Belgian creative platform Beauty Without Irony (BWI) is proud to present AIR/PORT 2014 Antwerp, a cultural exchange project between Antwerp and other port cities of the world.
Launched in Essaouira (Morocco) in July 2013, this summer the project comes to Antwerp. 2014 being the 50th anniversary of Moroccan and Turkish immigration to Belgium, we have expanded the exhibition to reflect on the artistic and cultural initiatives happening in and between the three countries. We will present these through an exhibition circuit in several locations starting from Antwerp’s city center (Hofstraat) all the way into the port (Droogdokkenweg), as well as through several events during the two months of the exhibition (July-August). The exhibition circuit will feature an array of art works ranging from sculptures to photo exhibitions, video art, installations and larger-than-life flags created by young, upcoming and established artists from the three countries and students from Sint maria Instituut in Antwerp. We will also be doing dinner and movie every Saturday at our Moroccan Pop Up Café during the exhibition and have planned lots more exciting events to be announced.
We hope you will enjoy the program !
The 2013 Edition
AIR/PORT was launched last year in the port city of Essaouira (Morocco). For that occasion, 50 well-known and emerging artists from Morocco and Belgium as well as art students from the Lycée Mohammed V (Essaouira) and Sint-Maria Instituut (Antwerp) created works that interpreted the themes of AIR and PORT. Their works were printed on large flags and were exhibited along the at times very windy esplanade of Essaouira on Avenue Mohamed V for the months of July and August.
Aside from the flags, AIR/PORT presented an expo circuit, which was comprised of 11 exhibitions in different cultural institutions and galleries in the city. Additionally we organized an art fair, film projections, workshops and an auction at the end of the exhibitions to benefit two local organizations that support young people in Essaouira with their professional and health concerns (Association de Lutte Contre Le SIDA and Project 91).
Beauty Without Irony (BWI)
Beauty without Irony (based in Antwerp, Belgium) is a multi-platform creative and educational bureau organized around social change and charity engagement. BWI develops international projects that unite the public, art and a social concern (such as HIV/AIDS, youth employment, cultural differences…). Through this, BWI aims to illustrate how we can all be involved in making the world a more beautiful and fairer place to live in.