Beaufort Triennial presents works of art that will appear along coast

West Flanders and tourism agency Westtoer presented a series of artworks at the eighth edition of the Beaufort Triennial in Blankenberge on Tuesday. Eighteen foreign and domestic artists will create works of art and installations on the theme Fabric of Life, with two works displayed in each participating coastal municipality.
Eight artworks will remain after the exhibition to add to the permanent collection in the Beaufort Sculpture Park, resulting in 50 pieces total.
"A metaphor for an obvious connection, a web of different lines, directions and patterns. A starting point for rethinking our immediate environment and linking it to possible imaginations," said curator Els Wuyts of this year's theme.
"The series of sites in the various coastal communities are excellent opportunities to make certain stories visible. Space has been created in these places to let the sometimes invisible legends speak, to find traces of particular histories or to highlight issues that concern people."
Some artists linked their work to a specific place on the coast. "One artist linked his work to the dunes; another saw his work in a different environment," said Wuyts. "Sometimes, it was the other way around, and a municipality would tell us where space was for one of the works of art. The artists always went in dialogue with their environment."
© BELGA VIDEO MAAIKE TIJSSENS
Westtoer expects around 1 million visitors for the Triennial from Belgium, and a delegation of international journalists will visit in April. "Beaufort allows Westtoer to promote the coast internationally as a contemporary destination, where nature, gastronomy and contemporary visual arts play an important role," says president Sabien Lahaye-Battheu.
Guides are available at all tourist offices along the coast, with explanations of the artworks and artists, walking maps and cycling routes. Walks have been mapped out in each municipality to take visitors past the artworks.
#FlandersNewsService | © PHOTO ARTERRA
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