Are you ready for a surprising and exciting arts festival? From the 16th until the 31st of October, Mestizo Arts Festival will set foot on Antwerp ground again. This colourful festival features a new wave of artists with their own view on cities of the future. I certainly look forward to this festival because I love the diversity in its program. They mix theatre, music, dance, expositions and parties all together. Sounds like a perfect combination to me! The festival invited artists from Belgium, but also from Argentina and Mexico. This year they chose ‘The Wall’ as theme of the festival. A wall can be an obstacle but it can also influence the role of art within a society. I took a closer look at the festival program and picked three favourites that I really look forward to. I made a selection out of the events that don’t require any knowledge of Dutch. For all my Dutch speaking homies out there: there’s a lot more goodies so make sure to check out their website!
The festival kicks off with the opening of MURAL. #MAF invited one of the best international street artist of the moment: JAZ (AR) to work his magic in Arenberg Theatre.
After the opening ceremony they will screen the avant-première of DE FIGURANT, a movie starring Antwerp and the story of a drug dealer with great ambitions to become an actor. I think it’s always cool to see the city of Antwerp on the big screen. The movie will be subtitled in English.
No opening without a good party right? As soon as the movie is over #MAF throws an afterparty at Arenberg Theatre. Legendary night in the making if you ask me.
16/10/2015
MURAL: free entrance
DE FIGURANT: €7 ATD
Opening party: free entrance
Starts at 7pm
Arenberg Schouwburg :: Arenbergstraat 28 :: 2000 Antwerp
The second event is marked in big fat letters on my calendar. The spoken word performance of the three power ladies Aja Monet (US), Grada Kilomba (PT) and Rafeef Ziadah (Palestina & UK) (well known for her poems “Shades of Anger” and “We teach life, sir”. Check her on ! She’s off the hook!!) These three powerful women will break down the political wall for sure. Nothing more powerful than words right?
22/10/2015
The Political Wall
€7 ATD
Starts at 8:30pm
Arenberg Schouwburg :: Arenbergstraat 28 :: 2000 Antwerp
With not being the best dancer on the dance floor myself, I always enjoy and admire people who can actually bust a move. On Sunday the 25th you will have the unique opportunity to get in touch with todays’ dance scene covering a wide range from hiphop to contemporary dance. To top it off #MAF treats every visitor with a coffee and cake. Not bad for a Sunday I’d say.
25/10/2015
SUNdance
€10 ATD
Starts at 2pm, ends at 5pm.
Arenberg schouwburg :: Arenbergstraat 28 :: 2000 Antwerp
What’s better than a night out at an awesome event? A night out with at an awesome event with great food! Most of the time you can have a budget friendly dinner before attending the event! Don’t forget to make reservations though (3 days up front).
There’s so much more stuff going on. Check their website for the full program!
Text by Maaike van Milt
Pics by MAF