Grafixx by day

I started at the expositions. The quality this year was top notch with incredible artists such as Jon Boam, Michelangelo Setola, and Riika Sormunen (pictures above). Many of their illustrations are so detailed and especially Setola has the talent to tell stories with his drawings.

At the workshop space you could get creative yourself. The antique letter presses that Kastaar brought to Grafixx immediately drew my attention. I now have a postcard that I pressed myself!

There is an ultra-cosy room for screening animation films. Some films were very beautiful, others quite odd. The perfect spot to rest a bit, preferably while eating a slice of delicious cake.

The entertainment on the ground floor consisted of

1. delicious cake and pie,
2. the Face-o-maat, in which an artist is hidden who draws a portrait of the person sitting in front of the machine,
3. sketch battles between several artists who are or have been featured at Grafixx,
4. lectures.

On Sunday I went back for my portrait and to hear Judith Vanistendael talk about her upcoming book.

And finally, there is the zine fest in the basement. I have to warn you: it’s warm and damp in there, but I discovered a wide range of artists from all over the world plus the zines are reasonably prices at around €10.

Maybe you can find a nice Christmas present here for your arty friends next year?

Grafixx by night time

By day Grafixx is frivolous and fun, by night the monsters come out… That might be an overstatement, but the atmosphere certainly is a lot darker. In the evening the exhibitions and zine fest were behind closed doors. Instead I found out what happens when visual art melts together with music.

I went to see the collaboration of headliners Mauro Pawlowski and Gerda Dendooven. Gerda digitally vandalised her drawings by sketching over them and this way creating a stream of images. In the meanwhile, Mauro played his soundtrack that could be described as a horrifying, psychedelic sampling of 50 years of film history.

The show was estranging and beautiful – and had just the right length since ‘it did not become a parody of itself’ to quote my friend. It definitely is too arty for most people, but it is a one-of-a-kind experience for everyone who does enjoy an artistic experiment now and then.

Finally, there is a party afterwards that is included in the ticket so you never leave unsatisfied because in Antwerp we always know how to have fun!