The NATIONA(A)L Artist Supermarket
28 Nov 2019 - 15 Dec 2019
NATIONA(A)L is back with a new event that blurs the boundary between a traditional exhibition, a concept store and an art fair to take a novel look at home-grown Belgian creativity.
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Espace Vanderborght - 50 Rue de l'Ecuyer Espace Vanderborght 1000 Bruxelles
NATIONA(A)L is back with a new event that blurs the boundary between a traditional exhibition, a concept store and an art fair to take a novel look at home-grown Belgian creativity. The NATIONA(A)L Artist Supermarket promotes and sells products by Belgian artists and initiatives working in the following fields: VISUAL ARTS, DESIGN, FASHION, BOOKS..
NATIONA(A)L is back from 28 November to 15 December with a novel look at home-grown Belgian creativity. Now in its fifth year, the event at the Vanderborght building – a space renowned for hosting unconventional cultural fixtures – will plunge visitors into an exhibition-cum-art fair-cum-concept store showcasing the country’s creative soul.
The NATIONA(A)L Artist Supermarket is a multidisciplinary market that will sell works by a stellar range of Belgian artists, designers, artisans, creatives and cultural initiatives from fields as diverse as the plastic arts, design, fashion, publishing, music, cinema, performance, food and the digital arts.
This is a store like no other. Not only can shoppers choose from a motley array of creations to buy, but they can also get stuck in to a fantastic selection of immersive activities. From intimate gigs to signing sessions, culinary experiences and performances, visitors will discover new artists at work and will have the chance to purchase items from the supermarket shelves throughout the event.
And with Christmas looming, the NATIONA(A)L Artist Supermarket will be the perfect place to pick up a few out-of-the-ordinary gifts. A troupe of actors and poets will be on hand, in the role of shopkeepers and store managers, to point visitors in the right direction if needed.
So make sure you get down to this visionary, quirky, ambitious and generous event to discover and support the initiatives and artists that make the Belgian creative scene what it is today. Who knows, you might just spot the stars of tomorrow!
Espace Vanderborght
Rue de l'Ecuyer 1000
Owned by the City of Brussels, this building with a large shop window stands in the centre of Brussels, only a stone’s throw from the Grand Place. It occupies an impressive 6,000 m² of space spread over 5 stories. Built for the “Nouveaux Établissements Vanderborght Frères”, who traded in household products like carpets, knick-knacks, garden furniture, bedding, etc., the building was designed by architects Govaerts and Van Vaerenbergh, who were used to working together, having previously collaborated on the house of Alice and David van Buren, now the van Buren Museum. The building works, which began in 1932, were completed in 1935. Built in a modernist style, the building did away with ornamental elements, favouring function over appearance. With remarkable large shop front windows that allow for greater visibility, each story is made up of one large concrete floorplan that can be easily modified thanks to a system of sliding partition walls on tracks. Other stand-out features of this building are its terraces, which served as exhibition spaces for the company’s garden furniture back in the day, but also spots to relax and enjoy a cup of tea. The store went bankrupt in 1980. The Royal Fine Arts Museums of Belgium once thought of moving their collections into the Vanderborght building, but the project never took off. The venue today welcomes many exhibitions, mainly centred around contemporary art. Three major events are organised every year: - Carte de Visite ARTopenKUNST in February: an exhibition dedicated to amateur and professional artists living or working in the City of Brussels. More than 200 artists take over the building for a whole weekend. http://cartedevisite.brussels/ - The Independent in April: a contemporary art fair from New Year has set up shop in Brussels. http://independenthq.com/ - Strokar in May: an exhibition dedicated to street art and photography that gathers artists from Brussels and further afield. http://strokar.be/ Furthermore, other, non-recurrent exhibitions also take place in the Vanderborght building and are open to all at a reasonable price.
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