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<\/p>\nThe Kunstenfestivaldesarts in Brussels (KFDA), opening this Friday, will present more than 170 performing arts shows this year on an artistic production budget of just \u20ac1 million \u2014 a near paradox in today\u2019s arts funding climate.<\/p>\n
The festival, which attracts around 30,000 visitors annually, traditionally kicks off the European performing arts season ahead of Avignon in July in southern France and Edinburgh’s international festival in August. But the sector has faced sustained budget cuts across Europe for several years.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a fairly large budget and at the same time extremely limited compared with other festivals in Europe, such as Avignon or others,\u201d co-director Daniel Blanga Gubbay told Euronews Culture. \u201cBut it allows us to support the production of artists for shows that premiere during our festival.\u201d<\/p>\n
The model relies on keeping venue costs in Brussels low \u2014 many spaces are provided free of charge \u2014 and on co-productions and partnerships to finance the works of artists.<\/p>\n
A truce between Flemish and Wallon communities<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s lineup boasts major names such as Italian director Romeo Castellucci, French choreographer Boris Charmatz and Spanish director Ang\u00e9lica Liddell.<\/p>\n
There are also artists presenting in Europe for the first time, including Thai choreographer Thanapol Virulhakul and Indonesian choreographers Leu Wijee and Mio Ishida.<\/p>\n
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Thanapol Virulhakul – Comrades, Miracle, Curse. – \u00a9 Jiraphat Vinagupta <\/p>\n
To mount its productions, the festival partners with international institutions such as France\u2019s Festival d\u2019Automne, the Sharjah Art Foundation in the United Arab Emirates and the Taipei Performing Arts Center (TPAC) in Taiwan.<\/p>\n
Over the years, the KFDA has consistently showcased artists from around the world. That diversity mirrors the festival\u2019s dual identity, jointly funded by Belgium\u2019s Flemish and Walloon communities. Long at odds, the French and Dutch-speaking regions set aside their differences for a three-week truce during the festival.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year, we will have theatre on stage in Farsi, Spanish, Thai… It has always been our intention to maintain this linguistic polyphony on stage. And each production is simultaneously subtitled in French, Dutch and English. It is a huge work,\u201d Blanga Gubbay said.<\/p>\n
Now in its 31st year, the festival was founded by Flemish director Frie Leysen, who pushed for an international event bridging Belgium\u2019s linguistic divide.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe used to say that artists are like antennas, helping us understand what is happening in the world,\u201d added Blanga Gubbay.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s edition also reflects global tensions. In Prisoners of Love: Until the Sun of Freedom, Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme interlace together poems and songs by Palestinian prisoners, testing the boundaries of Israeli repressive structures. Meanwhile, Ali Asghar Dashti and Nasim Ahmadpour present Noli Me Tangere, where the absence of an imprisoned Iranian actor becomes a striking stage presence, raising questions about theatre as a space of emancipation.<\/p>\n
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Ali Asghar Dashti and Nasim Ahmadpour – Noli Me Tangere – \u00a9 Nasib Nasibi <\/p>\n