Bâtard Festival

Sliding Islands 

Dear Bâtard Community,
In this era of relentless crisis, injustice, and ethnic cleansing, we find ourselves wondering: are you holding up?

SHORT REWIND 

In April, we postponed a season because of empty batteries and full cognitive dissonance. 
But so we’re back, take a seat, a sip and lean into the collective discomfort. 

Last year, we discussed the unleashing of emotional vampires. Today, we confront horrors in 4K, exposed for all to see. Our usual appetite for unexpected entrances, misleading paths, hacking discourse, and dismantling classism remains, but now we face pivotal moments. 

What does it mean to host a festival amid ongoing genocides? What is the purpose of performing arts when international law and human rights seem more performative than ever?

INTENTIONS

This year, we invited artists with the intention of supporting their growth and creativity, while co-creating spaces to grieve, plot and hope – artists who share our struggles, our questions, our anger. 
The same flesh, nerves, and bones navigate paradoxical territories on a daily basis, so let’s bring them all into one space. We’re not isolated islands, we slide together. 

This is an invitation to delve beneath the surface of what appears dystopian. Engage underneath what’s visible at first glance– imagine islands, melting and merging, creating an archipelago of undomesticated bastards. Exploring new possibilities for defining, defending and sharing spaces —whether physical, social, or mental. 

ARTISTS

Milady Renoir, Araba bni Snassen, and Alexe Dols open their Maquis intérieurs,– the inner struggles that define their activist and artistic practice, invoked by political and poetic friendships.
 
Nabil Ennassouh draws a gesture of vulnerability that connects the biographical with the political, an attempt of love and abandonment. 

Victor Dumont navigates affected matters, questioning our capacity to withstand a crumbling house while acknowledging our susceptibility to being overwhelmed. Eyes wide open.

The collective of Céline and Rose-Myrtha, Wildgroei Coven, will share their exploration of sisterhood, spirituality, witchcraft, and ancestry. 

Marah Haj Hussein holds a workshop dealing with her research, struggles and questions around languages interlacing in one’s mind in an oppressive environment. 

FRIENDSHIP TALKS 

Last but not least, we are introducing the new FRIENDSHIP TALKS : instead of the good old “expert aftertalk”, each artist has chosen one close friend to engage in an open conversation about their artistic practices in ways that matter to them. 
The expertise will be rooted in affects. We are looking forwards to activate this new island with you all <3

As always, we are here with you, rooted in the present tense, ready to face the best and the worst together. 

From Brussels, we send our solidarity from all rivers to all seas of liberation.
Bastardly yours,

The Bâtard Team