This exhibition connects to Constant Aline’s earlier project “TITLE”, presented in 2019 at Pinkie Bowtie a former artists space at ERCOLA. This new chapter returns to the same location and proposes a continuation and second iteration that revisits the logic of titling, framing and reinterpretation. This new installment is therefore presented as “TITLE TOO”; a playful yet deliberate reference to sequels, echoes and second rounds.
The subtitle ‘Hour Rose’ is the evocative but mysterious title of an early work by artist Carl Andre. In 2018 Idris Sevenans reconstructed this work with LEGO™ bricks. At ERCOLA the public is invited to make another copy guided by the manual and a helpful assistant. A special assembly stand will be present.
However the phrase ‘Hour Rose’ can also be read through a literary lens. In the tradition of ambiguous and non-linear storytelling - such as in William Faulkner’s ‘A Rose for Emily’ - where meaning is constructed through fragments, atmosphere and suggestion rather than direct narrative clarity. This ambiguity is not only a conceptual backdrop but is actively incorporated into this exhibition. Three artists connect with their work from outside the space.

Participating artists:
Viviane Klagsbrun, Isa Beau Van Eembergen, Ines Claus, Deborah Desch, Idris Sevenans, Constant Aline, Philippe Van Damme, Vadym Hluzd, Jan Tromp, Wayne Stild and an artist who prefers to remain anonymous.

The art collective ERCOLA presents in the basement of the Godshuis the exhibition 'in caravan, ERCOLA'.

Where the upper floors function as shared, visible, and organized spaces, the artists in the basement take on a different position: underground, temporary, rougher, and more collective. The basement thus becomes a physical and symbolic place for the younger generation of artists, who today increasingly see how autonomous workspaces and collective structures disappear under the pressure of redevelopment, regulation, and commercialization.

'in caravan, ERCOLA' explores how freedom and future-oriented thinking can emerge precisely within dependency and care. The exhibition departs from the idea that collective care-for one another, for the environment, for materials, and for shared infrastructure- can today be a new form of radicality and avant-garde. Drawing inspiration from the philosophy of care, such as Joan Tronto and Maria Puig de la Bellacasa, care is not read here as something soft or secondary, but as an active and political force: an alternative to individualization and exhaustion.

Participating artists for both AHORSE and ‘in caravan’:
Jazi Blue Charbit, Casper Engels, Kika Ilegems, Leendert van Accoleyen, Myrthe Coenen, Klara Dolhain, Piotr Kozakiewicz, Ewout LeHoucq , Sien Kusters, Cristoph Blawert, Herman Labro, Marie Bernadette Woehrl, Nelly Bellegarde, Ursula Volatovska, Karsten Krogh Hansen, Georges Timmerman, Tom Goossens, Pierette Coffree, Gina Habets, Bob Verhelst, Joan Bonnemaison, Robin Kuypers, Anaïs Gossé, Saar van de Leest, Sien Custers, Jean Buytaert and Storm Suzanna Gossé.

Inspired by ERCOLA’s upcoming move, the idea emerged to create a majestic, towering, rearing horse from the materials that need to be relocated. To turn the move into an adventurous and creative event, the artists decided to construct the horse using materials from the studios. The project is still in progress, with multiple members of the collective contributing. The work also contains subtle references to the oeuvre of Louise De Langhe, who tragically passed away last year in a traffic accident.

This project is assembled by two different generations who represent two different artistic mindsets and spirits of the time. The invited curator is Constant Peers, the curator for ERCOLA vzw is Leendert van Accoleyen. The building itself is not merely a location, but an active conceptual framework: its spatial hierarchy and architecture become part of the story, its symbolism, and its expression. Leendert and Constant together build this joint exhibition in the ‘show:room’, which consists of the hall, the two adjacent rooms, and the garden. It is intended as a focal point of art by contemporary artists and is full of surprises. Some performances may take place in the basement.

Participating artists:
Juliet Jespers, Louise Delanghe, Hamer Körmeling, Roxanne Mertens, Pamela Bruers, Laurence Plumier, Chris Gillis, Rachel Daniels, Messieurs Delmotte, Spocktron, Romeo Hoornaert, Rufus Michielssen, Jan Beddegenoodt and Ludo Mich.

Thomas Vermeiren and Lucas Hendrix are given free rein in the showroom environment for their in situ interventions and performances. Together with invited participants, they create temporary installations and participatory setups. For example, in the light of the 100th anniversary of television and the ‘cursed corridor’ that Filip Francis created at ERCOLA in the 1970s.

Participating artists:
Thomas Vermeiren, Lucas Hendrix and invitees

Photographer Isa Beau Van Eembergen invites and curates an exhibition with the theme ‘mind(e)scapes’ followed on the 16th of May by a new presentation in the same room of 'Memetic Momentum', a selection by photographer Lukas Gess. Both are still studying at the Royal Academy in Antwerp and get here the opportunity to explore their own creative impulses and practice together with their own invitees. The territory is open to different disciplines, performance and changing schedules.

‘mind(e)scapes opens on may 9th with a performance by Zoya Ilina
“About the performance, I was planning on “recreating” my studio space, by attaching long pieces of paper on the wall and drawing (with ink) some of the objects I have in the studio from my memory, such as sketches and postcards on the wall, paint tubes on the floor etc. To then hang the paintings on top of that paper and keep it as it is for the rest of the show.”

Memetic Momentum: The symbol in this exhibition functions as a conceptual framework, a hint, a gesture, a reference, or a direct mediation. These fragments-dense with information-activate our collective visual lexicon, exposing the semiotic layers of contemporary culture. This exhibition features works that play with the symbolic charge of visual elements: internet media, screenshots, (pop) cultural figures, tropes, and re-appropriated text or imagery. They evoke a kind of visual realism-one that mirrors how we perceive and construct our visual reality today. Memetic Momentum traces our search for meaning amid a flood of images, probing the complex relationship between representation,relevance, and power.

Participating artists:
mind(e)scapes: Zoya Ilina, Kalin Moradi, Floor Martens, Zanders Prinsloo, Sofia Sauter, Richard Rennequin, Isa Beau van Eembergen
Memetic Momentum: Tyree Lindsey, Olivia Bertoni, Nino, Thorhildur Thordardottir, Ricardo Sommer and Lukas Gess.

Since 1972 the ERCOLA buildings host a diverse collective of artists, couturiers, jewelry designers, comic artists, illustrators, graphic designers, interior decorators, film makers and set designers.

Over the decades, the building has functioned as a living artistic ecosystem: a shared working space, meeting point, archive and experimental environment where generations of artists developed practices rooted in collaboration and collective infrastructure. The present collective wishes to create a final tribute to this community, its layered history, and its role as a long-standing autonomous space for artistic production.

ERCOLA will be the staging ground in May 2026 of a cluster of exhibitions. The event will take place in rooms on the ground floor and the extensive basements of this historic building complex.

Opening on Saturday 9 May 5 PM
Exhibition 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 23, 24 May
Opening hours 5 – 8 PM (10, 23, 24 May)
Opening hours during Antwerp Art Weekend:
14 May 12-9 PM
15, 16, 17 May 12-6 PM