Culture Beat - January 16

A literary heavyweight, a Dutch-themed US road movie, gypsy jazz and local and international art

The literary series hosted by Passa Porta and Flagey, A Writer’s Europe, starts the year with Herculean Israeli author Amos Oz talking about his life and work on January 20 at Flagey. The event coincides with the launch of French and Dutch translations of his latest short story collection, Between Friends. These universal tales of loneliness and the human condition set in a fictitious kibbutz recall Oz’s 31 years of living on a kibbutz, which he credits with teaching him all he knows about human nature. The radical yet secular writer, who was born to Russian-Polish parents in Jerusalem in 1939, has received international acclaim for his novel Black Box and autobiography A Story of Love and Darkness. In parallel to his 45 years of fiction writing, Oz is also a shrewd Israeli political pundit. With Israeli elections due on January 22 and the nation expected to move further to the right, he is unlikely to hold back on sharing his views. Interview in English by Kerenn Elkaïm of Le Vif/L’Express. 

Brussels-based Dutch directors Rogier van Eck and Rob Rombout crossed swathes of the United  States to film 15 places with the same name as the Dutch capital, Amsterdam. The resulting six-hour documentary, Amsterdam Stories USA, is shown over three successive evenings from January 18 to 20 at Bozar (in English with French subtitles). The pair discuss their road movie with Alok Nandi on January 20 at 12.30. 

Artist and writer Muriel de Crayencour is an avid reader of fiction. In her latest exhibition, Mantras, she distorts the covers of 100 paperback novels displaying apparently banal titles. With single-trait line drawings and red-threaded embroidery, the names take on another meaning, evoking female suffering, sexuality and maternity. The centre of the exhibition at the Arielle d’Hauterives gallery is a series of panels of gold-embroidered phrases that are frequently bandied at women ‘Tu l’as bien cherché’, ‘Tu es trop sensible’; clichés that are disturbing for their dual triteness and oppressiveness.

In other gallery news, Xavier Hufkens is running a group show of emerging and established artists curated by British-born doyenne of the New York contemporary art scene Clarissa Dalrymple, from tomorrow. Artists include Americans Tommy Hartung, Jay Heikes, Alfred Leslie, Luther Price, Brie Ruais and Ryan Sullivan and Briton Sarah Lucas.

The founding father of gypsy jazz is honoured every year on the occasion of his birthday (January 10, 1910) in Djangofolllies, a festival of swing and other jazz derivatives in venues in Brussels and across the country. The 18th edition takes over the Riches Claires cultural centre this weekend for three concerts: Django à la Créole, a US/UK/AUS combo; Belgian trio Djangoism; and Nomad Swing, a group of musicians inspired by European and American swing from the 1920s to the 50s. 

Brussels is an increasingly important centre for art and antiques, attracting both amateurs and professionals. One of the many events anchoring its reputation is the nine-day Brussels Antiques & Fine Arts Fair (BRAFA) at Tour & Taxis beginning on Saturday. Thousands of works will be on display from 12 countries, featuring high-quality art and objects from various eras and origins. Guest of honour is Brussels opera house La Monnaie.

Outside Brussels

The biennial Festival de Liège returns with an exciting mix of international contemporary performance that interrogates current society and spotlights new and engaging culture. There are some familiar names: Ascanio Ceslestini, Falk Richter and Joël Pommerat, but also new faces from Chile, Italy, France and Ireland as well as young Belgian talents. The theme ‘Make way for madness’ promises much!