2010 art festival to focus on ties with Central European art

15 April 2008

FLANDERS – In 2010 the city of Bruges in West Flanders will be hosting a big new art festival. The festival will be called Bruges Central and will focus on ties with the nations of Central Europe.

The Flemish artist Luc Tuymans has been enlisted to prepare the contemporary section of the new festival that will build on the success of the Corpus ’05 festival.

One of the main events of the festival will be an exhibition entitled "Van Eyck to Durer". It will attempt to map out the impact the Flemish Primitives had on central European art.

In addition to Van Eyck and Durer, Campin, Van der Weyden, Van der Goes, Memling and Holbein will also be featured.

The exhibition will be staged in the Groeninge Museum.

Luc Tuymans says that the 15th century Bruges painter Jan Van Eyck was a world class artist.

He points out that at the time painters like Van Eyck created a very western image.

It was also a very western way of thinking about images.

The festival will also include contemporary pictorial and performing arts.

Dr Manfred Sellink is the curator of the festival.

In 2002, Bruges was European City of Culture. This festival illustrated how Flemish art impacted on painting in Spain and Italy.

In 2010, the focus will be on the influence on central European art.

The city authorities plan to organise a big cultural festival every five years.

[flandersenews.be / Expatica]