You are invited to a dinner party.
You don’t know who will be there. You are apprehensive but also a little excited. Butterflies in the stomach. Who knows what might happen? Are you wearing the right clothes? You wanna be comfortable, but also make an effort. How are you gonna get there? What if it rains? Leaving the house is so overrated. And yet. Maybe it's time to leave your comfort zone? When was the last time you were surprised? You are hoping that person won’t be there - that guy you saw and heard at the last party, shouting his mouth off about the ‘solution’. Who will sit beside you? What if that frustrating thing happens where you can’t really click with the person beside you and really want to join the bubbling conversation across the table. Those people seem SO CONNECTED.
We are all chasing connection right? Connection towards understanding if not consensus. We have never needed it more. We need to keep holding onto each other, even when we don’t agree.
At Viernulvier this season, we can’t promise you the connection but we can promise encounters in which connection might happen. So we invite you to put your coat on, leave the house and step across the threshold.
Navigating our own building over the coming season becomes a surprising encounter as we undergo a major renovation project, which will ultimately offer increased access to all areas of our building. We will still host performances in our Theaterzaal, and Concertzaal, but you are likely to encounter lots of our programme in our new venue Muziekclub Wintercircus, in the Minard Schouwburg, or in the houses of our partners CAMPO Nieuwpoort and NTGent.
Encounters in public space and on location across the city will be both spectacular and large-scale and small and intimate. ‘Combustion’ promises a spectacular opening (with fireworks!) that both entertains and challenges our desire for symmetry, spectacle and uniformity. In dance schools across the city, ‘Save The Last Dance for Me’, an old italian folk dance will both surprise you and satisfy a desire for an old-time tea dance.
Intergenerational collaboration proves a fruitful terrain for new perspectives this season, in the 40th anniversary show of Forced Entertainment ‘Signal to Noise’, and in the collaboration of Meg Stuart, dancer Omagbitse Omagbemi and musician Mieko Suzuki with the new performance by Damaged Goods. Sarah Vanhee summons the spirits and histories of her Flemish grandmothers, while Queen Nikkolah returns to the house in winter to create new kinds of celebrations with the children of Ghent.
We see our talks and debates programme as a necessary space for difficult conversations; encounters that may not be easy but are essential. De Arena and Uitgelezen return as regular formats, as well as urgent and necessary talks that will pop up across the season.
As ever at VIERNULVIER, festivals continue to offer key moments to gather and share ideas and experiences across the season. This year, as well as the beloved Videodroom, we are excited to introduce audiences to a new festival in our calendar, celebrating the best of local emerging and major international spoken word artists in ‘Word of Mouth’. In the new year, look out for the return of ‘Women and Children First’, and the next edition of ‘Openbare Werken’, co-curated with our partners of ‘Tot in De Stad’.
From all the team at VIERNULVIER, we invite you to join us for our 24/25 season and step in to…
Unexpected encounters
Awkward encounters
Roaring encounters
Thrilling encounters
Sparkling encounters
Heartstopping encounters
Sexy encounters
Cruel encounters
Human encounters
Poetic encounters
Sweaty encounters
Dispiriting encounters
Friendly encounters
Eye-opening encounters
Pulsing encounters
Tasty encounters
Historic encounters
Welcome encounters
Close encounters (of the VIERNULVIER kind)
…………………………encounters
By all means define your own encounter!
Intergenerationele samenwerking blijkt dit seizoen een vruchtbaar terrein voor nieuwe perspectieven, in de 40ste jubileumvoorstelling van Forced Entertainments ‘Signal to Noise’ en in de samenwerking van Meg Stuart, danser Omagbitse Omagbemi en muzikant Mieko Suzuki met de nieuwe voorstelling van Damaged Goods. Sarah Vanhee roept de geesten en geschiedenissen van haar Vlaamse grootmoeders op, terwijl Queen Nikkolah in de winter terugkeert naar ons huis om een nieuw soort feestjes te creëren met de kinderen van Gent.
We zien ons programma van talks en debatten als een onmisbare ruimte voor moeilijke gesprekken; ontmoetingen die misschien niet makkelijk zijn, maar wel essentieel. De Arena en Uitgelezen keren terug als vaste formats, evenals urgente en noodzakelijke gesprekken die gedurende het seizoen zullen opduiken.
Zoals altijd bij VIERNULVIER blijven de festivals belangrijke momenten om samen te komen en ideeën en ervaringen uit te wisselen. Dit jaar zijn we verheugd om, naast het geliefde ‘Videodroom’, jullie te laten kennismaken met het nieuwe festival ‘Word of Mouth’, dat het beste van lokale opkomende en grote internationale spoken word-artiesten presenteert. In het nieuwe jaar kijken we uit naar de terugkeer van ‘Women and Children First’ en de volgende editie van ‘Openbare Werken’, gecureerd in samenwerking met onze partners van ‘Tot in De Stad’.
Vanuit het hele team van VIERNULVIER nodigen we je uit om deel te nemen aan ons nieuwe seizoen voor...
Unexpected encounters
Awkward encounters
Roaring encounters
Thrilling encounters
Sparkling encounters
Heartstopping encounters
Sexy encounters
Cruel encounters
Human encounters
Poetic encounters
Sweaty encounters
Dispiriting encounters
Friendly encounters
Eye-opening encounters
Pulsing encounters
Tasty encounters
Historic encounters
Welcome encounters
Close encounters (of the VIERNULVIER kind)
…………………………encounters
Maar bepaal vooral je eigen ontmoeting!
