For the next edition of the art festival, we aim for a Watou shaped by collectives and collabs, celebrating the diversity and strength of collaborative creation. The theme of this year’s open call, "The Smell of Grass is Changing", represents the adaptation, transformation and renewal we seek in the arts, inviting reflection on our changing world and its impact on our creative process and interactions. With this adage, internationally acclaimed artist Koen Vanmechelen, the inspirator behind Patchwwwork, the experimental precursor to the Watou Art Festival, invites artists to engage in a new unique creative journey.
If grass smells like concrete, a village will lose the authenticity needed to survive. The balance will shift — Koen Vanmechelen
Patchwwwork
Since 2021, Vanmechelen has initiated Patchwwwork as a research project, organising an in situ ‘artist’ encampment as an immersive experiment and learning process, culminating in this new call. For the next edition, we seek collectives and collabs eager to contribute to Watou's evolution and transformation, engaging in a journey stimulating both senses and mind. Registration is open from March 15 to May 31, 2024. Selected collectives and collabs will be invited to submit a proposal for a next edition of Watou Arts Festival.
General info
Watou Arts Festival 2024
Landscape of Imagination
6 Jul - 1 Sept 2024
Open Call Patchwwwork — ‘The Smell of Grass is Changing’
for collectives & collabs
15 Mar - 31 May 2024