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What can you do against the winter blues ? In December, set things on fire, of course!  

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Now that we can finally give everything again after such a long time, we want to end 2021 with a bang! KunstZ hijacks Rataplan for not one day, not two, not three, but four days!

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From Tuesday 14 to Friday 17 December, KunstZtoptalents will take their place on the stage of Rataplan in Borgerhout. We bring you a whirlwind of music, theatre, film, and everything in between. We invite you to make it one big party with us!  

 

Because one party is simply not enough, you can enjoy a diverse program for several evenings. Makers who have been eager to play in front of an audience for a year now, artists who have not yet been allowed to show off their work for young and old, beautiful films shot in uncertain times, ... now get the chance to be in the spotlights.

 

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What can you expect from the program?

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KunstZ brings you new creative performances around your heart every night at heating. We transform Rataplan into a cozy living room and let you  meet a diverse group of talented artists:  

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✭ Tuesday 14 December ✭ TICKETS!

19:00 Roxette Chikua with Paradis (note, different location! KunstZ - A. Rodenbachstraat 21, 2140 Borgerhout)

20:00 Somalia Williamson with Mother 

20:45 Ayham Qomoq with Jinn

 

✭ Wednesday 15 December ✭  TICKETS!

15:00 Mohanad Mukhtar with Sinbad 

19:00 Roxette Chikua with Paradis  (note, different location! KunstZ - A. Rodenbachstraat 21, 2140 Borgerhout)

20:00 Somalia Williamson with Mother

20:45 Nitish Bhardwaj with What She Said

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✭ Thursday 16 December ✭  TICKETS!

19:00 Roxette Chikua with Paradis  (note, different location! KunstZ - A. Rodenbachstraat 21, 2140 Borgerhout)

20:00 Michel Kiyombo with Matchombe

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✭ Friday 17 December ✭ CANCELLED!

20:00 Movie night with images of Tom Viaene, Nitish Bhardwaj, Mario Leko, ...

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Somalia Williamson comes very close and brings the audience 'Mother', with which she explores the world together from the perspective of a universal figure - the mother - in search of the reflection of pure, unconditional love. Together with fellow performers/makers Alec De Bruyn (soundscape), Gorik Elaut (violin) and Tijen Lawton (choreography), she composes a universal story about this entity of interwoven sensations, emotions and insights that binds us all.

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Nitish Bhardwaj makes together with Lara Groeneweg  and Mahsa Bagheri  an intercultural and interdisciplinary poetic performance based on Tamil epics where he also uses a storyline from Metamorphoses. Exploring the ideas of women charged with the morality of patriarchal tyranny and suffering the atrocities against free will, they create scenes of lyrical poetry and discussion. The main poetic influence comes from the Sangam Poetry of South India, but a verse by the Persian poet 'Rumi' is also used.

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We also have something special in store for the little ones: Mohanad Mukhtar brings us 'Sinbad', a visual performance in which he takes the young public (+7 years) on an adventure. Inspired by One Thousand and One Nights, he and Sinbad tell a story about a boy who wants to celebrate his birthday for the first time in his life. The boy is very curious but also nervous for the party. How do you prepare a birthday party without parents and family around you? Because everyone has stayed behind in Baghdad. Mohanad invites you to his birthday party. Are you celebrating?

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'Matchombe' is a dance performance in which Michel Kiyombo looks back on his own childhood in Congo, his coming home to Belgium and in the meantime discovers fatherhood. On stage, he tells the story of his birth and how he came to earth as a small, vulnerable being. Through dance he grows into the man he is today. But what remains of the frailty in him? Now he is a father himself, but what about his vulnerability?

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Ayham Qomoq transforms the kunstZliving into a distant, mysterious world. Together with a magical group of dancers, he brings you 'Jinn' , a dance performance in which he investigates the history of mythological creatures in Eastern culture.  Via Butoh, contemporary dance and rhythm, the dancers are taken in by the life and movements of the Jinn.

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Afro-futurism inspired Roxette Chikua when creating her solo dance performance 'Paradis' , where she starts from her story and takes the viewer on an identity quest based on dance and fashion. On stage she addresses difficult themes through movement. Together with her we discover and recognize the different dimensions of a young woman of color who wants to shape her own life, by breaking free from everything that society considers 'normal'.

 

We end this flaming week with  a warm movie night! In May 2020, 'Shakespeare Anders' premiered, an art production for which several beautiful films were shot by Tom Viaene, Ayham Qomoq, Nitish Bhardwaj, Mario Leko, Greet Vissers and Kristien Jaspers. With some popcorn in hand, we are finally enjoying these recorded artworks on the big screen.

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✭ When? Tuesday 14  December to  Friday December 17
✭ Where? Rataplan - Wijnegemstraat 27, 2140 Borgerhout
✭ Free but reservation is required! Places are limited !

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Thanks to Rataplan, WIPCOOP/Mestizo Arts Platform, Arenbergschouwburg, the City of Antwerp and the Flemish Government.

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