Playground

Guy de Cointet / Hugues Decointet / DD Dorvillier / fieldworks / Jean-Pascal Flavien / Maria Hassabi / Sonja Jokiniemi / Ieva Miseviciute / Julien Prévieux / Jimmy Robert / Benjamin Seror / Cally Spooner / Kristof Van Gestel / Julian Weber / Adva Zakai

Since 2007 Playground has been a meeting point for performing arts and visual arts. The black box of theatre and the white cube of an exhibition inspire many artists working in the captivating zone between disciplines. Artists freely combine elements from installation, text, film, sculpture, architecture and choreography in their practice, bringing objects and bodies together in challenging live performances. These artists create new visual images that reflect on art, the world and the mediatisation of our lives.

For this ninth edition, the STUK Arts Centre and Museum M are once more presenting several premieres, co-productions and collaborations. The opening night on November 19 offers a double bill evening at M and STUK where several performances and installations can be combined in a unique joint programme.

Jimmy Robert
A clean line that starts from the shoulder
November 20, 2015–February 28, 2016 
Opening: Thursday, November 19, 6–10pm
M – Museum Leuven (Belgium)

Together with Playground, Museum M presents A clean line that starts from the shoulder, a solo exhibition by Jimmy Robert (1975, Guadeloupe). Identity, movement and the vulnerability of the body are central themes in Robert’s collages, photos and installations. In his practice, he often explores the work of other artists or engages in collaborations.

In his exhibition at M, he questions the different ways that lines and movements can be interpreted. He starts from fine line drawings of naturally and elegantly moving androgynous Congolese by Romanian-Belgian artist Idel Ianchelevici. Robert associates these drawings with two videos by the Belgian artist Lili Dujourie, which are also part of the exhibition and in which themes such as movement and androgyny return. In A clean line that starts from the shoulder, Robert presents new prints based on collages and an installation with fragile materials such as silk and paper.

The exhibition opens at 7pm with a performance in the exhibition rooms.

Jimmy Robert’s new performance marks the opening of Playground and his exhibition. Along with a female performer, Robert will guide the audience through the works in his show with movement and text. Other live performances at M include works by Hugues Decointet, fieldworks and Cally Spooner. Visitors can also explore an installation by Jean-Pascal Flavien, a Guy De Cointet exhibition and a film by Julien Prévieux.

At STUK, Kristof Van Gestel invites the audience for a private talk about his artworks. In the STUK theatre, Ieva Miseviute presents the première of her new solo Tonghe PhD. DD Dorvillier performs the European première of her threefold performance Extra Shapes.

For information and tickets, visit www.playgroundfestival.be.

Playground is part of Corpus, a network of institutions that all share an interest in and engagement with performance. Corpus is co-founded by If I Can’t Dance, Amsterdam, Playground (STUK & M), Leuven and Tate Modern, London, and is supported by the Culture Programme of the European Union.