#dansstorm

Open Air Theatre

For Dansstorm Kortrijk, Decoratelier / Jozef Wouters created the open-air theatre in the Begijnhofpark.

Jozef Wouters (1986) is a Brussels-based scenographer and theatre maker. From Decoratelier in Molenbeek, he brings various projects and artistic collaborations to life. It is an accessible studio where artists, theatre makers and set designers engage in cross-disciplinary collaborations and experiments. In 2019, he and co-founder Menno Vandevelde were awarded the Flemish Culture Prize (Ultima) in the performing arts category for this. Wouters’ work is often related to a specific location and initiates a dialogue between strategic spaces, social processes and the power of imagination. In 2020, his book Moments before the wind appeared. Reflections on space, scenography, the making of art and institutional critique invite the reader to think along or to raise questions, to think out loud and to invent space themselves. Jeroen Peeters edited the book. Since 2017, Jozef Wouters has been an autonomous artist in residence at Meg Stuart/Damaged Goods.

 

Decoratelier is a constantly evolving project, located in a former factory in Molenbeek (Belgium). Since 2016, Decoratelier has functioned as an artists’ workspace that is accessible for theatrical productions, interdisciplinary collaborations and social experimentation The first project to take shape within Decoratelier’s walls was Atelier III (2017), the precursor to Projecting [Space[ , in collaboration with Meg Stuart/Damaged Goods and Jeroen Peeters. In 2019, Decoratelier produced Underneath Which Rivers Flow, a secret garden full of wormholes that lead to uncharted worlds, together with the open arts house Globe Aroma. In the summer of 2020, Decoratelier hosted its first open-air festival Something when it doesn’t rain, a varied programme of workshops, music, performances, screenings, training sessions, talks and more, curated and organised in close collaboration with local residents and organisations. A second edition followed in 2021. From 15 till 17 September 2023, the installation will be used for Dansstorm in Mechelen.