscles to give Charon’s wheel a whirl (Van Meterenkaai until the end of August)

A gigantic 30’ spinning wheel with posed human skeletons mounted on its inner edge, Charon is fully powered by a minimum of 12 people working in unison. Onlookers are invited to pull a series of 6 ropes which cause the wheel to rotate progressively faster. When the rope pullers are coordinated enough to get the wheel spinning at the correct speed, a strobe is activated, revealing the skeletons’ animation.
The animation tells the story of Charon, the mythological gondolier and ferryman of Hades who carried the souls of the recently departed across the river styx, the last right of passage on the way to the afterlife. This piece debuted at Burning Man, 2011.

OR

Visit 14 of Antwerp’s churches this evening as part of the annual church nocturne. This year’s theme is good and evil. The beguinage church and St Anne’s Chapel in the university neighbourhood are definitely worth a visit. If you happen to visit St George’s/St Joris, you can also see the church garden or Hortus Conclusus, which is maintained by Ronald Van der Hilst.


My appetite’s been a bit off lately (see intro) so I’m at a loss as far as food goes. I did note that Brussels chain Knees to Chin has finally opened a branch in Antwerp’s Kammenstraat so if you’re into rice paper rolls, give them a try.

Week 31.
The sun was out up near Groningen but this update comes to you from the car on the way back to - rainy? - Antwerp.

It’s Museum Night this evening, so I hope the rain won’t deter people from going out and discovering what Antwerp’s museums have in store for them. I note that some galleries are also exceptionally open.


Antwerp Pride opening night takes place every year in Rivierenhof park under the stars. You may still be able to bag some tickets on Ticketswap.
The line-up includes Gregory Frateur of Dez Mona but in a different guise as Grigri y el macho fantastico.


Not in Antwerp but definitely a link with Antwerp! The Rubens Castle in Elewijt reopens this weekend with a 3-month programme of events, concerts and workshops, called Stories Unfold. Check out their insta stories for updates. There are lots of lovely places for a walk around there too as I discovered when lockdowns were a thing.

Additional tip: the Antwerp Q***r Arts Festival at Extra City/Morpho. Check the website for more deetz.


I’m hearing a lot of chatter about Dennis Ekisola’s Dojo.zendo in Samberstraat. The seating, the ingredients, the food…


Try to spot one of enpleinpublic’s artworks on the city’s streets. They always make me chuckle.

Photo credits: Antwerp Pride, Stories Unfold, Antwerp Q***r Arts Festival, Dojo.zendo

Week 30

Week 30 already. Midsummer and the city’s pace is all over the place. Everyone is either leaving on or returning from their holiday. Enjoy the last moments of quiet as builders will be back at it from Monday.


Kerkstraat Plage started out some 20 years ago as a community restaurant. Since then it has evolved into something bigger (a 3-day mini festival) with all kinds of fun events. If you’re up for some 💃🏻, you’ll be happy to know that they cater to many tastes with DJ Axel Daeseleire on the decks on Saturday evening with a fusion of styles and Belpop band on Sunday. If you are nursing a hangover, local radio station Radio Minerva will be spinning some golden oldies on Sunday afternoon.


Good question. Lambermontmartre on Sunday perhaps? And while you’re there, catch the last day of Interacting Cameras at Dewael 15?


The greens on toast with poached eggs at Butcher’s Coffee. Chervil, shiso, I don’t know but it hit my sweet spot yesterday.


Buy a ticket for next week’s Museumnacht 2023!

Photo credits: Rik Boey, Lambermontmartre, Vita Duffeleer, Butcher’s Coffee and Museumnacht Antwerpen

Week 29

Apologies for the late update but I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather (pun intended). It’s that funny time in summer where most people are on holiday, the city’s streets are pleasantly empty, and you can actually go places without having to book a table first.


No Barbenheimer here! Stellar effort by the marketing team, although Barbie fatigue has already set in among some of us…

My tip for this week? Björn de Feyter’s White Walls/Stilling Bodies at Base-Alpha Gallery, which opens on Thursday. The stillness in his photos of male bodies is pervasive, and emphasised by sections that are whited out.


On the 28th, you can pop into church for a lunchtime organ concert (12.45-1.45pm). Antwerp’s Cathedral has two: the romantic Schyven organ and the Baroque Metzler. They each have their merits but on Friday you can hear Peter Van de Velde on the Schyven. Last summer I walked in on an organ practice in Weimar. The person seated next to me - who is a staunch atheist mind - got up after gazing at Cranach’s altarpiece and listening for a while and said: I can see how people found religion…


I suppose it has to be mussels, since they’re in season. When in Antwerp, do as
Antwerpians do and head to Sint-Anneke plage or Maritime near the Cathedral. If you’re a vegetarian, And/Or is always a good idea!

Week 28

Good morning from blustery Derbyshire where it has been chucking it down since we arrived. Makes you almost miss Antwerp’s cranky weather. Almost.

Without further ado >>


Gallery owner Rodolphe Janssen and his siblings recently donated some works by Antwerp artist Fred Bervoets to Antwerp’s Royal Museum of Fine Arts. The works, which come from their father’s collection, are two of Fred’s earlier works. If you live in Antwerp, you may have already run into Fred at a gallery opening or on the city’s streets. To see more of his work, visit Galerie de Zwarte Panter in the lovely St Julian’s Chapel.


Pick up something nice to drink (you can get some of Nona’s great non-alcoholic options from Epicurios or you can head to Amber Bottle Shop for some excellent wine), grab a blanket, and enjoy the sunset by the Scheldt. Having stared at a wall of fog yesterday evening instead of a hilltop view, I appreciate the beauty of a horizon even more today!


This week I want to try Afghan food. Living in a city that is home to almost all the nationalities of the world (I think only New York is more diverse), my greatest regret is that all their national cuisines are not represented on the city’s streets. One of my colleagues, who is from Afghanistan, suggested delrobah, which he has tried and likes.

It’s too hot to type so you’ll have to read the AntwerpWeekly in the photos!

Stay hydrated, kids!

Milanese gelato fatto in casa
De Hofkamer
River Cleanup Belgium
FABRIEK NOORD

Another week, some new suggestions!

Week 27 (1 July-7 July)



Not in Antwerp per se but along the River Scheldt in Niel, this week’s suggestion is part of the FestivalStroom line-up.
The carbon-neutral StroomBoot will moor at the jetty at Niel on 4 July at 5.30 pm. Yentl Verborgt and Jeroen Reggers Will perform music from Thelonious Monk and Joni Mitchell, among others. Free concert.



The Barokke Influencers festival ends on 16 July. Just enough time to catch the exhibition in Snijders & Rockoxhuis about the 39 ceiling paintings which Rubens created for St Charles Borromeo Church and which were lost in a fire in 1718. You can see the oil sketches by Rubens after which I recommend a short walk to the church where you can still see an installation with contemporary interpretations of Rubens’s works by Antwerp artist Rudy De Graef (look near the pillars for Rubens Re-Viewed)



On Thursdays, you can find the turquoise SoCalTacos food truck in Napoleonkaai. The owner hails from San Bernardino, California and serves proper Mexican tacos. New to the menu: FISH tacos! Let’s hope they continue to make them in July.



Bag one of the remaining four tickets for Hantrax at the Rubens House. The museum is currently closed for a major refurb but is opening its doors to artists in July. Hantrax is the alias of Antwerp based composer, performer, and pianist Han Swolfs (1984). I was lucky enough to catch one of his performances at the Ponti Gallery last year and have been a fan since then. Stephan Schraenen will be manning the decks, spinning some piano tunes while Hantrax goes full experimental on the piano.

Snijders&Rockoxhuis
Rubenshuis
Hantrax
Rudy De Graef
Barokke Influencers
Stroom

Our suggestions for week 26 (26 June - 2 July) in Antwerp ⤵️


Group show ‘Snakes in the Grass’ at Newchild Gallery with works by Chris Oh and Shona McAndrew among others in a dialogue with old masters from Galerie Lowet de Wotrenge.
Check their instagram or website for address and opening hours.


Mini golf Beatrijs has an 18-hole course with some of the holes featuring artworks by such artists as Marius Ritiu, Phillippe de Aguirre y Otegui, Bram van Meervelde and Nadia Naveau among others. On 1 July, they are hosting their Tunnelfeesten. Walk through the St Anna Tunnel to the left bank, order a beer and tee off!


La Sorgente, Luca Fabozzi, Carnivale and Arrikiati have joined forces to give you ‘A Taste of Summer’. If you love juicy natural wines, delicious pizza and cannoli and the best that Italy has to offer, head to Stormkop on 2 July. Book a ticket for the tastings! Wine and food bar open from 1-8 pm.