Curators Virginie Platteau and Jelle Dierickx are shaping the thematic year for Mechelen in 2021-22: Blazing Silence. It will examine various facets of silence in a social context. Activities include a day of silence (31/10/21), a five-day festival (Zindering (Blaze), 9-13/12/21), a symposium on silence and health (18-20/2/22), the installation Sjel in the nature reserves around Mechelen (spring ’22) and a special event on film and silence (March ’22). Here silence is more than the absence of sound. It is silence that can be heard, felt and experienced. Silence that brings clarity in difficult times. It has been a deliberate choice not to overload the programme of this thematic year.A few moments in the year were chosen, with a preference for gentle transformation over bombastic shows. Focal points are established to make silence and encounter possible. One of the aims is to create and examine an alternative tempo in public space and a city made to fit people.
Blazing Silence is an initiative by Mechelen Feest.
All info at: mechelen.be/zinderende-stilte