Ménage à trois – part VI: Art and the countryside
Meeting between the visual arts scene of Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia.
Ménage à trois – part VI
Ménage à trois is an annual programme by Flanders Arts Institute and the Direction des Arts Plastiques Contemporains, with the ambition of creating a space for encounters between artists and art professionals from Wallonia, Brussels and Flanders.
In 2025, the programme settles in the middle of nature on the Montauban-Buzenol site, home to the Centre d'art contemporain du Luxembourg belge (CACLB) – an art space in harmony with the surrounding forest and heritage.
There, we explore the relationship between art and the countryside from the perspective of artistic practices that question our connection with nature or take place in a rural context. We also reflect on ways to make art more visible in rural areas, especially now that urban centers are becoming saturated with cultural offer. In doing so, we focus on the specific characteristics of the rural artistic ecosystem.
Several speakers from Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels will share their practices and experiences, to engage in dialogue together afterwards. Finally, we will learn about CACLB's operations: its exhibitions, guidelines and venue.
Speakers
- Leontien Allemeersch – Kunstenplatform PLAN B – Working with imagination in the rural context
- Bento Architecture – From matter to architecture: towards new interactions with the living world
- Raphaël Pirenne & Valentin Bollaert Nord – La maison vivante du Pays des Collines
- Lise Duclaux – ces abeilles et ces flores indociles
- Frédéric Fourdinier – Less is More and Foris Orare
- Pierre Philippe Hofmann & Mathias Domahidy – .-. (working title)
- Caroline Le Méhauté, Clyde Lepage & Christophe Alix – Performing with the earth
- Olivier Pestiaux – Sambre 2030 – Towards legal recognition of the river?
- Célestin Pierret – CACLB – Introduction to the topics of the day in the context of CACLB
- Tom & Nicolas Valckenaere – Presentation, research and fieldwork: the Wiels Swamp
- Ellis van Beijsterveldt & Jaimy Van Der Sloten – Biennale Mol Rauw – Where art and community come together
- Jonathan De Maeyer & Pia Jacques – Seasonal Neighbours – Living together in Europe's countryside
Bruno De Wachter will write a reflection text following the day's discussions.
Programme
9am – departure with the bus from Brussels-Midi
11.30am – introduction by Célestin Pierret, director of the CACLB, to the history and development of the arts centre and to the exhibitions on the site
12.30pm – lunch
1.30pm – presentations of the invited speakers, followed by conversation
4pm – exhibition visit
5pm – appetiser by Frédéric Fourdinier based on wild plants
7pm – return by bus to Brussels-Midi
9pm – arrival in Brussels-Midi
Practical
- Date: Friday 27 June 2025, from 11.30 to 19.00
- Location: Centre d'art contemporain du Luxembourg belge (Rue de Montauban, 6743 Etalle)
- Language: English and French
Register now
Participation is free upon reservation before 20 June. Please note that the bus has a maximum capacity of 50 seats.
This programme focuses on artists, professionals and organisations active in the visual arts.
More information
Do you have questions about this meeting or need more information? Contact our colleague Lissa.
Image: Bureau des forges sur le site de Montauban-Buzenol © Alicia Nussbaum
