21.08.25 – 31.08.25, Bijloke Wonderland

The second performance of GROUND ZERO also marks the opening of Onder Verzachtende Omstandigheden. The exhibition by Leen Van Tichelen brings together the traces of this process: remnants, transitions, and an ongoing search for form within a space in flux.

About the project

Throughout the summer months, KIOSK became the home of GROUND ZERO /51.04536/3.71609, a multidisciplinary residency led by visual artist Leen Van Tichelen, who invited performer Fanny Vandesande, composer Esther Coorevits, and word artist Jonas Bruyneel. Over three months, the artists collaborated across disciplines—image, word, movement, and sound—merging their practices into a fluid, site-responsive methodology.

While the gallery remained closed to visitors, KIOSK itself transformed into a living studio—part laboratory, part rehearsal space—where boundaries are tested, unraveled, and rewritten.

The title, GROUND ZERO /51.04536/3.71609, marks both a beginning and a place. The geographic coordinates point to the exact site of the performance, grounding the inquiry in a specific reality while opening space for new artistic trajectories to emerge.

Support the project

To financially support the project GROUND ZERO / 51.04536 / 3.71609, Leen Van Tichelen created a special edition. Here’s a warm invitation to visit the crowdfunding page on voordekunst.nl.

Passionate, versatile and deeply committed to artistic expression, SONduo is formed by Cristina Castro Currás and Miriam Millán Fontaíña, two Spanish musicians based in Ghent. Rooted in classical performance and driven by interdisciplinary curiosity, they design immersive musical experiences that blend tradition with experimentation. 

For Bijloke Wonderland 2025, SONduo will present a unique performance inspired by the artworks of the participating artists. Their concert will be the culminating moment of the collaborative exhibition — a dialogue between sound and visual arts where each artist’s voice resonates through carefully crafted textures, poetic gestures and a shared exploration of meaning.

Throughout the summer months, KIOSK becomes the home of GROUND ZERO /51.04536/3.71609, a multidisciplinary residency led by visual artist Leen Van Tichelen, who invited performer Fanny Vandesande, composer Esther Coorevits, and word artist Jonas Bruyneel. Over three months, the artists collaborate across disciplines—image, word, movement, and sound—merging their practices into a fluid, site-responsive methodology.

While the gallery remains closed to visitors, KIOSK itself is transformed into a living studio—part laboratory, part rehearsal space—where boundaries are tested, unraveled, and rewritten.

Catch an early trace of this continuously unfolding project at Bijloke Wonderland, where GROUND ZERO reveals its first public moment, shaped as much by change as by the physical and conceptual landscape it occupies.

The title, GROUND ZERO /51.04536/3.71609, marks both a beginning and a place. The geographic coordinates point to the exact site of the performance, grounding the inquiry in a specific reality while opening space for new artistic trajectories to emerge.

Support the project

To financially support the project GROUND ZERO / 51.04536 / 3.71609, Leen Van Tichelen created a special edition. Here’s a warm invitation to visit the crowdfunding page on voordekunst.nl.

Students from KASK & Conservatorium are organising a zine festival in collaboration with the Kunstenbibliotheek. At the same time, you can discover a presentation by artist collective Shif—t* in the cellarium.

Assembled by Louis Gahide, with zines by: Anna Van der Vurst, Riwan Kallel, Vero Denecker, Riet Van Lysebettens, Méraud Verschuere, Ling Madelein, Lena Moreels, Otis Monteny, Amber Goossens, Adriel Cantamessi, Margo van Damme, Julia Butter, Lex Monteny, Paulien Van Loo, Emma Durant, Marinela Demaj, Inès De Laender, Dominica De Rieck, Anne Dekeyser, Ines Claus, Arthur De Boever, Migena Demaj, Dominique De Groen, Carmen van der Straten, Nava Asgari, Layla Morando and Aagje Vandriessche.

The zine festival opens on the first day of Bijloke Wonderland, a cultural summer festival from Thursday 21 to Sunday 31 August at the vibrant Bijloke site in Ghent. View the full programme.

Summershelves #2 is created by artist collective Shif—t* with a tender scenography and a selection of zines and books to linger with during Bijloke Wonderland.

We open on 21 August with a zine festival organised by Louis Gahide and a lovely reading circle in the specially designed care corners.

The book selection will be on display in the cellarium of the Kunstenbibliotheek from Monday to Thursday.

We close on 28 August from 6 p.m. with A Picnic°2, curated by Arno Huygens, Seppe-Hazel Laeremans and Marthe Huyse. The picnic blanket is a quilt, honouring those who inspire us — an afternoon that turns into an evening of stories, shared plates and good company.

The Rhizome Ensemble (Francisco Rojas Huertas & Eleonora Serani) crafts a concert programme that explores our shared journey of learning from different influences, a theme exemplified by the dynamic ethos of Bijloke Wonderland. The Ensemble aims to showcase this collective evolution by delving into impressionism. This period in musical history is marked by a fusion of diverse cultural influences, as melodies and motifs from around the world converged in Europe, profoundly shaping the composition process. With a focus on harp and flute, the programme invites audiences to immerse themselves in the enchanting sounds and evocative narratives of impressionist music, embodying the spirit of cultural exchange and creative exploration.

“We Remember Not”: a collaborative work by Alejandro Fenollosa Beltran and Helena Ruiz Sánchez, uses word and performance to reinterpret two compositions: “How To Get There From Here” (2016) by Andrew C. Smith and Anna Sowa's (1987) “Piece for Saxophone and Violin Player” (2020).

"How To Get There From Here" contemplates the utilization of space as a venue for discussions and gatherings. This piece translates the phrase "we remember not the word, but the sound of the word" into a composition comprising three movements. The initial movement utilizes 1,600 speech segments, initially structured into a fixed-media electronic composition through stochastic principles, and later transcribed into International Phonetic Alphabet symbols for human performance. The second movement involves a metamorphosis of the written words themselves, transitioning from one word to another through simple edits: additions, deletions, or alterations of letters. Lastly, the concluding movement is entirely constructed from quotations sourced from English texts spanning from the 14th to the 20th centuries.

The second piece on the program, "Piece for Saxophone and Violin Player," reflects on the historical significance of music within spaces like the Baudelo space. Such rooms have long been dedicated to chamber music, with the violin standing as one of its most enduring symbols. Here, the focal point lies in the physical presence of both the musicians and their instruments, serving as the primary source material for the composition. This process of deconstruction imbues the music with fresh significance, reshaping its essence and narrative.

PIECES:

• Andrew C. Smith, How To Get There From Here (2016)

• Anna Sowa (1987), Piece for saxophone and violin player (2020)

A tenor, a pianist, and a dancer perform together in which they question the straitjacket within which they are supposed to move and perform. “Our bodies as tenor, pianist, and dancer – in everything we do – all carry rules and regulations with them. Is there a way to free ourselves from that?”

In UNTITLED (Tenor, Pianist, Dancer) the audience gets to see snapshots from those three worlds and throughout history. Through choreographed improvisation, no two performances are the same. Breaking all possible rules is seen as a method of arriving at something unexpected and outside of convention. Cross disciplinary. Expect nothing and lose yourself, just like the performers. Open your senses, discover and feel.

In 'Bouncing in two', Michelle and Mette push the boundaries of interaction. These two performers come together for the first time and communicate through play. A performative act in which every interaction becomes a new invention. 

A show with tennis balls and more!

"Boldly Bouncing into Baldness without making you scared, while throwing tennisBalls."

This performance makes use of stroboscopic lighting.

• Concept and acting: Mette Vermeire & Michelle Van Neste
• Music: Zeno Willaert
• Costumes: Rowan Boeijen
• Technique: Marthe Leon Thys
• Image poster: Aagje Vanoutryve
• Poster: Wouter De Paepe
• Co-production De Kazematten - LARF!
• With thanks to CAMPO, Janni Van Goor, Melissa Mabesoone and Billie Jean King
• KASK & Conservatorium in collaboration with LOD 

ACCES FOURWAYS! is an installation born of directions, constructions, defects and vanished parts.   

Charlotte Bracke researched the 'irrelevant' history of the Bijloke site — history not easily found in archives due to the lack of direct interest. This led to an exploration of the fleeting emergence of an informal car park in the 1990s as a result of a faulty barrier.  

Due to the breakdown of a demarcating element — the barrier — the site underwent a temporary transformation of character. What was previously a private site with a public character suddenly became a public site. ACCES FOURWAYS! focuses on the functional aspects and how they can be easily manipulated. It is a structure that tries to make sense of the unstructured: the entrances, the paths, the barricades and the directions in which we are led.  

Technical glitches, such as a non-closing barrier, can cause this garden to turn into a car park and lead us in certain directions.  

Today, ACCES FOURWAYS! is open. Charlotte invites you to enter, explore, wait and observe ACCES FOURWAYS! — everything is allowed. Let yourself be guided by the structure.