L-R: Pascale Delcomminette, CEO of AWEX and WBI; Ainhoa Achutegui, Director of neimënster, Françoise Poos, President of the Board of Directors of neimënster;
Credit: J. Van Belle - WBIAWEX
On the occasion of the state visit of Their Majesties the King and Queen of the Belgians to Luxembourg, neimënster and Wallonie-Bruxelles International (WBI) signed an agreement on artist residences at neimënster.
During a signing ceremony at the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, Françoise Poos, President of the Board of Directors of neimënster, and Ainhoa Achutegui, Director of neimënster, signed an agreement with Pascale Delcomminette, CEO of WBI and the Wallonia Foreign Trade and Investment Agency (AWEX), between neimënster and WBI on the reception of artists from the Wallonia-Brussels Federation at neimënster.
The signing took place in the presence of His Majesty the King of the Belgians and His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, along with Luc Frieden, President of the Chamber of Commerce, Carlo Thelen, Managing Director of the Chamber, Minister of the Economy Étienne Schneider and Bernard Gilliot, President of the Fédération des Entreprises de Belgique (FEB). The ceremony saw the signing of several other Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) between Belgium and Luxembourg.
Françoise Poos commented: "Today, we are strengthening our cooperation with Wallonia-Brussels and taking a new step in our efforts to develop artist residencies. The signing of this convention is a new testimony to the rise of artistic creation and the meeting of cultural actors within neimënster. The agreement will bring benefits in terms of international exchange and networking".
Regarding the organisation of residences, these are planned to be held each year in March-April and May-June during which time two artists will be hosted for a period of six weeks at neimënster. Throughout the residence, workshops, open houses and professional meetings will be organised in consultation with the artists, as well as the eventual possibility of an exhibition to be inaugurated during a vernissage.
A call for applications will be jointly developed by both parties at the end of November which will define the criteria, disciplines and artistic projects eligible for the residences. The "Commission consultative des arts plastiques de Wallonie Bruxelles" will make an initial selection before neimënster makes the final selection.
