GovernmentsannouncedAgreements have been reached inthe formation of both the Flandersand Brussels governments

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Tired of hearing about the history of magic in othercountries, Kobe Van Herwegen decided to look closer tohome and found a long and rich local tradition, which hedocuments in a new book and exhibition in Ghent.

There’ssomethingslightlyold-fashionedandrun-downabout the image of magicians these days; somethingredolent of heavily repaired costumes, cheap seaside

lodgings, the smell of cigarettes and old greasepaint.Performers like David Copperfield tried to raise the imagefor a time, but he was fighting a losing battle.Magic started in the fairgrounds, according to a newbook by father and son Christ and Kobe Van Herwegen,which covers the surprisingly rich history of magic inBelgium, all the way up to the 18th century, althoughas a painting attributed to Hieronymus Bosch shows, ithad been around long before then.Chapeau, de geheimegoochelgeschiedenis van België (Chapeau, the SecretHistory of Belgian Magic) is accompanied by an exhi-bition of the same name in Ghent’s offbeat Huis VanAlijn museum, which contributed many of the pieceson show.Kobe Van Herwegen(pictured) was bitten by the magic bugat the age of six, when he found an old magic book in theattic. From a boyhood dream to become a magician, hebuilt a career, becoming the house magician for the Flem-ish children’s TV channel Ketnet, performing live on stageand acting as a magic consultant for other performers.“I’ve always been interested in the history of magic, but Iwas fed up reading books about the history ofmagic in Brit-ain and France,” he tells me as we go round the exhibition.“We didn’t even know when we started, my father and me,that we have our own history, and a very rich one. In ourarchives, we nowhavemore than 1,500magicians recorded.And also, nobody else was looking at this rich history.”SuzyWandas is one of the biggest stars of Belgianmagic, allthe more so by virtue of being a woman. As a child, she sawthe great Talma, a Britishmagician, performand she herselfplayed in her parents’ theatre, where she took lessons fromPhilippe De Bisschop.“It’s unusual for a woman to be prominent in magic,” says

continued on page 5

made to measureFlemish designer offers

bespoke trousers atmore democratic

prices

Beside the seasideTheater Aan Zee kicks off, curatedby Ghent theatrecollectiveOntroerendGoed

Sleight ofhandghent exhibition sheds lighton rich but forgotten historyof local magicians

alan HopeFollow Alan on Twitter @AlanHopeFT

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\ CuRRenT AFFAIRs

Aplan to grow poppies all overFlanders to mark the centenary ofthe First World War has failed, after

the flowers, made famous by the 1915 poem“In Flanders Fields” by Canadian doctorLieutenant Colonel John McCrae, failed tobloom.The plan of the Agency for Nature andWoodland (ANB) was to plant 48 hectaresof poppies at various spots across theregion. Poppy fields have had some successin Deinze, East Flanders; Hoogstraten andWuustwezel in Antwerp province; Achel in

Limburg province; and in Vilvoorde. But inmany of the locations, the flowers just aren’tgrowing.“Weather conditions in the spring were notideal because it was so very dry for severalweeks shortly after we sowed,” an ANBspokesperson said. “Several laboratories arenow looking into the matter, and the resultswill help us ensure next year’s project cansucceed in all its glory.”Meanwhile, 22,000 pigeons were releasedin Ypres last week, heading home to GreatBritain in a symbolic act of remembrance.

The pigeons had been brought to Ypres by anumber of pigeon fancier groups in the UK.“The pigeon was very important for commu-nications during the First World War,”explained Stefaan Van Moerkerke, who wasbehind the project. “I also wanted to drawattention to the dove as a symbol of peace.That’s what’s behind my invitation to theEnglish and the Scots to come to Ypres withdoves instead of weapons, as they did 100years ago.” Van Moerkerke wants the eventto become an annual tradition.

Warmemorial poppy crop failsdry spring thwarts plan to grow 48 hectares of poppies across flanders

Thefederalforeignaffairsministryhasrespondedto criticisms from the brother of one of thesix Belgian victims of the MH17 air disaster. Aministry spokesperson said it had done every-thing in its power to keep relatives informed,even during the long weekend of National Day.“We had to keep on calling the crisis centreevery day, even every hour, and we kept gettingthe same reply: We’ll be in touch, we’ll be intouch, and then nothing,” said Pierre Chardome,brother of hotel manager Benoit Chardome, 51,whodied in the 17 July crash. “On topof the grief,that adds something terrible.”“We were in contact all weekend with the fami-lies concerned,” spokesperson Hendrik Van deVelde toldVRT. “It is true thatwewere often ableto give very little information, but that is not ourfault.” The situation on the ground, in an area

of eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-Russianrebels, remains confused almost twoweeks afterthe Malaysia Airlines plane was brought downby a surface-to-air missile.“I understand the reaction of many familymembers,” said departing foreign ministerDidier Reynders. “But we tried with the policeand our crisis centre to stay in contact with thefamilies. But people have to remember, it’s a very

dangerous region there in eastern Ukraine, andit’s almost impossible for us to do anything.”Last Monday evening, scouts in Antwerp held awake (pictured) for Chardome, who had beeninvolved with the scouting movement for manyyearsbefore emigratingfirst toNewZealandandthen to Bali. He recently returned to Antwerp tomarryhisMalaysianboyfriend,whowas in Swit-zerland when Chardomewas called back to Baliby his employer.The flight recorders of MH17 will be carriedfrom the Ukrainian capital Kiev to London bya Belgian military Embraer aircraft, part of thepool of planes of the European Air TransportCommand.The black boxes will be examined atRAF Farnborough by the Air Accidents Investi-gation Branch of the Department for Transport.\ AH

The Brussels prosecutor is carryingout an investigation into an inci-dent in the Brussels district of Vorstin which a man is alleged to havethrown his four-year-old son froman 11th-floor apartment on Miner-valaan, before jumping to his owndeath. According to investigators,Patrick VanBilloen, 32, wasmentallydisturbed and feared for the possibleloss of custody of his son, Luca.Police were called when Van Billoenlocked himself in his apartmentwith the child, refusing to turn himover to his mother. Police first triedto force the door of the apartment,then decided to make an approachby passing from a neighbour’sbalcony. By the time they were ableto enter, however, the apartmentwas empty.According to a preliminary evalua-tion of the evidence, it appears thefather first pushed his son out of awindow, then followed himself. Bothwere killed instantly on impact.The child’s mother was at the scenewhen the incident occurred, thoughwas outside the apartment door atthe time and saw nothing. Accord-ing to acquaintances, Van Billoenhad spent two months in a clinic tobe treated for alcoholism and hadrecently self-harmed. \ AH

Brussels fathercommitsmurder-suicide

500kg

tonnes of peas blocked trafficin Tongeren when a tractor andtrailer shed its load. The tractorlanded on its roof and had to berighted while the peas were loadedinto a container

of dead fish removed from thewater at the Koning Boudewijnpark in Brussels by environmen-tal agency Leefmilieu Brussel. Thefish died due to high temperatures,which reduced the volumeofwaterand the available oxygen

peoplewatchedthemilitaryparadeon National Day last Monday onCanvas, the public broadcasterVRT said – 46.5% of the viewingaudience

people attended the Peer BluesFestival, celebrating its30theditionthis year. Last year’s number wasabout 5,000 fewer, though the festi-val was a day shorter

of marijuana found in a rucksackhanded in as lost property to policeat the Gentse Feesten. The bagalso contained 44g of hashish and€1,460 in cash

MH17 family unhappy at government communications

alan HopeFollow Alan on Twitter \ @AlanHopeFT

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365g

25,000

© Palmiped/wikimedia

While this year’s Tour de France honoured thefallen in Flanders Fields for the First WorldWar centennial, the riders from the neigh-bourhood failed to rise to the occasion withmemorable performances.The 2014 course traced battlefield sites fromYpres to the Swiss border, including theMeninGate, but the rain-lashed, wind-swept Flemishleg will be most remembered for the fall in themud that ended the hopes of defending cham-pion Chris Froome.As for the Flemish riders, Jurgen Van denBroeck will once again be looking back withregret at his missed chances, after finish-ing 13th in the general classification, 34’01”behind winner Vincenzo Nibali. The Heren-tals rider, who came fourth in 2010 and 2012,

crashed out last year and in 2011, so he will atleast be relieved that he finished the Tour.Therewas onlymeagre consolation fromotherFlemish riders. Jan Bakelants finished 24thoverall (down from 18th last year) and was

the top Flemish climber, finishing 25th in thepolka dot jersey classification.Greg Van Avermaet, the runner-up in thisyear’s Tour of Flanders, ended 38th. Van Aver-maet also came in ninth in the green jerseysprint rankings, up from 13th last year. Thefourth and fifth Flemings were, respectively,JensKeukeleire in 67th and JohanVanSumme-ren at 74th. Jurgen Roelandts came in at 111,while Maarten Wynants was at 117.Teamwise, it was not much better. OmegaPharma-Quick Step trailed in 14th (down fromeighth last year); and Lotto Belisol was rightbehind at 15th (up from 20th in 2013).So a celebration in Flanders, but not for theFlemish, who put on their poorest perfor-mance in over a decade. \ Leo Cendrowicz

Flanders riders fail to match Tour de France’s symbolism

© Belga

july 30, 2014

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face of flanders

The creation of a new govern-ment is often the chance forpromotion of a rising politicalstar, as it was in 2009 for JokeSchauvliege,; or for the arrivalfrom outside politics of whatthe Flemish call a “white rabbit”such as former De Lijn bossIngrid Lieten.The new government of Flan-ders headed by Geert Bourgeoishas a newminister who’s a bit ofboth: Sven Gatz, appointed asminister of culture, youth andBrussels last week, was one ofthe most promising politiciansof his generation before he leftpolitics in 2011.Gatz was born in 1967 in Sint-Agatha-Berchem in the westof Brussels. He was originally amember of the Volksunie party,which also produced Flemishpolitical eminences like BertAnciaux and the new minister-president, Bourgeois. Volksu-nie split in 2001, and Gatz joinedOpen VLD.Despite joining the mosteconomically liberal of theparties, Gatz was seen as beingon the left of his conserva-tive colleagues, his attentionconcentrated on issues likeurban development, migrationand citizenship, particularly inBrussels. In 2007, when PatriciaCeysens became a minister inthe Flemish government, Gatz

was elected leader of his frac-tion in the Flemish Parliament.In 2011, however, he unexpect-edly announced he was leavingpolitics and became director ofthe Belgian Brewers federation,headquartered on the GroteMarkt in Brussels. Gatz himselfis not a brewer, though he haswritten about beer and barsfairly extensively.Gatz’s departure from parlia-ment, though, led to contro-versy.Allmembersof parliamentare entitled to a severance fee onleaving the institution; in Gatz’scase, that amounted to about€300,000. Critics leapt forwardto point out that the sever-ance payments are intended tocompensate those who fail to beelected, not those who give upthe job voluntarily.Gatz eventually decided toforgo the payment, but the issuewould not go away: The parlia-ment in the end decided to scrapseverance pay for members whodepart voluntarily.The 47-year-old seemed assurprised as anyone when hewas asked to take on a ministe-rial position in the new govern-ment of Flanders. His responsewas to tweet his favourite quotefrom the Godfather series. “Justwhen I thought I was out … theypull me back in.”\ Alan Hope

sven gatz

The 10th anniversary edition ofthe Tomorrowland dance festi-val, about which much too muchhas been spoken, is all over, andeveryone counts it a great success.Including the sisters of the PoorClares convent in Boom.On 20 July, the last day of the firstweekend of this year’s festival,sister Benedicte wrote the follow-ing letter to the organisers:

Dear friends,“As Poor Clare nuns we are notcompletely shut off fromtheworld,and from number 4 Gasstraat weare sympathisers of Tomorrow-land. We think it’s a fantastic festi-val and we look out for it everyyear. “Since we found out that youare printing flags for the 10th anni-versary of this world festival, wedecided we’d also like to have one.

We are taking the liberty of askingif you can arrange that, for whichmuch thanks.“In closing, may we wish you everysuccess with your enterprise. Wewill be praying for the safety of all,good weather and a good end toproceedings. We send you all ourlove and hope you are able to fulfilour wish. You will find us alwayshome. A meeting at the front doorwould give us great pleasure.“Signed,

“Sister Benedicte and her fellowsisters”

As youmay have guessed, the nunsgot their wish. They also receivedan invitation to take part in thestreet party thrown by the organ-isers of the festival as a way ofsaying thank you to local resi-dents for putting up with the noiseand nuisance of this year’s doubleedition.The sisters (pictured) and about4,000 other people showed up, andall were given a tour of the festi-val grounds and across the newbridge designed by Flemish artistArne Quinze. “Too bad there areno young people around now,” saidSister Benedicte.“If I was younger I’d take part too,”commented Sister Jos. “Why Not?”\ Alan Hope

soul of the partyoffside

WeeK in BriefMehdi Nemmouche, the French-man accused of the shootingdeath of four people at theJewish Museum in Brusselsin May, had been living since atleast March in a flat in the Brus-sels district of Molenbeek, accord-ing to De Standaard. Nemmoucherented the single-room flat forApril and May, but disappearedshortly before the attack.The land-lord recognised him from photo-graphs released after the shoot-ings. An application to extraditeNemmouche to Belgium to facemurder and terrorism charges waslast week approved by the FrenchCassation Court. He is expected tobe transferred to Brussels within10 days.

King Filip joined Belgian citizenson 21 July to celebrate his firstNational Day as king. The daybegan as always with a Te Deum inthe cathedral in Brussels. The FirstWorld War was the theme of thetraditional military parade thatpasses by the front of the royalpalace, which the king and queenwatched from a dais on Paleizen-plein with their four children.After the parade, the pair walkedamong the public gathered inWarande Park.The festivities cameto an end with a fireworks displayby Van Cleemput of Brussels, set tothe music of the opera De stommevan Portici. Filip’s parents, KingAlbert and queen Paola, report-edly chose not to return from holi-day in the south of France for thecelebrations.

The Kalkense Meersen naturereserve in East Flanders hasreceived a rare visitor: a short-toed snake eagle, which isnormally only found around theMediterranean Sea. Circaetus gall-icus has a wing-span of 1m80 andsurvives on mice and frogs as wellas snakes. It appears to be lost,according to nature conservancy

organisation Natuurpunt.

The Atomium in Brussels willbe the scene in August of somespectacular wire-walking,as a group of Belgian and Frenchwire-walkers intend to span a cordbetween two of the balls, 70mlong and 70m high, from 11 to 17August. Members of the publicwill also be able to try their skill atwire-walking, though much closerto the ground.

A 13-year-old girl was killed by atrain near Groenendaal station inFlemish Brabant after she triedto cross the tracks. Anothergirl was unhurt but was hospi-talised with shock. Train serviceswere disrupted for more than fourhours, and 200 passengers on thetrain concerned were evacuated.

Matthias Schoenaerts will notafter all be appearing in thenew film Belgica by Felix VanGroeningen, producers haveannounced. The Rundskop actorhad been named to star next toStef Aerts (Adem) as two brotherswho run a cafe in VanGroeningen’snext project after the Oscar-nomi-nated The Broken Circle Break-down. “Matthias Schoenaerts hasgiven preference to a new Amer-ican project,” Belgica producerssaid. “More information about thecast of Belgica will follow shortly.”Filming is due to begin in Ghent inDecember.

Sint-Katelijne-Waver in Antwerpprovince has become the firstmunicipality in the country tooffer free internet access, withhotspots in four locations. Theantennae are installed at highpoints within the municipal-ity. “People who want to make aconnection need to be within 200to 300 metres with a laptop or

smartphone,” said Bart Van derAerschot of Wireless België. Resi-dents can also connect using anexternal antenna on their homes.

Most dinosaurs were probablyequipped with feathers thatallowed some of them to glide oreven fly, according to a new theorypublished in the journal Scienceby palaeontologist Pascal Gode-froit of the Royal Belgian Insti-tute of Natural Sciences in Brus-sels. Godefroit took part in ajoint Belgian-Russian expeditionin eastern Siberia, which discov-ered a new feathered dinosaurspecies, Kulindadromeus zabaika-licus. This led them to concludethan more dinosaurs than previ-ously thought, and possibly mostof them, had feathers, and manymay also have had wings.

\ www.sciencemag.org

Brussels Airlines last weekcancelled a number of flightsfrom Brussels to Tel Aviv, inresponse to the security situa-tion there. Tuesday’s flight wascancelled at short notice afterthe US aviation authority FAAreported a rocket had landedonly 1.6 kilometres from Tel Avivairport. The foreign ministry hasadvised anyone planning to travelto an area 40 kilometres fromGazato make other plans.

The Genk fire brigade has receivedup to 30 calls a day to deal withwasp nests, and other brigadescan expect up to twice as many asusual because of the mild winter,which led to queen wasps awak-ening from hibernation earlier.Members of the public whodiscover a wasp nest are advisednot to try to deal with it them-selves.

flanders today, a weekly English-language newspaper, is an initiative of the flemishregion and is financially supported by the flemish authorities.

The logo and the name Flanders Today belong to the Flemish Region (Benelux Beeldmerk nr815.088). The editorial team of Flanders Today has full editorial autonomy regarding the contentof the newspaper and is responsible for all content, as stipulated in the agreement betweenCorelio Publishing and the Flemish authorities.

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\ 4

Geert Bourgeois of the Flemish nationalistsN-VA, Kris Peeters of the Christian-demo-crats CD&V and Gwendolyn Rutten of liber-als Open VLD presented a 198-page documentsetting out the aims of the new government ofFlanders at a news conference in the Flemishparliament last week.Minister-president Bourgeois said the govern-ment planned to achieve a balanced budgetby 2015 without any increase in taxes. “Thiswill require an effort from everybody,” he said.“We’re doing this in order to be able to makeinvestments.” The government plans to makesavings of about €1.4 billion over the comingtwo years.The plan includes measures to decrease roaddeaths in Flanders and to improve publictransport infrastructure. However, bus andtram ticket prices are likely to rise. “Passengers

will have to pay a larger share of the costs ofthe Flemish transport company De Lijn,” Bour-geois said.The controversial Oosterweel Link in Antwerpwill still go ahead, and a working party willbe set up to consider a proposal to put the

Antwerp ring road in a tunnel.The document also contains a proposal thatwill have a profound impact on the interna-tional community in Flanders. “The govern-ment will take steps at the EU level to allowthe introduction of a compulsory integrationcourse for all EU citizens who want to settle inFlanders,” it states. “One of the big challengesis integration,” Bourgeois explained. “We wantan inclusive society.”At present, the integration course is onlycompulsory for non-EU citizens, who arerequired to attend a set number of lessonsexplaining social norms in Flanders and offer-ing practical information. The governmentnow wants to introduce a compulsory Dutchlanguage test at the end of the course and torequire all foreigners to pass it. \ DB

New Flemish government sets out five-year plan

\ POLITICs

every party’s a winnerSo it was all a smoke screen:those rumours about N-VA’sintransigence and formerminister-president KrisPeeters’ thwarted ambitions.Nothing is as it seems, asnew minister-president GeertBourgeois said twoweeks ago.True enough, behind closeddoors, a new government ofFlanders was being formed,with a surprising coalitionof N-VA, CD&V … and OpenVLD.The breakthrough occurredwhen Christian-democratsCD&V let go of its veto thatbarred the liberals OpenVLD from entering govern-ment. CD&V had feared beingoutweighed by a partner-ship between the econom-ically liberal parties N-VA,OpenVLD and, on the French-speaking side, MR.It changed its mind after itwas promised a few crucialdepartments, it had securedthe function of primeministerfor Kris Peeters, and it realisedthat the so-called Swedishcoalition (N-VA, CD&V, OpenVLD and MR) was really theonly workable option left for afederal government.The new government of Flan-ders, promises somethingfor each of its coalition part-ners. N-VA, the winner at theballot box, is the leading party,with four ministers, includingthe minister-president, andseveral federal representa-tives. They can no longer beaccused of “not taking uptheir responsibility”.Moreover, in both the Flemishand federal governments, thenationalists have rid them-selves of the socialists, whowere standing in the way ofthe “change” they want. Alsoon the plus side, the newprime minister does not haveto come from N-VA. Thatwould hardly be credible fora party that wants to make anend of Belgium.CD&V, too, is a winner. Educa-tion and welfare, two impor-tant Flemishdepartments, arenow safely in the hands of theChristian-democrats. Peeterscan look forward to movingintoWetstraat 16, even thoughhis party holds only 18 seats inthe federal parliament (withN-VA 33 and MR 20). Also, ithas avoided the situation itdreaded: N-VA’s absence fromthe federal coalition and apermanent conflict betweenthe two governments.Finally, Open VLD made alast-minute surprise entryinto the government. Presi-dent Gwendolyn Rutten haddemanded that her party bepart of “either both govern-ments or none”, and the tacticworked.

5th column Agreement reached for newgovernment of Flandersa three-party coalition will govern flanders for the next five years

Talks to form a Flemishgovernment endedsuccessfully last week with

an agreement struck betweenthe Flemish nationalists N-VA,Christian-democrats CD&V andliberals Open VLD. The agreementcaughtanalystsby surprise, as talksuntil then had involved only theN-VA and CD&V. “This is a suddenand dramatic turn of events,” saidpolitical correspondent Marc Vande Looverbosch of VRT news.The deal means the Flemishgovernment will be composed ofthree centre-right parties, whichtogether will hold a total of 89 ofthe 124 seats in the Flemish Parlia-ment. Wouter Beke, president ofCD&V, said that the new govern-ment would act in the interests ofhouseholds and businesses. “Wewill invest in welfare provisions,education and economic infra-structure.”The deal has also paved the way foran agreement at the federal level.The three Flemish parties have saidthey are ready to enter into nego-tiations on forming a centre-rightfederal government composed ofthe three Flemish parties alongwith the French-speaking liberalsMR.

new ministerssworn inFlanders’ new ministers, mean-while, were sworn in on Friday. Ledby minister-president Geert Bour-geois, the new cabinet compriseseight ministers, including fourpoliticians who have not servedbefore in the Flemish government.Minister-president, foreignpolicy, tourism: Geert BourgeoisFlanders’ new minister-president

(replacing Kris Peeters) is a lead-ing figure in the Flemish nation-alist party N-VA. An experiencedpolitician, he served in the previ-ous administration as ministerfor administrative affairs, homeaffairs, citizenship, tourism andtheVlaamse rand. Aswell asminis-ter-president, he is responsible inthe new administration for foreignpolicy and tourism.Education: Hilde Crevits Oneof three vice-minister-presidentsin the new cabinet, Crevits, 46, ofthe Christian Democrats CD&V,is Flanders’ new education minis-ter. She began her career in WestFlanders, working for the mayorof Bruges. She was appointed tothe Flemish government in 2007in charge of work, energy and theenvironment. In the next adminis-tration, her responsibility shiftedto mobility, overseeing a series ofmajor infrastructure projects.Housing, poverty, home affairs,citizenship, equal opportuni-ties: Liesbeth Homans Another

vice-minister-president, Homans,41, of N-VA takes over much of theresponsibilities previously held byFreya Van den Bossche. She previ-ously worked in various capac-ities for close friend and partyleader Bart De Wever. Her mostrecent position was chair of socialservices in Antwerp city council.Finance, budget, energy: Anne-mie Turtelboom The third vice-minister-president, Turtelboomwill take on a demanding portfo-lio comprising finance, the budgetand energy. An experienced poli-tician, Turtelboom, 46, has heldpowerful federal positions inmigration, home affairs and, mostrecently, justice. She is seen as atough negotiator – Turbo Turtel-boom is her nickname – able topush through unpopular measuressuch as recent justice reforms.Mobility, public works, Vlaamserand, animal welfare: Ben WeytsAnother new minister in the Bour-geois cabinet Weyts, 43, comesfrom the ring of Flemish munic-

ipalities around Brussels knownas the Vlaamse rand. He is seenas a hardliner in national politics,earning himself the nickname “BenLaden” by French-speaking oppo-nents. One of his responsibilities isanimal welfare, a new ministerialarea created in this government.Employment, economy, science& innovation, sports: PhilippeMuyters The third minister torepresent the N-VA, Muyters, 52,joined the government of Flan-ders in 2009 asminister for budget,employment, planning and sport.He is back again in cabinet with amodified portfolio.Health & welfare: Jo VandeurzenJo Vandeurzen, 56, served brieflyin the federal government in 2007,then took up a seat in the Flem-ish government as minister forwelfare. He is widely respected forhis approach to welfare issues, soit’s no surprise he’s returning to thepost.Environment, planning, agricul-ture: JokeSchauvliege Aseasonedpolitician with CD&V, Schauvliege,44, was Flemish minister for theenvironment, nature and culturefrom 2009. She was criticised bythe arts sector for her handling ofcultural policy, but environmental-ists praised her strong leadershipon carbon emissions.Culture, media, youth, Brus-sels: Sven Gatz Sven Gatz was asurprise appointment as Flem-ish minister for Brussels. After apolitical career lasting more than20 years, Gatz stepped down in2011 to take over as director ofthe Belgian Brewers federation. Aswells as Brussels, he has responsi-bility for culture, media and youth.“I couldn’t have hoped for a betterportfolio,” he said.

anja otteMore articles by Anja \flanderstoday.eu

derek BlythMore articles by Derek \ flanderstoday.eu

The 2014-2019 Flemish government ministers, from left: Joke schauvliege, Liesbeth Homans, JoVandeurzen, Geert Bourgeois, Ben weyts, Hilde Crevits, Philippe Muyters, Annemie Turtelboom,sven Gatz

© Jonas Roosens / BeLGA

From left: kris Peeters, Geert Bourgeois and Gwendolyn Rutten

© Belga

july 30, 2014

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Sleight of handHuis van alijn puts spotlight on magic as an art form

continued from page 1

Van Herwegen. “What’s interest-ing is that there are a few impor-tant women in magic history, butall of those women have someconnection with Belgium. They’reeither Flemish, they were bornin Belgium, or they were bornelsewhere but their parents areBelgian. It’s a strange coincidence.”The Wandas began as a family act,slightly above the rather loucheworld of the fairground.The familyhad their own theatre.“The act was the father’s and whenhe died the work was too hard forthe mother and children alone, sothey took a different act into thetheatres,” Van Herwegen explains.“Then the First World War brokeout, and the son had to go to thefront. When he came back, hecouldn’t do it anymore, so motherand daughter carried on togetherunder the nameTheWandas.”In the end, though, Suzy Wandaswas too good.Themother stopped,while Suzy went on to becomefamous in Europe. Then, one dayat a world fair in Brussels, she metan American, Dr Zina Bennett,and she returned with him to hiscountry. But before doing so, sheperformed here in Belgium onelast time, her last appearancebefore going to live in America.“When she was 90, she was givenan award by America’s biggestmagic circle, sort of the lifetimeachievement Oscar for magicians,”Van Herwegen explains.One of the most striking otherlocal figures is Servais Le Roy, whoworkedwithTalma, and theirmostfamous trick – it seems hackneyedto us now – was what is known asAshra levitation. “Talma was lyingon a table with a cloth over herand she levitated into the air. LeRoy took the cloth away and shehad vanished. People still do thattrick today.”Josmah, realname Jan Jozef Smans,also started out as a boy and spentthe First World War doing tricksfor his brothers in arms in camps,barracks and field hospitals wherehe worked as a cook. He workedas a conjurer at fairgrounds, fairsand small halls before reinvent-ing himself as a fakir, but also asa crusader of sorts against theunscrupulous.When all is said and done, magicis a business of deception, butthere is good deception and bad.Nowadays, performers like Penn &Teller, DerrenBrownand theFlem-ishmind-reader Gili go out of theirway to uncover the secrets behindtheir tricks. Audiences pay to seea show knowing it’s not magic buttrickery, and everyone is happywith that sort of deception.The trickery is of a different orderwhen it comes to spiritualists,those people who claim to be abletocontact thedead.Then, theaudi-ence’s scepticism seems to desert

them. At every event, at least oneperson in the room is absolutelycertain it’s all fake, and that’s thespiritualist, some of whom makea lot of money from this sort ofdeception.

“And those spiritualists wereand still are exploiting vulnera-ble people for money, using trick-ery, and that’s a lot more difficultto defend than playing tricks onwilling spectators in the name ofentertainment,” says Van Herwe-gen.“People like Josmah were againstthat sort of exploitation, in thesame way Canadian magicianJames Randi still is today,” heexplains. “DerrenBrown is anotherexample. He provides entertain-ment, and I saw him live and itwas fantastic, but he’s also makingit clear that what you see is notreal, and his tricks are no differentfrom the tricks used by those whopretend it is real.”The exhibition contains a largenumber of magicians’ props,many of which haven’t changedone bit since the turn of the 20thcentury. Stage magicians arenot much different today than

Klingsor orMeester Brando, twoother important Flemish magi-cians, were back then, thoughBrando could still smoke onstage. With the exception of thecrazy escapology of Joe Alcatraz,the tricks are exactly what youmight see on Britain’s Got Talent.It’s as if time has stood still.

Van Herwegen says you can some-times see new things at a competi-tion, but that that doesn’t happenvery often. “There is a limited

number of tricks, but an unlim-ited number of ways of putting itacross,” he says. “We don’t inventnew tricks, we reinvent old ones.What makes a good magician wina first prize is presentation.”He sees similaritieswith howcoverbands work. “All cover bands playthe same songs, but the way theydo it is endlessly different. Makingmagic is like making music. Inmusic you only have 12 notes,but you can put them in a differ-ent order, at a different tempo andyou have another song. There area lot of different sequences youcan combine and use, and it’s thatcombination that makes a song ora trick unique.”Does nothing surprise Van Herwe-gen anymore? “I don’t think I’vebeen surprised very often sinceI was 16. And if that happens, Idon’t want to know the secret. Ilove the idea of being fooled again,and I miss that childlike sense ofwonder. The great thing aboutmagic is that you can make adultschildren again by just showing asimple trick.”Chapeau, the book, is basedon information gathered fromhundreds of sources, old magi-cians and their families, thecollections of working magi-cians and enthusiasts up anddown the country. When theexhibition opened on 13 June,Van Herwegen and the otherorganisers invited 250 magi-cians who had helped out insome way or another to attendthe opening. The guests wereall surprised by the amount ofmaterial in the exhibition.“Everyone knew his own littlebit, but nobody had ever seen itall together before. Everyone leftthat evening happy, feeling a littlebit more proud of their art,” VanHerwegen explains. “Maybe it wasthe first time some of them hadseen magic as an art, and not as acheap form of entertainment.”That is why the overriding objec-tive for the accompanying book isto bring back all those lost namesand forgotten careers on thebiggest stages. “We wanted to givethem eternal life in book form. Wealso decided to write for a broaderpublic,” Van Herwegen says. “Wecould have made a very technicalbookwith a lot of dates andnames,but we wanted to let the publicknow that magic is more than justdoing a trick, it’s also an art.”

Chapeau, de geheime goochelge-schiedenis van België is publishedby Manteau in Dutch

\ COVeR sTORY

Huis van AlijnKraainlei 65, Ghentuntil 16 november

It was maybethe first timesome of themsaw magicas an art

kobe (left) and Christ Van Herwegen cover the history of Belgian magic up to the 18th century in their book

www.Huisvanalijn.BE

\ 6

Farmers are putting investment plans on the back burner despite areported increase in economic confidence, according to a survey by thebank Crelan.In Flanders, the difficulties of the pig sector and the horticultural industry– two sectors almost wholly in Flemish hands – mean the increased levelof confidence for the future is much smaller – up two points in Flanderscompared to seven inWallonia – and investment plans are on the decline.While 55% of Flemish farmers are happy with last year’s results, animprovement of eight percentage points on the 2013 figure, the generalviewof investment is one of caution. Only 19% said they had plans to investin the business this year, with 27% considering investments within two tofive years. The two figures have never been so low, Crelan said.“Some businesses are reaching their own growth limit,” said Stef Mertensof Crelan, a bank specialised in the farming industry, which used to beknown as Landbouwkrediet. Part of the problem is the shortage of avail-able land in the densely populated region of Flanders. “Not all businessescan look forward to endless growth.”\ AH

Farmers putting investmenton hold, says Crelan

\ BusIness

electricity RweThe Dutch power genera-tor, the parent companyof Essent.be, is to apply tohave its gas-fired generatingstation in Maasbracht in theNetherlands connected to theBelgian network. The federalgovernment recently issueda call for bids for the provi-sion of the country’s strate-gic reserve of electrical poweramounting to 800 megawattsa year for three years.

entertainmentkinepolis

The cinema chain hasacquired the cinemas ofthe Dutch Wolff group for areported €16.8 million, givingit entry to the Dutch marketfor the first time. The nineWolff complexes last yearattracted 1.6 million visi-tors and made a profit of €2.1million. Two new complexesin Dordrecht and Utrecht arealso planned.

Insurance AXAThe insurer has set up apop-up garage to deal withrepairs to cars damaged bya severe hailstorm in June.AXA is dealing with claimsfrom 11,000 motorists spreadacross 1,400 garages, some ofwhich lack the skills requiredto carry out repairs to coach-work. Car owners will nowbe able to take their vehi-cles directly to the garage inVilvoorde, run by a companyspecialising in hailstonedamage.

Power eliaThe electricity networkmanager has been givenpermission to begin construc-tion of the Belgian OffshoreGrid, a high-tension platform34km from the Flemish coastto the west of the LodewijkBank, part of a network tobring wind energy to land. Itis not yet known when workwill begin, as much dependson progress on the Stevinproject bringing cables fromZeebrugge to Maldegem andfrom there to consumers inthe hinterland.

Technology BarcoThe technology companyhas reported turnover down16.7% in the first half to €498million, with EBIT and netprofit both down by 65% onthe same period last year. Netprofit dropped from €31.7million to €11 million. Thecompany has promised cost-cutting measures. Ordersin the half were up 9.1% to€479.8 million. Prediction forthe full year: turnover andprofits down “slightly” on2013, according to CEO EricVan Zele.

WeeK inBusiness Federations react to new

Flemish government’s plangovernment gets 17 out of 20 from employers, and farmers are happy

derek BlythMore articles by Derek \ flanderstoday.eu

The new Flemish government’s five-yearplan, introduced last week, has beengreeted positively by Voka, the Flemish

employers’ federation. “It gives an extra boostto individuals and companies,” said Voka chairMichel Delbaere. “I give it 17 out of 20.”The farmers’ union Boerenbond also respondedenthusiastically to the document. “We arepleased that the governmentagreement empha-sises the role played by our Flemish agricultureand garden sector and incorporates this intoseveral policy areas,” said chair Piet Vanthem-sche.However,many Flemish people planning to takeout mortgages are likely to feel the pinch nextyear due to a reduction in mortgage tax relief(the woonbonus), which applies to mortgagessigned after 1 January 2015. The average familyis likely to lose €1,300 a year due to the change,tax expert Jef Wellens told De Standaard.

The Flemish construction industry has criti-cised the new rules as they are likely to lead toa long-term fall in house construction. “It’s badnews for us as building firms are already findingit hard to fill their order books,” saidMarcDillenof the Flemish Construction Confederation.The changes to tax relief are also likely to have

an impact on house prices, according to IainCook of estate agents ERA. He has predictedthat house prices will drop by about 5% due tothe added financial burden on buyers.The new government also plans to makeprofound changes to child benefit in Flandersby paying a standard rate per child, rather thanpaying a higher rate for each additional child.TheFlemish family associationGezinsbond sayslarge families with more than three childrenare likely to suffer as a result of the proposedchanges.The five-year plan was launched by new minis-ter-president Geert Bourgeois of the Flemishnationalists N-VA, his predecessor Kris Peetersof the Christian-democrats CD&V and Gwen-dolyn Rutten, chair of liberal Open VLD. Theaim is to achieve a balanced budget without taxincreases.

© Larsk68/wikipedia

The average Belgian last year ate50kg of meat, confirming thedownward trend of recent years,according to the federal econ-omy ministry. In 2005 the aver-age consumption was 58kg, mean-ing there has been a fall of 13% ineight years.For certain types of meat, the situ-ation is much worse: While porkconsumption fell by only 6% overthe same period, Belgians ate 16%less chicken and 22% less beef.Pork accounts for just under half– 49% – of all meat consumption,followed by poultry at 29% andbeef at 12%.However, despite a drop in theconsumption of meat, the sameperiod saw the number of animalsslaughtered increasing. The differ-ence is accounted for by exports,

which are doing well, the minis-try says.The country imported 196,000tonnes ofmeat in 2013, an increasecompared with 2005 of 39%. At thesame time, exports rose by 30%,from 1.333 million tonnes to 1.732million tonnes–more thanenoughto compensate for the decrease inconsumption at home from 1.043million tonnes in 2005 to 959,699tonnes in 2013. \ AH

Domestic meat consumptiondown as exports boom

Brussels Airport plans to intro-duce facial recognition scan-ners next year, the managementcompany said. The technologyis already in use at other majorairports in Europe, includingHeathrow and Schiphol.Six of the so-called e-gates thatuse facial recognition softwarewill be introduced in a pilotproject for citizens of EU memberstates travelling from outside theSchengen area, which consists of22 of the 28 EU member states, aswell as EFTA countries Iceland,Liechtenstein, Norway and Swit-zerland.Facial recognition systems use“landmarks” on faces such as sizeand place of significant features,which can then be compared inphoto and real-time versions. So,

while a passenger growing a beardmay confuse the system, if enoughidentifying landmarks are stillvisible, recognition is still possi-ble. A more modern system turnsthe texture of the skin of the faceinto a mathematical model that isvirtually impossible to disguise, asthe texture of the facial skin is asindividual as a fingerprint.The system is intended to combatfraud associated with false docu-ments. The photo originallyapproved for use in the passportis compared with a photo takenon the spot as the traveller passesthrough the system, and anoma-lies are signalled to airport secu-rity officers. The pilot project willbe evaluated later with a view toextending the system. \ AH

Brussels Airport starts facialrecognition trial

The national union of pharmacists is launching a campaign to teach thepublic how to use on-call pharmacies correctly, after complaints thatcustomers are not following the rules that pharmacists on standby areonly to be used in exceptional circumstances. “We’re not night shops,” theunion said.The union ensures the availability of a pharmacist through its on-callservice, where participating pharmacists remain onduty for 24 hours once– and sometimes twice – a week. The service is intended for those whorequire urgent medical supplies.But many customers use the service to buy products such as sun creamand toothpaste, one pharmacist complained, which are not consideredurgent supplies. And, according to the union, since pharmacists on dutyare being called out of bed sometimes four or five times a night, fatiguemight cause them to make a faulty decision in a truly urgent case.In September, the union will launch a poster campaign explaining to thepublic exactly what the on-call system is for and how to use it correctly.\ Alan Hope

Campaign for proper use ofon-call pharmacies

© Alpha/wikimedia

july 30, 2014

\ 7

Rheumatoid arthritis hastraditionally been thoughtof as a single disease, but

researchers from the Flemishlife sciences research instituteVIB are now saying it shouldbe considered a syndrome, or acollection of symptoms that havedifferent causes.This discovery, which came outof VIB research into componentsof the immune system known asinflammasomes, could lead tomore targeted and customisedtherapies, since it would allowdoctorstochoosethemostsuitablemedicines according to a patient’sprofile. The VIB researchers’ find-ings were recently published in thescience journal Nature.Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflam-matory affliction that affects aperson’s joints. Without propertreatment, it can develop into adisabling and painful conditionthat severely reduces quality oflife. It is estimated that 1 or 2% ofthe global population suffers fromrheumatoid arthritis; this wouldmean about 5 million people inEurope are affected.In March this year, the Fund forScientific Rheumatism Researchannounced that 80,000 Belgianshad rheumatoid arthritis, 75% ofthem young women.Most of the current treatmentsonly address the symptoms ofthe condition – relieving painand slowing down the disease’sprogression – rather than thecause. A number of other drugsdo target the protein known asTNF, a substance in the immunesystem that has previously been

found to cause rheumatoid arthri-tis. “Blocking the activity of thisprotein only has positive effectsfor about 40% of patients,” saysresearcher Mohamed Lamkanfiof the VIB’s department at GhentUniversity.Lamkanfi’s lab at the VIB special-ises in research into proteincomplexes that are part of ourimmune system known as inflam-masomes.Their normal function isto protect humans from disease-causing infections, but geneticmutations or other circumstancescan cause them to malfunction.Inflammasomes have been linkedto several inflammatory diseasessuch as digestive disorders.Throughanewmousemodeldevel-oped by scientists at theGhent VIBdepartment, Lamkanfi and fellowVIB researcher Lieselotte VandeWalle have demonstrated the role

of inflammasomes in the develop-ment and progression of rheuma-toid arthritis.The VIB researchers succeededin combating the developmentof rheumatoid arthritis by block-ing inflammasomes. One of theprocesses for which inflam-masomes are responsible is theproduction of interleukin-1, aprotein that plays an importantrole in inflammatory reactions.When the researchers haltedthe effects of interleukin-1, thisresulted in a cure for themice.Thisway, Lamkanfi and Vande Wallewere able to show that the mousemodel offers a viable method ofstudying the correlation betweeninflammasomes and rheumatoidarthritis.“For the 60% of patients whocannot be helped by blocking thepreviously found TNF protein, our

new method can form a pathwayto a futuremedicine that does helpthem,” says Lamkanfi.The VIB lab is now working withthe Walter and Eliza Hall Insti-tute, a medical research institutein Australia, to develop a mole-cule that can neutralise the harm-ful effect of inflammasomes. Thenext step would be to encouragethe pharmaceutical industry toproduce drugs that combat theinflammasomes.“This discovery that rheumatoidarthritis is more of a syndromethan a disease, meaning that simi-lar symptoms can have differentcauses, will hopefully result in apersonalised approach to treat-ing it,” Lamkanfi says, adding thatscientists can now already usegenetic tests to predict whether atreatment will work for a specificpatient who has a genetic form ofbreast, skin and lung cancer.Muta-tions in the BRCA1 and BRCA2genes, for instance, are knownto play an essential role in breastcancer.Research at Lamkanfi’s lab moregenerally focuses on NOD-likereceptors (NLRs), a family of intra-cellular receptors through whichimmune cells launch immuneresponses against invading path-ogens. Aside from arthritis, muta-tions in NLR genes are also associ-atedwithotherauto-inflammatoryand immune disorders such asCrohn’s disease, diabetes, periodicfever syndromes and asthma.“This is still a young researchdomain, which was establishedabout a decade ago, with hugepotential,” Lamkanfi says.

Medicine pathwaysresearchers move one step closer to personalised arthritis treatment

Patients not informedabout MRI risksHospital patients are ofteninsufficiently informed aboutthe health risks associatedwith MRI scans, accord-ing to Annelies Holvoet, astudent in medical imagingat Brussels University College.Patients who undergo anMRI scans are supposed tofill in a checklist that informsthem about risks so doctorscan ascertain whether thepatients are allergic to certainsubstances or have kidneyproblems. Holvoet’s surveydemonstrated that 19% ofthe respondents were insuf-ficiently informed about theMRI scan. “More than 90%of patients knew they haveto take off metal objects, likejewellery, during the scan,but only 31% were awarethat wearing cosmetics thatcontains iron particles alsoentails certain risks,” she said.

Antwerp researchersidentify obesity risksResearchers at the Univer-sity Hospital of Antwerp(UZA) have discovered thatPersistent Organic Pollutants(POPs), found largely in high-fat foods, increase the risk ofobesity and diabetes. Scien-tists have known for a longtime that POPs, also foundin the environment in pesti-cides and industrial chemi-cals, accumulate inside thebody. Researchers have nowexamined the link betweenPOPs and type 2 diabetes andobesity, finding that peoplewith obesity had a largerquantity of POPs in their bodyand that this was especiallythe case for people with toomuch belly fat.

use of psychiatristson the riseBetween 2003 and 2012, thenumber of psychiatric consul-tations in Belgian hospi-tals nearly quadrupled: from87,000 a year to 330,000. Thenumber of clients seeingpsychiatrists in private prac-tice more than doubled. As aconsequence, the use of themedications for mental disor-ders has increased considera-bly. This increase is especiallynoticeable for drugs that havenot been on the market long.Daily doses of Ritalin, themedicine prescribed mostlyfor attention deficit hyperac-tivity disorder and marketedin Belgium as Rilatine, forexample, were sold 1.5 milliontimes in 2012 compared to250,000 in 2004 – a six-foldincrease. The use of classicantidepressants has increasedin the decade by about40%. More than one millionBelgians take antidepressantson a daily basis. \ Andy Furniere

WeeK ininnovation

\ InnOVATIOn

RogiervanOverbekestudieselectromechanicalengineeringattheUniver-sity of Antwerp and is the skipper of the Flemish crew that finished 12thin the Dong Energy Solar Challenge, an unofficial world cup for solar-powered boats held recently in Friesland, the Netherlands

Congratulations on your 12thplace. Are you satisfied?Actually, our goal was to finish inthe top 10. But, since a third of theparticipating teams didn’t manageto complete the entire race –madeup of five consecutive stages in oneweek, each around 40km – I thinkwe can be proud of our result.

Can you describe your boat?For this race we developed anentirely new boat, based on a“monohull” design – a hull madeof one piece. In earlier years weused a catamaran type – a slowbut steady boat. But the monohullis definitely more energy-efficient.And, naturally, being sparing withenergy is an important aspect in

a solar race. Our new boat is alsomore manoeuvrable.As we could only rely on the powerof the sun – no sails or paddles areallowed – we had to take batter-ies on board to store the electri-cal energy generated by the solarcells on the front and back deck.Compensating the weight of thebatteries is a big challenge, butactually we optimised the weightof most of the components a littlebit too much –to a point whereit became a disadvantage! Ourboat, which weighed only 50kgunmanned, was designed for alot more weight, and as a result itbecame a bit less stable than wehad hoped, since it didn’t sit asdeep in the water.

Are the challenges in a solarboat race comparable to thoseof a solar car contest?Not exactly. I believe sailing a solarboat is quite different (and argu-ably more difficult) than drivinga solar car. For example, our hullhas to be completely water-tight;every part of the electrical systemhas to be waterproofed. The mostimportant difficulty, however, is

that there’s no other boat typewith roughly the same proper-ties as ours. They all have differentpropulsion systems, different hullsizes... so forget about spare parts!Luckily, we were able to deal withall this by having a team memberinvolved in the development ofeach and every part of the boat.\ Interview by Senne Starckx

Q&a

Rogier van Overbeke (front right) with the Antwerp team

andy furniereMore articles by Andy \ flanderstoday.eu

Mohamed Lamkanfi and Lieselotte Vande walle say rheumatoid arthritis should be considered asyndrome rather than a disease

© VIB

SUBSCRIBE NOW FOR FREERegister now at www.thebulletin.be ormail “NEWSLETTER” to subscribe@thebulletin.be

NEWSFOR EXPATSDAILYNEWSLETTERYOUR DAILY DOSE OF NEWSON BRUSSELS AND BELGIUM

july 30, 2014

\ 9

VGC sets out education aimscommission to focus on improving Brussels’ dutch-language teaching

andy furniereMore articles by Andy \ flanderstoday.eu

worries aboutregistration feesThe higher education sector isworriedaboutthecost-cuttingplans of the new governmentofFlanders,whichwould forcethem to increase registrationfees for students considerably.The new government agree-ment states that colleges anduniversities will receive 5%less subsidies, totalling about€80 million. Coalition part-ners N-VA, CD&V and OpenVLD have stated that a regis-tration fee of up to €1,000 ayear for students without ascholarship would be accept-able. At present, studentswithout a scholarship pay€620, while those with ascholarship pay €104. A thirdgroup that doesn’t qualify fora full scholarship pays €410.KU Leuven rector Rik Torfstold De Morgen that a largeincrease in fees endangersaccessibility to higher educa-tion.

“Primary schoolfor entrepreneurs”must closeThe Flemish government haswithdrawn recognition of theprimary school Tom Collegein Antwerp. Tom College wasbetter known as the “primaryschool for entrepreneurs” andwas initially named Natan.The government has deter-mined that the school couldnot help its pupils reach thenecessary educational goalsfor Dutch, music and globalissues. The decision is basedon a negative evaluation bythe education inspection.The school, which started lastSeptember with about 100pupils, had already received awarning but was incapable ofmaking the necessary adjust-ments.

summer school onarchives in educationAn International SummerSchool on archives and educa-tion will be held in Neerpelt,Limburg province, from 18-22August. It is the first eventof its kind in Belgium. Thesummerschool isorganisedbyFaro, the government agencyfor the support of Flemishcultural heritage, in collabo-ration with the UK’s NationalArchives. Archivists from fiveEuropean countries will learnhow they can develop bothon- and offline educationalprogrammes on the basis ofarchive sources.They will alsoreceive advice on how to workwith teachers and the rolethat the internet and socialmedia play. “In Belgium, theeducation sector is increas-ingly demanding educationalmaterial from heritage insti-tutions,” Faro said.

WeeK ineducation

\ eDuCATIOn

Inthenextfiveyears, theFlemishCommunity Commission(VGC) will focus its energy

on expanding the capacity ofexisting schools and improvingmultilingualism.Those are the twomain ambitions that emerge fromthe commission’s new governingagreement, Goesting in Brussel, orPsyched about Brussels.The VGC represents the Flemishcommunity in Brussels throughvarious social and cultural insti-tutions. Its budget mainly comesfrom the Flemish Community andthe Brussels-Capital Region, butit is the VGC council and its 17Dutch-speaking Brussels MPs whodecide how these funds are used.Education is one of the VGC’s coreresponsibilities.In primary education, the VGC iscommitting to creating at least3,000 additional places in the nextfive years. This expansion will beneeded to respond to the recentexplosive population growth in thecapital and the growing interest inDutch-language education.The VGC will also make additionalinvestments in secondary educa-tion with, for example, large infra-structure works to develop threecampuses in thedistricts ofKoekel-berg, Anderlecht and Schaarbeek.The VGC agreement also under-lines the need for more educationsupport for secondary schools.“At the moment, this support insecondary schools is too limitedand too dependent on the ques-tions of schools,” the coun-cil members write in the agree-ment. The VGC will also carry onits efforts to re-evaluate technicaland professional education in theBrussels-Capital Region in the nextgovernment term.Multilingualism is another crucialcomponent of the VGC’s plan. Just

like the recently unveiled Brusselsgovernment agreement, the VGC’sagreement recommends the estab-lishment of a bilingual teacher-training programme in collabo-ration with the French-speakingCommunity. The council membershope this will be the first steptoward general bilingual educationin Brussels.Brussels finance minister andchair of the new VGC council GuyVanhengel explained his vision ofbilingual education during a recentcouncil meeting on the govern-ing agreement, covered by brus-selnieuws.be.“We need perfectly bilingual prin-cipals, teachers and secretarialstaff,” he said, “but we can’t findthe right staff for this purpose onthe labour market now.” Vanhengeltherefore recommends the launchof a trial project with a bilingualtraining programme for teachers,“which should in the long termlead to perfectly bilingual direc-tors.”In that meeting, Vanhengel also

pointed to the example of Euro-pean schools, where children aretaught in three or four languagesand both teachers and princi-pals perfectly speak at least twolanguages. Vanhengel also toldregional TV station TV Brusselthat a bilingual teacher educa-tion programme could be estab-lished by September 2015 if all goesaccording to plan.The Brussels government agree-ment, which was also recentlypresented, states that the Brus-sels Capital-Region will stimulateimmersion education in one of thenational languages from primaryschoolandevenpre-school.Knowl-edge exchanges between teach-ers from the different languagecommunities, networks andschools should also bemade easier.The VGC council also wants toencourage schools to examine thepossibility of providing a limitednumber of courses in a languageother than Dutch – something theBrussels government agreementdid not do.

One of the critical problems facingDutch-language education inBrus-sels is the large number of studentswho fail to obtain a diploma –almost one in five students. Byestablishing a professional centrefor learning advice and guidance,the VGCwants to tackle those highdrop-out rates as well as absentee-ism.Another novelty this governmentterm is that two ministers will alsobecome responsible for studentaffairs. Minister-president RudiVervoortwill handle student affairsin the Brussels government, whileVanhengel will do the same for theVGC. Their responsibilities willinclude student housing, mobility,safety and image-building.The student councils of boththe Dutch and French-languageFree University of Brussels, Brus-sels University College, Eras-mus University College and LUCASchool of Arts had demanded thenew ministerial portfolio in therun-up to the May elections.

Ina review in the journalNature, University of LeuvenresearcherBartGhesquière and his colleagues at the Flemish life sciences researchcentre VIB called for more research into stromal and immune cells

What did you analyse in thisreview article?I looked at the scientific litera-ture that focuses on the metab-olism of immune cells and thatof stromal cells. Stromal cellssupport the tissues and organsin the body by providing nutri-ents, oxygen and support, whileimmune cells attack harmfulbacteria and viruses. I found thatvery little research in this field hasbeen carried out internationallyin comparison with the researchon the metabolism of cancer cells.The reviewarticle should serve as awake-up call for scientists to diver-

sify the research.

Why is it important to take theseother cells into account?Research into their metabolismcould lead to new treatments forcancer, but also for diabetes andinflammatory diseases.These cellsmay not be the main culprits, butthey help the tumours develop bynot acting as they are supposed to.The cause of their malfunctioningis not yet entirely clear, but the factis that they incorrectly interpretcertain molecular signals. Thereare already certain drugs to stopthe activity of these cells, but these

are much too aggressive. We haveto find ways to reduce their func-tioning without switching themoff completely, because these cellsalso do good work in the body.

Is your lab specialised in thistopic?Yes, I work at Peter Carmeliet’slab at the VIB’s department atthe University of Leuven, whichspecialises amongst other thingsin research on the metabolismof endothelial cells. These are animportant type of stromal cell thatline the inner wall of blood vessels.In cancer patients, these cells formnewbloodvessels and thusprovidenutrients and oxygen to the cancercells – allowing the cancer togrow and spread throughout thebody. We believe that blocking

the excessive blood vessel growthby the suppression of endothe-lial cell metabolism offers newopportunities to battle cancer.\ Interview by AF

Q&a

© Courtesy VuB

The VuB in Brussels, where the student council called for a minister for student affairs in the run-up to the elections

\ 10

\ LIVInG

Perfect fitflemish designer brings custom-made trousers to the people

RubenOpheide, the young Flemish fashiondesigner and entrepreneur behind theRuben O label, has just raised more than

€23,000 with his Kickstarter crowdfundingproject to sell affordable, made-to-measuretrousers.A pair of bespoke trousers typically costsbetween €300 and €500. “It’s for the elite, andthat’s fine, but I want to bring it to everyone,”Opheide says. With three styles, an approxi-mate price of €150 and a client base rangingfrom CEOs to homemakers, Opheide is well onhis way to achieving that goal.Opheide (pictured below) has become the firstperson to successfully crowdfinance a fashionproject in Belgium, thanks to the 135 peoplewho backed him. “Using Kickstarter here wasnot easy,” Opheide says, referring to the onlineplatform that allows people to donatemoney tohelp realise creative projects. “I not only had toexplainwhatwe do, butwhatKickstarter is too.”But Opheide (24) enjoyed being a pioneer andsays word of mouth played a large role in thesuccess of the campaign that he describes as“the birth of Ruben O”, adding that the websiteoffered an excellent platform to fund, test andmarket his product.At the age of 19, while still at college inAntwerp, Opheide opened his firstonline clothing store. Anothere-store and a logistics companyquickly followed, but he wantedmore. “Everything I foundedwas ine-commerce, but I always had thiswhimsical side,” he says. “Peopleknew I couldn’t be exactly who Iwanted to be in the indus-try.”After selling all threecompanies, Opheideventured into fash-ion design, begin-ning with a line of golfclothing inspired by1920s Britain, whicheventually led to theRuben O label. “I get

to combine my two biggest passions,” he says.“Being an entrepreneur, and at the same timedoing something artistic, expressing myself inthe products that we bring.”Opheide shares his office space in Antwerpwitha furniture design company, so going there tobemeasured is a treat for those with an interestin interior design, although measurements canalso be submitted online.The next step will be the development of anonline configurator that allows peopleto customise their trousers by addingbuttons, zips and pockets, and choosingbase layers, colours and contrast stitch-ing. “It means we actually make a prod-uct that nobody else can,” Opheide says.This allows people who have a hard time

finding clothes that fit and are usuallylimited to one or two brands to gettrousers in any style they want.With his Ruben O trousers,Opheide hopes to address notjust quality but also environ-mental concerns. He pointsout that centuries ago,made-to-measure cloth-ing was the only clothingavailable. Mass produc-

tion changed all that, and modern productionmethods are hugely wasteful.“Whatever is not sold is just burned; the waywe buy clothes is extremely polluting,” he says.He wants to do things differently. “It’s all aboutgiving people an affordable alternative, one thatreally makes people think it can be done differ-ently.”His vision is for the industry to come full circleand return to custom-made clothing that’saffordable, long-lasting and stylish. “We are justbringing a product that the master tailors herehave been making for centuries to a new clien-tele,” he says.

Vordenstein is a 14th-century castle park in Scho-ten, near Antwerp, that belongs to the Flemishregion. It’s a paradise for walkers and nature-lovers, andnow for food-lovers aswell. SinceMay,the park has been enriched with 4,000m² of culi-nary gardens where you can walk among herbsand other organic edibles in what is now one ofthe world’s richest collections of culinary plants,some 50,000 in all.The idea is not that visitors of the park get tomunch on the plants as they walk, but a strollthrough the gardens is certainly aromatic andvisually stunning, as well as educational. WimMaes of thewebsite Cook andHerb is themaster-mind behind this initiative. “I’ve been coming toVordenstein since my childhood and now, withCook and Herb, I’ve given numerous workshopshere for chefs and herb lovers. But now I canreally get my hands dirty working in this magicalgarden,” he told Fencemagazine.Maes, who is themain supplier of award-winningrestaurants such as ’t Zilte, Rascasse, Jane, deSchone van Boskoop and Hof van Cleve, says,

“Chefs are always looking for new tastes, newsensations, colours and textures. I’m trying tobuild a collection of them, to deliver top qualitythat you only get with cultivation on a small scalelike here in Vordenstein.”The educational side of the project is supportedby ANB, the Flemish Agency for Nature andForests. Director Tom Embo is delighted withthe new culinary park: “Vordenstein lives, smells,feels; there is a vibe now on this domain whichwas much needed,” he told Fence.

The park serves as a source of inspiration forboth professional chefs and the public. The culi-nary gardens are set up according to habitat(shadow plants, rocky soil) or style of cooking,under a theme that changes monthly to reflectthe seasons.Top chefs from Flanders’ best restaurants havetaken sections of the park under their wings,including Peter Goossens (gourmet gardenwonders), Sergio Herman (coastal herbs andwildJapanese vegetables), Viki Geunes (exotic wintergarden), Roger Van Damme (edible flower gardenand dessert herbs) and Wouter Keersmaekers(historic vegetables).The gardens are open to the public and entranceis free. And of course there is a bistro on site incase youwork up an appetite: Parkbistro Orange-rieDeVlinder, runbypeoplewith conditions suchas autism. The bistro has been welcoming parkvisitors since Februarywith a variety of local foodand drink. \ Robyn Boyle

Biteculinary park

Antwerp MuseumnightSeventeen museums in thecity centre will be open untilthe wee hours with specialactivities and programmes forkids and adults. Your wrist-band lets you ride a free shut-tle bus all night. Afterpartystarts at 23.00. August 2, 19.00-1.00, €10 for adults, €5 under 26and free for kids under 12

\ HttP://musEumnacHt.BE

Fly In koksijdeA vintage aircraft expo incommemoration of theFirst World War. Authen-tic warplanes from 1914-18,wartime village and re-enac-tors, exhibition on the historyof Ten Bogaerde military airbase, flights with vintageaircraft, classic cars andmore.1-3 August, Koksijde Air Base,Ten Bogaerdelaan, €10-€16

\ www.flyinkoksijdE.BE

Different Beer FestivalBrouwerij Anders hosts thisannual festival focusing onsmall artisanal breweriesand hard-to-find beers. Thirtybrewers will present morethan 100 beers on the marketsquare in Tongeren. 2 August,15.00-23.00, 3 August, 12.00-20.00, free

\ www.BiErandErs.BE/BiErfEstival-andErs

Antwerp PrideWeek-long festival celebratingAntwerp’s gay, lesbian, bisex-ual and transgender commu-nity. Programme includesQueer Arts Festival, danceparties, PrideParadeonSatur-day and closing festival on theGrote Markt on Sunday. 4-10August, Antwerp city centre,most activities free

\ www.antwErPPridE.com

Retro & VintageFestivalWhether you lived throughthe 1950s, ’60s and ’70s – oryou’ve just heard of them –come to Bokrijk this week-end for a nostalgic trip downmemory lane. Classic cars,vintage market, live music,Vintage Dance Café, old-fashioned carnival rides andmore. 3 August, 11.00-19.00.Hangar58 and Old Town, Herk-enrodeplein 5, Genk-Bokrijk, €3

\ HttP://tinyurl.com/rEtro-fEstival

Hapje-Tapje26th edition of this annualfood festival in Leuven.Sample small plates fromdozens of restaurant stands orrent a tasting glass and try thebest of local brewing on theOld Market. Show cooking,waiters race and live music.3 August, 12.00, free admission

\ www.HaPjE-taPjE.BE

WeeK inactivities

www.cookandHErB.BE

daniel shamaunFollow Daniel on Twitter @slamcopy

Ruben Opheide says there’s no reason made-to-measure trousers should be reserved for the elite

www.ruBEn-o.com

july 30, 2014

\ 11

Cycling union lists demandsfietsersbond calls on new government to improve functional routes

While the network ofrecreational cyclingroutes in Flanders is

well-developed, there is still a lotof work to be done to let cyclistsride comfortably from residentialareas in the suburbs to the centreof the cities. That is one of the keymessages of the Flemish cyclists’union, Fietsersbond, directedtowards the new government ofFlanders.In a memorandum, the Fietsers-bond has listed its demands forthe new Flemish government. Tofulfil these, the union feels it isnecessary to increase the budgetfor cycling policy considerably.“The previous government raisedthe budget from €60 million to€100 million, which was a step inthe right direction, but the budgetremains far too low,” says spokes-personRoel DeCleen. “Thebudgetshould at least be tripled to €300million. This is still a modestinvestment if you compare it tothe cost of renovations of infra-structure forcars, suchas tunnels.”According to De Cleen, the previ-ous government invested in a frag-mented way. “The next govern-ment has to make it an absolutepriority to finallymake the centresof Ghent, Antwerp and Leuvenmore accessible by bike for peoplewho want to cycle from theirhome in the suburbs to their workin the centre,” he says.“While the recreational routes inFlanders are mostly good qual-ity, there still is a lot of potential

to improve the facilities of func-tional routes from the home to theworkplace.”He believes such routes couldconsiderably reduce the conges-tion problems in cities likeAntwerp as well as removingthe need for large infrastruc-ture works to make more roomfor cars. “The availability of elec-tric bicycles makes these func-tional cycling routes, which aremostly between 15 and 25 kilome-

tres long, evenmore attractive,” hesays.To check the quality of the currentfunctional cycling routes, sinceJanuary the Fietsersbond hasbeen using the specially equippedmeetfiets or measuring bicycle.Thierry Jiménez of the union ridesthis bicycle with measuring tech-nology over the cycling routesof cities or municipalities thatrequest it. “The objective datacan be used to determine which

routes need themost urgent care,”he explains.The bicycle examines the widthof the cycling path, the distancefrom car traffic and the amountof vibration. “The Flemish govern-ment uses a registration systemthat doesn’t take into account thisvibration comfort,” says Jiménez.“That system doesn’t distinguishbetween an asphalt road and onewith cobblestones, whichmakes ahuge difference for a cyclist.”

Concerning the new Brusselsgovernment, the Fietsersbondis asking it to at least double itsprevious budget of €10 millionto improve its bicycling policy.This should be used among otherthings to create cycling routeson the capital’s inner ring road,a promise of the last governmentthat was insufficiently carried out.“There is also too little space forcyclists in Brussels because ofthe excess of parking spaces inthe city,” says De Cleen. “Some ofthese parking spots should disap-pear or be installed undergroundto make space for cycle paths.” Healso points out the lack of bicycleparking spots.One of the ambitions of the previ-ous government was to installsuccessful cycle streets, wherecyclists are allowed to use thewhole width of the road. Motor-ists are permitted on the road, butthey are prohibited from overtak-ing cyclists and from going fasterthan 30km/h.The first cycle streetlies alongside the busy Louiza-laan, from Dalstraat to Stefania-plein. “This project, however, is afailure since there is too much cartraffic,” says De Cleen.However, he is positive about theHST cycling route that cyclistscan use to ride from Leuven toBrussels. “The only issue is that alack of co-operation between thedifferent governments has madethe transition from the territoryof Zaventem to that of Brusselsproblematic,” he says.

Five pilot projects have been selected by theFlemish official architect’s office for its Kunstin opdracht (Art on Command) programme,a project of the Flemish ministry of culture,now in the hands of minister Hilde Crevits,the official architect, the institute for visual,audiovisual andmedia arts, and the Arts andHeritage agency.The programme aims to feature five exem-plary pilot projects for the use of art in publicspace, to show how art, rather than being anesoteric activity existing in isolation in galler-ies and museums, can be made to becomepart of the daily lives of ordinary people, aswell as working with other disciplines.The province of Antwerp plans to involvean artist in developing the new provincialheadquarters and the place within it of theprovincial collections of some 2,500 worksof art, paintings and sculptures. The provin-cial house will have an open and welcom-ing ground floor with public access and besurrounded by a public park in which someworks of art can be displayed.In a statement, deputy for culture LukLemmens said: “The demolition of the oldprovincial house was the perfect opportu-

nity to breathe new life into the province’s artcollection. The pilot project will allow us tobring the collection to life in and around thenew provincial house. We want to give ourcollection the chance to shine by giving it itsown place within the construction project.We’re clearly very proud that the Flemisharchitect was able to recognise the poten-tial of our collection and of the new provin-cial house.”The project of the city of Genk in Limburg isconcerned with monuments and memori-als, their place in the public space and theirrelationshipwith other public art.The resultsof the pilot project are intended to providematerial for future public debate on the ques-tion of monuments across the region.The project from the city of Aalst looks atthe role of art in urban renewal and devel-opment, and was chosen for its ambitionin crossing administrative boundaries: Thescope is not restricted to the city itself, butalso includes a network reaching two kilome-tres along the river Dender.The city of Ghent is working with TondelierDevelopment, a consortium of architectsand other professionals from the private

sector. The project concerns the construc-tion of a new city residential area of around500 homes within an existing city neighbour-hood, and including parks, offices and amen-ities and sport facilities, and will look at thevalue public art can add to the public space.Finally, the municipality of Herzele in EastFlanders has a project centred on the renova-tion of the former village centre of Ressegem,now part of Herzele, which takes landscapeas a variant of public space to stimulate adialogue between government, artists andexperts on how art can bring communitiestogether.The five projects selected were among 22submissions. Each applicant is commit-ted to follow through with an actual artis-tic commission handed out before the end of2017. In the first place, during the summer,the five projects will work out their exactplan with the help of experts. In a laterstage, artists and various intermediarieswill be named to take part in the projects.\ Alan Hope

Bringing art into the public space

“The naked Dancers” by Leopold Van esbroeck, on loan tothe Rivierenhof provincial domain in Antwerp

andy furniereMore articles by Andy \ flanderstoday.eu

www.fiEtsErsBond.BE

© Courtesy Fietsersbond

Better thanthe real thing

Discover the best in comfort

brusselsairlines.com/experience

july 30, 2014

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\ ARTs

The farmer wants a new lifeExhibition in ghent presents the stories of flemish migrants to north america

While Flanders today isa region that attractsmany migrants, in the

late 19th and early 20th centuriesthousands of Flemings left theirhomes to search for a better lifein North America. An exhibitionat the Caermers Convent in Ghentfocuses on the communities thatFlemings from the Meetjeslandarea – between Ghent and Bruges– formed in the US and Canada.The exhibition Boer vindt land(Farmer Finds Land), set up bythe Archives and Documenta-tion Centre for Flemish Nation-alism (ADVN), consists primarilyof photo material. At the begin-ning, you walk through a corri-dor with photos of rural scenes inthe Meetjesland which seem idyl-lic but reveal the main reasons forthe departure of thousands of itsinhabitants a century and a halfago.“Until about 1850, the economyof the Meetjesland was mostlybased on agriculture and thehome textile industry,” says cura-tor Andreas Stynen, a researcherat the ADVN. “The population washard hit when the textile indus-try underwent a mechanisation,the available land for agriculturebecame scarce and American cornflooded the European market.”Photo slides in a separate roomdemonstrate the poverty of Flem-ish farmers during that period.A failed potato harvest in around1840 had already triggered migra-tion to the US, but the real exodusstarted around 1880 when steam-boats made the trip across theAtlantic faster and cheaper. A

poster from the Red Star Line ship-ping company refers to the factthatmany of themigrants boardedat Antwerp, but the exhibitiondoesn’t focus on this aspect sinceit is extensively documented at theRed Star LineMuseum in Antwerp.For visitors who are looking forinformation about relatives orfriends who went to North Amer-ica, the Red Star Line Museum hasprovided its database to the Ghentexhibition.In Ghent you can also listen toaudio fragments – in Dutch – thatrelate passengers’ experiences,which were often written down indiaries. Photo material shows thatall passengers were able to enjoygood conditions on board. “It’s anoften-heard misconception thatthird-class patients had to stay inmiserable accommodation,” saysStynen. “Everybody had access toall the necessary hygienic facili-ties, could sleep comfortably andeat well.”

The main part of the exhibitiontells the stories of the communi-ties that the Flemings built up inthe US and Canada, most prom-inently in the American citiesof Detroit, Chicago, Moline andMishawaka and in the Canadianprovince of Manitoba. The Flem-ings often worked in large facto-ries such as the John Deere trac-tor factory in Moline and a bigshoe factory in Mishawaka. “Muchof the good land plots for farminghad already been taken by earliercolonists,” explains Stynen.Many Flemish communities inNorthAmericaconsisted fora largepart of people who came from thesame villages in the Meetjesland.“Migrants often followed in thefootsteps of pioneering relatives orfriends,” Stynen says. This doesn’tmean, though, that whole villagepopulations moved; at most,around 4% of a village populationin the Meetjesland migrated. “Andabout a quarter of the migrants

returned to Flanders at somepoint,” says Stynen.To develop a social life, Flem-ish communities often organisedtypical activities from Flanders intheir new home country. A hugephoto in the exhibition shows themembers of a Flemish brass bandin the US. In another photo, a

Flemish community poses duringa large picnic, which was the localversion of a Flemish fair.The newcomers also introducedtheir favourite sports and games toNorth America, like pigeon racingand krulbollen or rolle bolle – theFlemish version of boules. The cityof Ghent in Minnesota – namedafter the East Flemish capital –still has a rolle bolle associationand presents itself as the RolleBolle Capital of the World.Certain clubswhere events such asconcerts were organised becamecentres of Flemish social life. The

papers for the communities – likethe Gazette van Detroit and theGazette van Moline – informedmigrants about events in the oldcountry and their new home.These associations and activitieshelped Flemings cope with thechallenges of their new environ-ment, such as thedifferent climate,the language barrier and hostilereactions from the local society.Flemings who tried to retain theircafe culture, for example, weresometimes looked on with suspi-cion by the advocates of a prohibi-tion on alcohol.To limit the number of immi-grants, in around 1920 the USintroduced quotas. “But by then,the economy in Flanders wasreviving,” says Stynen. Althoughthe Flemish associations “Ameri-canised” almost completely, Flem-ish communities definitely lefttheir traces in North America.This is also demonstrated by ashort documentary shown at theexhibition, in which descendantsof the migrants are interviewed.“But the filmmakers discoveredthat much of the heritage is disap-pearing or losing its Flemish iden-tity,” says Stynen.There are no direct referencesto current migration issues, butStynen hopes visitors notice thelinks with the situation today.“The stories of Flemishmigrants inNorth America then are very simi-lar to those of themigrants in Flan-ders today,” he says.

Ghent expo shares story of eccentric photographerwww.sintPiEtErsaBdijgEnt.BE

sint-Pieters Abbey9 Sint-Pietersplein, Ghentuntil 17 august

Framed as Mary Poppins with aRolleiflex camera instead of anumbrella, American photographerVivian Maier (1926-2009) is oftenconsidered an eccentric beforea fully fledged artist. Maier, whoworked as a nanny, has recentlycaught the imagination of thepublic and art professionals alike,and an exhibition of her work isnow on show in Ghent.Part of Maier’s remarkable storyis told in the documentary Find-ing Vivian Maier (2013), directedby Charlie Siskel and John Maloofand recently released onDVDhere.Largely set up as a detective story,Finding Vivian Maier recountshow Maloof, a young historianfrom Chicago, in 2007 accidentallystumbled upon a box of Maier’sundeveloped photo negatives at anauction while working on another

project.As in many great detective stories,the obsession of the main charac-ter – which in large parts of Find-ing Vivian Maier is Maloof ratherthan Maier – sinks its claws intothe narrative only after the subjectof interest is initially shrugged off.Maloofgraduallybecameintriguedby Maier’s inscrutable life and thevast number of photographs shetook, mainly in the 1950s and ’60s, but never actually made publicor even developed from the nega-tives.Maloof ’s fascination – after hisfirst haphazard purchase, heobtained the lion’s share of Maier’sphotographs and collected otherpersonal belongings – catapultedher hitherto unknown gems intothe public sphere. A new star wasborn. Even if Maier herself, says

an interviewee in the film, wouldprobably have disagreed with theway her photographs have beenmade public now. During her life,she seemed far more interested inthe practice of photography thanin the finished print.But her work undeniably deservesto be seen.Maier had a keen eye forobservations of daily life in the citycentres she commuted to and thesuburban areas she worked in.Therepresentative sample on showin Saint Peter’s Abbey in Ghentproves that the photographerwhose self-portraits demonstratean often oddly dressed, tall womanwith a serious gaze had greatwit togowith her highly developed sensefor photographing people on thefringes of society, and for captur-ing the cracks in the white picket-fence lives.

Finding VivianMaier and the BBCdocumentary Vivian Maier: WhoTook Nanny’s Pictures?, whichcan also be seen at the abbey, raisequestions about dealings in the art

business and the wishes of artistsafter their death.In the still somewhat murkysuccession of events that consti-tuteherdiscovery, it remains tragicthat while all this happened,Maierlived in dire circumstances – herpossessions were being auctionedbecause she could no longer affordtheir storage – and fell ill.Ultimately, Maier’s extensivebody of work doesn’t deserve tobe discarded as a nanny’s sideproject. That would belittle bothher profession and the quality ofher photographs. \ Bjorn Gabriels

Caermers ConventVrouwebroersstraat 6, Ghentuntil 14 september

andy furniereMore articles by Andy \ flanderstoday.eu

Migrants oftenfollowed in thefootsteps ofpioneeringrelatives orfriends

A picnic of the Belgian American Club of Moline in the garden of edward Coryn, a prominentfigure in the Flemish community of Illinois who came from Lotenhulle in east Flanders

© Courtesy ADVn

www.caErmErskloostEr.BE

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\ ARTs

Amassage for the mindontroerend goed return as curators to ostend theatre festival taZ

tom PeetersMore articles by Tom \ flanderstoday.eu

The interactive, thought-provokingplays of Ontroerend Goed seekto break conventions, crossborders and challenge audiencesworldwide. Curating Theater AanZee, the summer theatre festival inOstend, the Ghent-based theatrecollective prove why artists suchas Cate Blanchett, Gabriel Byrneand even the late Lou Reedshowed interest in their work.

It’s an entry through the biggate for the members of thecollective. After winning the

youth theatre prize of Theater AanZee (Theatre by the Sea, or TAZ)with their first proper show in2003,Ontroerend Goed took their careeroverseas. Intriguing performancessuch as The Smile Off Your Face(2004), Internal (2009) andAudience (2011) broke all theatreconventions and were discussedand laurelled worldwide, leadingto collaborations with the SydneyTheatre Company, among others,as well as prizes, most notably atthe Fringe Festival in Edinburgh.

“Curating TAZ forces us to lookback where we came from,”says artistic director Alexan-der Devriendt. As a teenager hewas expelled from a Jesuit collegebecause he was just “very difficult,questioning any form of author-ity”. It’s obvious those very samequalities are crucial for Ontroer-end Goed, a collective that slowlyevolved fromaperformance poetryensemble, starting out in a Ghent

jazz bar, into a theatre group,though not the most conventional.“When we played here for thefirst time we didn’t know who wewere and what we did,” Devriendtexplains. Actress Charlotte DeBruyne – you might have seen herin Flemish director DominiqueDeruddere’s film Flying Home –remembers that when she wasrecruited for Pubers Bestaan Niet(Adolescents Don’t Exist, 2008) thecollective’s goal was still unclear: “Iliked the fact there was no precon-ceived formula.”“We redefine ourselves and thecollective for every new piece,”says Devriendt. “The best compli-ment is when people tell me theynever know what to expect. Wedon’t want to be pigeonholed, andthe changing forms we use – apersonal approach, working withadolescents – don’t give people thechance to do this. Abroad, we’re‘the company with the unpro-nounceable name’,” he says, laugh-ing. In Edinburgh, they mightalso be “those crazy Belgians”, DeBruyne adds. It was during theFringe Festival in the Scottish citythat they experienced their break-through.Their early decision to search forforeign audiences came out ofnecessity. “The Flemish culturalcentres thought we were too

experimental,” says Devriendt. ForThe Smile Off Your Face, the firstpart of the group’s “personal tril-ogy” (which will be repeated in itsentirety during TAZ), they broke alltheatre conventions.Devriendt: “Normally you’re in aroomwith 200 others; we make it aone-on-one-experience. Normallyyou sit still on a chair; we ride youaround in a wheelchair. Normallyyou can see and use your hands; weblindfold you and tie your wrists.”De Bruyne saw the show beforeshe joined the company. Now she’sacting in it. “As a visitor you get thechance to use your own imagina-tion and create your own story andspace. That’s just marvellous,” shesays.“When we played it in Moroccosomeone called it ‘a massage ofthe mind’,” recalls Devriendt. “Butin fact we try to do this in all ourplays: creating a universe withouttelling anyone how to feel.” For theactors these “personal” shows aredemanding.“A month after I played A GameOf You (2010), the third part ofthis personal trilogy, in whichthe actors really try to creep intothe head of the visitor, someonethanked me for the show, but I had

forgotten him,” says De Bruyne,with regret.“I understood his reaction; possi-bly nobody had come so close tohim lately.” Devriendt reminds DeBruyne how immense this rolewas for her: “I remember you weredreaming of the people you metduring these encounters.”For Wijven or Sirens (2014), apolarising new show, the collec-tive selected a more specific socialtopic: how Western women reactto sexism. Other more recent playsquestioned the elections and ourvoting system (Fight Night, 2013)and the current informationimplosion (AllThat Is Wrong, 2012).“But we were never inspired byonly one culture,” says Devriendt.“We deeply believe in the univer-sal power of the individual. I’m asmuch a person from Ghent as I amfrom Flanders, Belgium, Europeand the world.“When we played Pubers BestaanNiet, after the show some peoplesaid it was ‘very Ghent!’ But theywerewrong.Weplayed theEnglish-language version in New York fora bunch of local adolescents andthey were all convinced.”Other foreign accolades prove himright. The History of Everything(2012) was a co-production by theSydney Theatre Company and wasa result of their friendship withactress Cate Blanchett, who until2013 was the company’s co-artis-tic director.And she’s not their only famous fan.De Bruyne still gets enthusiasticabout the fact she played A GameOf You for one of her heroes, InTreatment star Gabriel Byrne, andmentions the late Lou Reed buyinga ticket for one of their New Yorkshows, while Devriendt is alreadylooking forward to their next chal-lenge: a collaboration with theacclaimed American avant-gardecomposer William Basinski.

netflix tooperate locallyNetflix, the US-based onlinevideo-on-demand service,will begin operating inBelgium in September, thecompany told shareholderswhen announcing its quar-terly results. Netflix has 50million subscribers world-wide, mainly in the US, andrecently started producingits own TV content, to enor-mous critical acclaim. Thecompany offers a subscrip-tion model that allows view-ers to watch from an exten-sive library of archive andcurrent video product.

Gent Jazz goesback to rootsThis year’s Gent Jazz festi-val was the most successfulever, attracting more than30,000 people by returningto the festival’s roots, organ-iser Bertrand Flamang said.The first four days of the10-day festival were reservedfor new developments inwhat is traditionally knownas jazz, he said, while thesecond part looked at blackmusic, singer-songwritersand creative pop: “Musicwhich by its social engage-ment or form makes uppart of what jazz signifies in2014,” he said.

Tomorrowlandfor BrazilFresh from a successful 10thanniversary edition, dancefestival Tomorrowland hasannounced it will introducea new edition next year inBrazil, the second time thefestival established in Boomin Antwerp province hasgone international. Last yearthe festival held an edition inAtlanta in the US. This year,8,000 people in Sao Paolowere able to join in the festiv-ities via satellite link.

Leuven launchesonline war diariesThe city of Leuven is tolaunch a new project inAugust, exactly 100 yearsafter the start of the FirstWorld War, which willpublish daily online and onFacebook a diary entry oneveryday life in wartime,taken from the journals of 10witnesses including a monk,a law student, a business-man, a mayor, a wine dealerand a journalist.

\ www.oorlogs-dagBoEklEuvEn.BE

\ www.facEBook.com/oorlogsdagBoEklEuvEn

WeeK in arts& culture

www.tHEatEraanZEE.BE

Across Ostend31 july to 9 august

© Athos Burez

Ghent theatre collective Ontroerend Goed say they reinvent themselves for every performance

Jan Paternoster • 1 AugustDe Bruyne: “The Black Box Revelation song‘Here Comes The Kick’ was an inspirationfor OMG, the play I’m rehearsing right nowwith Angelo Tijssens. It deals with anxiety:What are we afraid of, what do people makeus afraid of, what should we be afraid of? Weasked Jan, a regular at our shows, to write thesoundtrack. An invitation for an intimate soloshow followed soon.”

Rauw (Kabinet K) • 2 AugustDevriendt: “I’m a long-time fan of the playsby Joke Emmers and Kwint Manshoven. Theycollaborate with young children and arealways questioning what theatre for kids canbe.”

Audience (Ontroerend Goed) • 6-7 AugustDevriendt: “Your last chance to see the mostcontroversial Ontroerend Goed play ever. Toshow the dangers of mass manipulation, wemanipulated our audience and it was fright-ening to see how easily we could do that. Thereactions were heated, but I don’t regret it.Now it’s time to say goodbye. I’m sure I willmiss it.”

TheDogs Days Are Over (ICKamsterdam)7-8 AugustDe Bruyne: “I’m really looking forward to thisbecause the concept is as simple as it is excit-ing: Dancers keep on jumping for 50 minutesand you can witness their physical decline. Ilike to watch that.”

Persona, 2013 (Tibaldus enAndereHoeren)9 AugustDevriendt: “Our invitation to TAZ as a veryyoung collective was a springboard for us,so we like the fact the festival has alwayspresented both emerging talents and estab-lished acts. But we don’t make this distinc-tion. We also wanted to give chances tocompanies whose careers are somewhere inbetween, such as Tibaldus en Andere Hoeren.”De Bruyne: “These are former schoolmates ofmine, always looking for a special way to tell astory. It used to be quite hermetic, but this istheir first play – a monologue inspired by anIngmar Bergman film – where form and storyblend beautifully.”

five taZ must-sees

We deeplybelieve in theuniversal powerof the individual

july 30, 2014

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concert

eventvisual arts

In December 1914, Italian brothersAlfieri, Ettore and ErnestoMaseratiestablishedanautomobilecompanythat would become synonymouswith speed. Not only has the firmsurvived 100 years, it has producedsome of the world’s most iconiccars – all bearing Maserati’s trade-mark trident, inspired by the statueof Neptune in Bologna’s PiazzaMaggiore. The Maserati centenaryis being

celebrated with events around theglobe. For its part, Brussels’ Autow-orld is marking the occasion withan exhibition of more than 30 carsborrowed from private collec-tions in the region. Together theseautomobiles tell the story of a fullcentury in which Maserati haskept pace with technical advances,changing tastes and fierce globalcompetition. \ GV

Bryan Adams had already recordeda clutch of hit albums in his nativeCanada when, in 1991, the Holly-wood blockbuster Robin Hood:Prince of Thieves featured hissingle “(Everything I Do) I Do It forYou” and made the Canuck singer-songwriter a staple on Americanradio and television. The balladwon a Grammy and nearly scoredan Oscar. It sold nearly as manycopies as the Scorpions’ contem-poraneous schmaltz-fest “Windof Change.” This summer Adamsrevisits his hits from the ’80s and’90s in acoustic format. The BareBones Tour sees the veteran rockerput down his electric guitar andperform stripped-down versionsof signature tunes “I Do It for You,”

“Cuts Like a Knife,” “Kids WannaRock” andmore. \ Georgio Valentino

Bruges’ celebrated MusicaAntiqua Festival bringstogether the best of old and

new. Although the annual 10-dayevent focuses on early music –read: styles, compositions andinstruments from antiquity up tothe Renaissance – MA seeks outfresh talent and contemporaryinterpretations of the centuries-old genre. Indeed, the verve ofthis festival proves that earlymusic is in nodanger of dying out.Venues across Bruges are hostingover a dozen concerts by Europe’sbest players, including Flemishharpsichordist Frank Agsteribbe,French violinist Amandine Beyer

and Belgo-Dutch electric guitarquartet Zwerm (offering, nodoubt, one of the aforementionedcontemporary interpretations).The music itself spans the entirecontinent; you’ll hear old-schoolpomp from the courts ofRenaissance Italy aswell as festivefolk music from the ScottishHighlands. Another highlight isthe International CompetitionMusica Antiqua, in which some80 participating musicians vie forthe prize in several instrumentcategories. Don’t expect tosee synthesisers among them,though. This year the spotlightis on early melody instruments,

namely the recorder, baroqueflute, baroque violin, baroquecello and viola da gamba. Theseancient pieces are meant to beseen as well as heard, hencethe free historical instrumentsexhibition in Bruges’ ProvincialCourt. Not only will you learnhow pre-modern music wasmade but you’ll also see periodinstruments up close. There’splentymore besides. In additionto the official concerts, MAputs on a fringe programme offree afternoon performancesin collaboration with sisterfestival Oude Muziek Utrecht.There’s even Vélo Baroque,a musical bike ride aroundBruges and its environs. The30km circuit is interspersedwith short concerts at varioushistorical landmarks en route.In short, this isn’t your great-great-great-great grandfather’searly music festival.\ Georgio Valentino

Turnhout inaugurated its foodfestival just last year. Now Turn-hout Culinair is back for roundtwo. Seventeen local restaurantsand cafes are on hand to presenttheir wares in a festive atmosphere,complete with live music, contests(one lucky foodie will come awaywith a new car), food and drinkworkshops and games for thekids. Each establishment offers acondensed version of its regularmenu, containing only the best ofthe best (and priced to sell). Festi-val-goers are encouraged to take aplate here and a plate there, to tastea little bit of everything. There’splenty of Flemish flavour, of course,but Turnhout Culinair featuresfood from all over the world. \ GV

In with the old

MAFestivalconcertDeurnePoliça: Haunting synthpopand alternative rock bandfrom Minneapolis, Minne-sota. 3 August, 19.00, Open-luchttheater Rivierenhof,Turnhoutsebaan 232

\ www.oPEn-lucHttHEatEr.BE

music festivalBrugesMoods!: City festival withBruges’ historic city centreas the backdrop, featur-ing a mix of free and paidconcerts by Suzanne Vega,Sophia, Buika, Nils Frahm,Babylon Circus, The MagicNumbers and Melanie DeBiasio, among others. Until 7August, Burg 12

\ www.moodsBruggE.BE

filmBrusselsL’heure d’été: In- andoutdoor film festival, thisyear with Rome as its theme,featuring classics from Ital-ian cinema. 4-10 August,Galerie Cinema & BrusselBad

\ www.galEriEs.BE

PerformanceDe HaanLesGrandsBals@DeHaan:Nostalgic song and danceevenings inside a circustent featuring disco, funkand soul music (31 July),live 1940s swing jazz by CatCat Canary (1 August) and aretro DJ party (2 August). 31July-2 August, Spiegeltent, LaPotinière, Leopoldlaan

\ www.visitdEHaan.BE

familYGhentParkkaffee: Family- anddog-friendly park happeningwith food and drink stands,music and entertainmentfor kids, including theatreperformances, tarot cardreadings and more, roundedout every night with a giantbonfire next to the water.Daily throughout August,14.00-00.00, Parkkaffee, Groe-nestaakstraat 37, Mariakerke

\ www.ParkkaffEE.BE

BerlareWaterfeesten: Annual dayof activities on and aroundDonkmeer, a lake in EastFlanders, with a flowery cafepatio for drinks and snacks,plenty of water sports and aVenetian fireworks display.3 August, 13.00-19.00, Donk-meer, Donklaan 119

\ www.BErlarE.BE/watErfEEstEn

Bryan adams

100 years of maserati turnhout culinair

\ AGenDA

Across Bruges1-10 august

www.mafEstival.BE

Capitole, Ghent1 august, 20.00

www.caPitolEgEnt.BE

Autoworld, Brusselsuntil 31 august

www.autoworld.BE

Grote Markt, Turnhout1-3 august

www.turnHoutculinair.com

© Marco Borggreve

familY

Animal-loversareboundthisweek-end for Lummen, where birds ofpreywill strut their stuff in supportof imperilled dogs. Limburg birdclub Free Spirit has organised afull day of falconry demonstra-tions for a good cause. A portionof the event’s proceeds go to localnon-profit Galgo Save Belgium,which rescues greyhounds from

Spain. Indeed, without their inter-vention, these racing and huntingdogs – exploited and abandonedafter “careers” that last only a fewshort seasons – are euthanised asa matter of state policy. The irony:No dogs are allowed at this raptor-fest. Solidarity in the animal worldonly goes so far. \ GV

Bird of Prey meetingCap sonia, LummenStrand, Zeebruggestrand3 august, 11.00

www.vZwfrEEsPirit.BE

july 30, 2014

\ 16

facebook.com/flanderstoday

We’ve all been talking a lot about the weatherrecently. Either it’s too cold for the time ofyear, and no one goes to the beach, or it’s too

hot, and trains are stuck because of melting points.Whatever the weather, it’s never perfect.Butwhat is the perfectweather for us?The expertswhowork for the website Meteovista decided to do someresearch. They interviewed 1,700 Belgians to find outthe perfect holiday temperature. And they finally cameupwith a precise figure, according toDe Standaard.Degemiddelde Belg verkiest een middagtemperatuur van26,3 graden tijdens de zomervakantie – the averageBelgian wants a midday temperature of 26.3 degreeson their summer holiday.That’s why thousands of Belgians are driving to Franceat this time of year. Voor maxima die schommelenrond 26 graden tijdens de zomer kan de Belg het besteterecht in Midden-Frankrijk, bijvoorbeeld in de regioAuvergne die rijk is aan campings en vakantieparken– The average Belgian looking for maximum temper-atures that hover around 26 degrees in the summershould be thinking about a destination in centralFrance, such as the Auvergne, where they will find awide choice of camping sites and holiday parks.They could also head for the Alps, as long as they stayclear of Italy. In de zuidelijke Alpen is het ZwitserseLugano een kanshebber, terwijl het Gardameer nogniet iets zuidelijker ligt en daardoor te warm wordt –The region of Lugano in the Swiss Alps is promising,but Lake Garda lies further to the south and is there-fore too hot.TheMediterranean is of course ridiculously hot for thesensitive Flemish tourist. But what about somewhere

in central Europe? Het Hongaarse Boedapest is eenaanrader met gemiddelde middagtemperaturen van26 graden tijdens juli en augustus–TheHungarian cityof Budapest is worth considering as it has an averagemidday temperature of 26 degrees in July and August.And if you need to cool off in a lake, you are definitely inthe right country. Niet ver van Boedapest bevindt zichhet Balatonmeer, de grootste toeristische trekpleistervan Hongarije met ideale temperaturen voor de Belg –Not far fromBudapest, youfindLakeBalaton(pictured),themost popular tourist destination inHungary,wherethe temperature is ideal for the Belgian.Rome is of course far too hot at this time of year. Wiehet Colosseum wil bezoeken doet dat best in juni ofseptember, wanneer de gemiddeldes rond 26 gradenliggen in Rome – Anyone who wants to visit the Colos-seum should go there in June or September, when theaverage temperature in Rome is about 26 degrees. Nottoo hot. Not too cold. Perfect for the average Belgian.

Talking Dutchnot too hot, not too cold

\ BACkPAGe

the last Word

doing time“A lot of older people are in thedrugs circuit. They sell hashto young people to get somerespect. In their eyes, they’re notbreaking the law; it’s only aboutsocial contact.”Accordingtouniversity lecturerKarelOei, the growing number of gang-sters over 60 in Flanders – up 140%since 2003 – demands an approachother than prison sentences

lending a hand“Themore difficult it is for peopleto ensure their living standards,the more business we do.”Etienne Lambert of the Brussels Bergvan Barmhartigheid, the country’sonly legal pawn shop, which mademore than €9 million in loans lastyear

glass ceiling“[Themerging of Flemish govern-ment departments] is in itself nota bad thing. But when I look atwhich departments are tomerge,it looks as if it will mainly be atthe cost of women in top jobs.”FlemishgovernmentdiversityofficialAlona Lyubayeva, as the number ofwomen in top posts looks like beingcut from21 to 15%.Thegovernment’starget is 31%

under the hammer“They’re old, and most of themhaven’t been used for a while.Renovationwouldcost toomuch,and anyway we have no use forthem. So we’re hoping to get ridof them as quickly as possible.”Joren Vandeweyer of the foreignaffairs ministry, which is selling offproperties in Congo to raise moneyfor a new embassy in Kinshasa

For the first time, a split decision.First, nobody at all thinks childrenneed to sit still at school, whenexperts are complaining the chil-dren of Flanders don’t get enoughexercise. Once that’s established,it’s only a matter of deciding howit needs to be done.

Half of you think it’s the job of bothschools and parents to get kidsmoving, which seems reasonablegiven how much time they spendin school. Andhalf of you appear toput the responsibility more firmlyon parents andwhat goes on in thehome.

So there it is: more active gamesand play at school, less sittingaround at home. A generation ofsuper-fit Flemings is on the hori-zon. When’s the next Olympicsagain?

Polla researcher at the university of ghent says young flemish children are toosedentary and need to move about more. what do you think?

\ next week's question:Thenewgovernment of Flanders is consideringmaking the integration course obligatory for all foreigners, includ-ing those from the EU. What do you think?Log in to the Flanders Today website and click on VOTE to let us know your view!

CONNECT WITH US LIKE USTweet us your thoughts @FlandersToday

Fred HushTomorrowland and 10daysoff was really amazing. it was reallygreat to be part of this enormous weekend!!! Thanks to all thenice people that were present

Jai-Jagdeesh#BELGIUM!!... I am very nearly #speechless. All I can say isthank you; over and over and over, thank you. See you (andsqueeze you!) next time, whenever it's in the stars for us to beback... #Liefs!#Liefde! And#amour!!

Regi @RealregiMind. Blown. #Tomorrowland pic.twitter.com/XEJrdynVFV

Frederick Abeloos @abeloosfAlways a good nostalgic feeling when I see the Royal MilitaryAcademy marching in... #belgium… http://instagram.com/p/qt9EnTqaJu/

Justine @jumattxPerks of going to sleep at 5:30 am: it means you've had a goodnight out. Downsides: dozing off at 9 pm #Gentsefeesten

Marie-Eve @Meb05Another great National Day in Brussels... We love our country!:-) We are #Belgium ! :-D pic.twitter.com/snPzMEDThm

voices offlanders todaY

Mimi Bekhechi @Mimi_BekhechiHappy birthday to the best little kookie country in theworldwww.youtube.com/watch?v=Ceg6NQKHd70 … #Belgium

derek BlythMore articles by Derek \ flanderstoday.eu

© wikimedia/nobli

a. Parents and teachers alike need to make sure kids run aroundmore

b. Children need to learn to sit still in preparation for school. If they’re overweight, cut down on sweetsand cakes

c. Turn off the computer and leave the car at home. Problem solved

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