May those who feel inspired set up a party tent!

During the graduation exhibition of KASK & Conservatorium, a new art center – the Partytent Art Center (PAC) – was officially inaugurated on the Bijloke campus and at other locations in public spaces in Ghent. On Tuesday, August 20, 2024, the co-curator of the Graduation exhibition, Simon Delobel, met the two artists behind the project, both alumni of the Master’s program in Fine Arts.

Simon Delobel
Let’s start with two simple questions.
Who are you, and how did the PAC project come about?

If it’s okay, we’d actually prefer not to mention our names in the interview. This seems particularly irrelevant for the future of the center... and its past. Our collaboration began because we ended up in different countries and missed each other. During one of our conversations, the idea arose to use titles to shed more light on things. Later, when we were in the Hofgarten park in Düsseldorf, we asked ourselves what would happen to the image of a public sculpture from a prominent artist’s name like Henry Moore, if we were to place a party tent over it. From there, we started thinking further about appropriating public space and how to present in it.

SD
The party tent has become the medium of your duo practice…

We saw the party tent as a kind of canvas, a space that you can fill, much like a blank canvas for a painter. The object of the party tent became a starting point for us. Shortly after we decided to involve other people in the concept and asked them to think about that canvas.

SD
From our very first meeting, I remember your hope that the Partytent Art Center would help young or newly graduated artists to present their work without having to wait for an invitation from a gallery or a curator. In my view, this made the PAC a project of institutional critique.

There might have been a discourse suggesting a David-and-Goliath narrative, but it was never our intention to take an opposing stance. We aim to work in a more unifying way.

SD
In all the documents you’ve published about the PAC, you use the word “Director” to refer to the person who decides to activate the PAC. Why did you choose that specific word?

A director is someone who makes decisions and is also responsible for what is done. We are looking for a kind of horizontality in the operation of the center. The content of the PAC evolves as more people engage with the party tent. We want everyone to feel, and have, the complete freedom to take ownership of the project.

SD
Is there such a thing as a target audience for the PAC?

Ideally, everyone is a target audience for the PAC. But we’re not naive: not everyone is interested in making an artistic effort, let alone showcasing it. The Graduation show and the context of the academy were a good starting point, but it would be interesting to have someone like a grandmother wanting to present her embroidery. We would prefer not to see the PAC appear limited to the conventional art world and want to focus on other contexts and works. We have already reached out to many non-profits, community centers, and youth and senior organizations to offer the PAC concept.

SD
Is the PAC a business model for your duo?

Definitely not. It won’t make us financially richer, but our wealth of experiences and social interactions stays growing!

SD
What does the future of the PAC look like? And what role do you see yourselves playing in the story?

Everything we do as a duo is connected to the PAC. From our conversations with both participants and visitors, we’ve come to realize that the PAC still needs a lot of nurturing. At the moment, we’re the caretakers of the PAC, but we hope to retire early. Like teaching a child to walk, the PAC’s journey involves ups and downs. Right now, we handle the maintenance and communication, like posting photos on Instagram to document past events. The plan is for people to be able to fill out a form on the future PAC website, which will then generate a blog post. We’re also currently compiling a collection of 100 ideas for the PAC!

SD 
May the PAC have a long, fruitful, and surprising life!

And may those who feel inspired set up a party tent!