Brussels Zinneke Parade wins culture prize

The Zinneke Parade in Brussels has won this year’s Flemish Culture Prize for amateur arts. The jury particularly praised the event’s multidisciplinary nature.

The biennial Zinneke first took place in 2000, and this month hosts its ninth edition. The parade through the streets of Brussels is made up of “Zinnodes” – colourful animated groups from various neighbourhoods, associations, schools, youth groups and music and dance organisations. Each year has a theme: this year’s is fragility. Last year (pictured), the theme was temptation.

The name Zinneke comes from 19th-century Brussels dialect for a stray dog, and now is used affectionatley for anyone living in Brussels. The original derivation dates back to the 16th century, and then referred to an arm of the river Zenne.

“The culture prize comes as a complete surprise, just as we’re entering the home straight of our ninth edition,” said parade director Myriam Stoffen. “For us, the prize is for the many hundreds of partners, artists and participants who give heart and soul for a culture of co-operation.”

The prize consists of a cash award of €10,000 and a bronze sculpture by Philip Aguirre y Otegui. “Unlike anything else, the Zinneke Parade succeeds time after time in bringing hundreds of people together,” culture minister Sven Gatz said. “And, regardless of their differences, with tons of imagination they make art together, in solidarity and creativity.”

Photo: Tyrychtrova/Zinneke Parade