Discover Contrei Live now in the KIOSK
Intercommunal Leie valley and numerous partners are organising this summer and autumn Contrei Live, a rippling art trail on and along the water in the thirteen cities and municipalities of South-West Flanders. Leiedal and sixteen artists and designers from Belgium and abroad invite the public to explore the region, to reflect on and about water and to enter into a dialogue about its importance. Because water is increasingly becoming a precious commodity. This is also the story that the French design studio bling. is telling in the KIOSK of Designregion Kortrijk with a blue-tinted scenography. This collaboration is part of the cross-border project Design'In that focuses on design methods for public space.
With the art event Contrei Live, Leiedal wants to not only amaze, but also to connect and invite dialogue about the importance of water in the landscape and the city. Rivers, canals, brooks and canals are our lifelines. Towns and villages are rediscovering the attraction of water and giving it a fully-fledged place in their core. Water is attractive, but the system must also be more sustainable and liveable. Climate change is forcing us to take a different course in order to deal with the shortage and surplus of water in a smart way in the future, both in the city and in the open space. And smart means building buffer basins, facilitating transport over water or showing our true colours for nature and recreation. Contrei Live shows us the rapids in a region in transition.
13 municipalities, 16 artistic interventions, 3 bicycle loops
In February 2019, Leiedal sent out an open call for artists and designers suggesting a number of striking places with a clear link to water. Partly thanks to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network of which the City of Kortrijk and the region have been a part since 2017, Leiedal received no fewer than 211 entries from over 35 countries worldwide. The result is that there will be at least one work of art in each of the 13 municipalities in Leiedal's catchment area. The total of sixteen artistic interventions form an interesting mix of land art, landscape architecture, sound art and kinetic installations. The interventions have been conceived on a site-specific basis and are therefore tailor-made for the location in the landscape or the public space. In this way, they strengthen the link with the water story. Two of these interventions were realised within the Interreg project Design'In: Floating Gardens by the French landscape architect Michel Desvigne at the lowered Leieboorden in Kortrijk and Kom Er Bij by the Dutch artist Niels Albers at the Sabbe roterij in Kuurne. Contrei Live also means a lever for cycle tourism in South-West Flanders, because three cycle loops have been mapped out for a visit to the various works of art.
Scenography bling. puts water story central
The KIOSK of Designregio Kortrijk on the Graanmarkt in Kortrijk already gives passers-by a foretaste of the Contrei Live route. For this, Leiedal engaged the French design studio bling. of Anaïs Maillard and Charles Corthier within Design'In. For the KIOSK, this creative duo developed an installation consisting of white cotton cloths combined with water and blue ink. The cloths are suspended at the bottom in subtle aluminium gutters with the coloured water. In this way, the ink gradually creeps upwards and leaves its mark. In this way, it literally and figuratively makes passers-by and local residents reflect on the scarcity and preciousness of water. The layout of the KIOSK functions as a medium for reflection on the importance of water and the place of ecology in our highly urbanised living environment.
The art event Contrei Live can be visited free of charge from 9 July to 26 October 2020.
More information?
www.contreilive.be
info@contreilive.be
056 24 16 16
Follow Contrei Live via:
www.instagram.com/contreilive_kunstenparcours
www.facebook.com/contreilive
More information over Design’In via http://design-in.city/nl/design-in-town/
