Visual artist
Ian De Weerdt meets two men who get deemed
as ‘legendary’ in Aarschot. Bart Ackx and Kim
Rens will perform the impossible with 4 record-
players and spoken word. Ian will join his fellow
performers on stage in his own way. All this will
result in giving and receiving feedback that will be
turned into an infinite loop.

On our last event before sending in this dossier,
the residents of Kiek worked together on another
group show. The title ‘Ik picket niet’ is a play
on the English word ‘picket’ from “white picket
fence” and the Dutch phrase ‘ik pik het niet’
which roughly translates to ‘i won’t take/allow
it’. The picket fence is a common sight in typical
Flemish front yards. It symbolises the concept of
gentrification that every big city deals with. Much
like the ones guarding someone’s property, the
picket fence reappears all over public spaces. A
subtle, physical manifestation of social hierarchy
pushing away lower classes.
The expo was named after the installation by Fanny
Wellens who used found, made and borrowed
objects. The installation displayed a tension
between intimacy and artificiality. The front of
the space exhibited three self-portraits by Robin
Adriaens who tries to elevate these paintings to the
status of ‘object’. By constructing a robust frame
the otherwise flat image becomes a 2D body with
paint on all visible sides.
On the parking space in front of the garage Roel
Segers carefully curated bathroom tiles to become
the stage for his ‘Badfiets’. A banal play on the
‘bakfiets’ (cargo bike) which we can spot all over
Antwerp. Humor and taste were poured into this
installation that traveled outside the borders of the
actual space.

Red Routines was our first official exhibition
where we invited other artists to tackle the space.
Two students, currently in the Master Sculpture at
the Royal Academy, where brave enough. Marius
Schoonvliet and Nina Schuurmans have shared
the same class for years and used their close
professional relationship to build their expo, that
tried to emphasize the cozy, homely feeling that
Kiek possesses. It was for both an opportunity to
show their most recent work to an audience outside
their academic circle. Sofia Van Rampelberg later
gave a touching, spoken-word performance about
‘home’ and nostalgia.

Next up was Tibo Vergote with the first solo-show
in Kiek. Stepping away from clasically curated
exhibitions, Tibo made a site-specific installation.
In his own words: “the installation refers to
office spaces and control rooms, environments
characterized by permanent observation,
monitoring, and waiting. The twenty-four screens
function as reflective surfaces in which the
presence and movement of the viewer are present.
This creates a tension between looking and being
looked at. The installation can be read within the
discourse of surveillance capitalism, in which
observation, data, and visibility are structurally
deployed as forms of control.” At the front of the
space he installed chairs to create another room
that suggested to be a sort of public waitingroom
that will later on lead you to the screenroom.
Within this area drawings were carefully archived
in drawers and presented on the wall. Throughout
the day 8 mystery-performers pretended to be just
another visitor, waiting for something to happen..

This is the debut expo of Kiek where we opened
our gate for the first time. For the official launch
it seemed appropriate to introduce the residents
of the ‘kunsthuis’ to the public. Together we
assembled a group expo showing works of all
residents (except for Alice who does not have an
artistic practice at the moment but still deserved
a spot on the poster). During this event visitors
could enjoy paintings by Robin, sculptures and
paintings by Fanny, a bathtubinstallation by Roel
and a large-scale, participatory performance by
Brend and his collective, Overal. The installation
and performance exceptionally took place in the
garden which gave it the isolated and intimate
circumstances it needed. We believe to have
opened with a bang which left our audience
wanting more. From here on out it was clear that
visual art, installation work, performative art and
theatre would be the main pillars for Kiek. Like all
expo’s that later followed and will still follow, the
event was open to visitors for just one day. a ‘one
hit wonder’ as they call it. Using this pattern allows
us to organise (atleast) one expo every month.

Group show by all the residents of Het Kiek. Visual material found in files from pas exhibitions. Performance during the vernisage and a theatre play to wrap things up at the finnisage.

Aanvullende performance bij vernissage voor AAW

Voorstelling voor tijdens vernissage AAW. 'The Grizzly Man'

Het Kiek is a fairly new, artist-run organisation
founded in November last year by 5 roommates
who live above the expo-space. This space is
essentially a garage that obtained the necessary
qualities to become something more than just a free
parking spot. It is located behind Central Station at
Provinciestraat 116, two doors down from Kunsthal
Extra City with whom we have built a neighbourly
bond. So far our mission has been to provide a
modest platform for various artists where they can
have verbal and visual dialogue with one another.
A space for expos, installations, performances and
everything in between.
The founders of ‘Kunsthuis’ Kiek are: Brend
Van Dijck (Theater-maker, performer and
cultphenomenon), Roel Segers (Visual Artist,
Photographer and Bathroom expert), Robin
Adriaens (Visual Artist, Illustrator and amateur
graphic designer), Fanny Wellens (Visual Artist,
Latex Lover and Queer Queen) and Alice Kok
(Heritage researcher, Ceramics Restorer and
Fashionista).