{
    "title": "Cultural Compass: Love and loss, open-air sculpture gallery and outdoor music",
    "modified_at": "2026-06-21 08:36:15",
    "published_at": "2026-06-21 07:00:00",
    "url": "https://www.belganewsagency.eu/cultural-compass-love-and-loss-open-air-sculpture-gallery-and-outdoor-music",
    "short_url": "http://prez.ly/EkJd",
    "culture": "en_BE",
    "language": "EN",
    "slug": "cultural-compass-love-and-loss-open-air-sculpture-gallery-and-outdoor-music",
    "body": "<p style=\"text-align: left\"><strong>Every Sunday, Belga English picks its favourite events from the cultural agenda. This week: an exploration of love and loss through dance, dialogue between nature and art and live music in some of the Scheldt Valley&#039;s most beautiful locations.</strong></p><hr /><h4 id=\"love-loss-until-28-june-opera-ballet-vlaanderen-antwerp\" style=\"text-align: left\"><a href=\"https://www.operaballet.be/nl/programma/seizoen-2025-2026/love-loss\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Love &amp; Loss</a>, until 28 June, Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, Antwerp</h4><p style=\"text-align: left\">Love and loss have inspired some of the greatest works in dance, and Opera Ballet Vlaanderen brings them together in a powerful evening that explores both themes through movement. Love &amp; Loss is a triple bill that unites three choreographic voices, each reflecting on transience, memory and the resilience of the human spirit.</p><p style=\"text-align: left\">The programme opens with a work by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, set to Johann Sebastian Bach&rsquo;s Second Cello Suite. Created from the performance Mitten wir im Leben sind, it places dancer and cellist in direct dialogue, revealing the emotional architecture hidden within Bach&rsquo;s music. The work gains added poignancy from the knowledge that Bach composed the cello suites during a period marked by personal loss.</p><div id=\"video-0108c973-7353-4b0d-b80a-4b7b177a944e\" class=\"release-content-video release-content-video--embed release-content-video--contained\">\n    <div><div style=\"left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;\"><iframe data-iframely-url=\"https://iframely.net/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DATD5ErX7K8Y%23_cb1781962068&key=8fe6cdec03482ac31f27a6ae8ea2fb3f\" data-img style=\"top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;\" allowfullscreen scrolling=\"no\" allow=\"accelerometer *; clipboard-write *; encrypted-media *; gyroscope *; picture-in-picture *; web-share *;\"></iframe></div></div><script async src=\"https://iframely.net/embed.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n</div><p style=\"text-align: left\">Next comes Quintett, one of the most celebrated creations by William Forsythe. This lyrical and deeply moving piece was conceived as a final love letter to the choreographer&rsquo;s terminally ill wife and is widely regarded as one of the masterpieces of contemporary dance.</p><p style=\"text-align: left\">The evening concludes with Only Light Years Away, a new creation by Canadian choreographic duo David Raymond and Tiffany Tregarthen. Exploring the limits of the body and the inevitability of change, the work ultimately celebrates endurance, connection and hope.</p><hr /><h4 id=\"ooidonk-art-festival-until-30-august-ooidonk\" style=\"text-align: left\"><a href=\"https://www.ooidonkartfestival.be/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ooidonk Art Festival</a>, until 30 August, Ooidonk</h4><p style=\"text-align: left\">Set in the idyllic grounds of the 17th-century Goed te R&eacute;ables estate near Ooidonk Castle, the Ooidonk Art Festival transforms one of the Leie region&rsquo;s most picturesque landscapes into an open-air gallery where contemporary art and nature meet. This year&rsquo;s edition brings together around 150 works by more than 30 Belgian and international artists, inviting visitors to explore art through meadows, gardens and historic surroundings.</p>\n    <figure\n        class=\"release-content-image release-content-image--contained release-content-image--align-center\"\n        data-component=\"image-zoom-popup\"\n        data-image-zoom-popup-selector=\".release-content-image__image\"\n        data-image-zoom-popup-i18n=\"data:application/json;base64,eyJEb3dubG9hZCI6IkRvd25sb2FkIn0=\"\n        data-image-zoom-popup-tracking-views-event=\"Story Image View\"\n        data-image-zoom-popup-tracking-download-event=\"Story Image Download\"\n        data-image-zoom-popup-placement=\"content\"\n    >\n        <div class=\"image-thumbnail-rollover\" style=\"width: 100%\">\n            <img\n                src=\"https://cdn.uc.assets.prezly.com/4744dcd8-bada-40b1-8a7d-c12d3cc54dfa/-/format/auto/\"\n                                class=\"release-content-image__image image-thumbnail-rollover__image\"\n                data-description=\"&lt;sup&gt;&amp;copy; PHOTO OOIDONK ART FESTIVAL &lt;/sup&gt;\"\n                id=\"image-4744dcd8-bada-40b1-8a7d-c12d3cc54dfa\"\n                data-id=\"4744dcd8-bada-40b1-8a7d-c12d3cc54dfa\"\n                data-original=\"https://cdn.uc.assets.prezly.com/4744dcd8-bada-40b1-8a7d-c12d3cc54dfa/-/inline/no/FineArts-LR%2845%29.avif\"\n                data-mfp-src=\"https://cdn.uc.assets.prezly.com/4744dcd8-bada-40b1-8a7d-c12d3cc54dfa/-/format/auto/\"\n                alt=\"\u00a9 PHOTO OOIDONK ART FESTIVAL \"\n            />\n            <div class=\"image-thumbnail-rollover__caption\">\n                <svg class=\"icon icon-expand image-thumbnail-rollover__caption-icon\">\n                <use xlink:href=\"#icon-expand\"></use>\n            </svg>            </div>\n        </div>\n\n        <figcaption class=\"release-content-image__caption\"><sup>&copy; PHOTO OOIDONK ART FESTIVAL </sup></figcaption>\n    </figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">Rather than confining art to white-walled galleries, the festival allows monumental sculptures and installations to emerge directly from the landscape. Among the highlights are Koen Vanmechelen&rsquo;s monumental marble egg, Johan Creten&rsquo;s enigmatic sculptural figures and Philippe Perrin&rsquo;s oversized knife cutting dramatically through the scenery.</p><p style=\"text-align: left\">The 2026 edition places a particular emphasis on the relationship between art and nature, with many works responding directly to the surrounding environment. Expanded walking routes lead visitors beyond the estate itself and into the neighbouring fields, creating a journey of discovery where every turn reveals a new encounter.</p><hr /><h4 id=\"stroom-until-28-june-scheldt-valley\" style=\"text-align: left\"><a href=\"https://www.festivalstroom.be/nl/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">STROOM</a>, until 28 June, Scheldt Valley</h4><p style=\"text-align: left\">More than a music festival, STROOM is an invitation to experience the Scheldt Valley through sound, landscape and imagination. Set against the backdrop of the National Park Scheldt Valley, the festival brings together classical music, contemporary creation, literature and visual art in some of the region&rsquo;s most remarkable natural and heritage sites.</p><div id=\"video-df1d0045-192e-403b-a568-80b829979313\" class=\"release-content-video release-content-video--embed release-content-video--contained\">\n    <div><div style=\"left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;\"><iframe data-iframely-url=\"https://iframely.net/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DV_buAbKbfno%23_cb1781961402&key=8fe6cdec03482ac31f27a6ae8ea2fb3f\" style=\"top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;\" allowfullscreen scrolling=\"no\" allow=\"accelerometer *; clipboard-write *; encrypted-media *; gyroscope *; picture-in-picture *; web-share *;\"></iframe></div></div><script async src=\"https://iframely.net/embed.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n</div><p style=\"text-align: left\">The programme ranges from intimate riverside concerts and immersive artistic rituals to large-scale musical productions. Among the highlights is Uw vlees en bloed, a new work by celebrated Belgian pianist and composer Jef Neve, created with writer Jeroen Olyslaegers and presented as a contemporary, deeply human Passion. Elsewhere, Belgian duo schntzl transforms the river itself into a stage, performing their hypnotic blend of electronics, improvisation and jazz from a raft floating on the water.</p><p style=\"text-align: left\">Nature remains at the heart of the festival. The multidisciplinary project onderSTROOM combines art, reflection and ecology, encouraging visitors to see the Scheldt not as an industrial waterway but as a living landscape.</p><hr /><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>\u200b\u200b</strong>(MOH)</p><p><sub><br>\u200b#FlandersNewsService | &copy; PHOTO STROOM FESTIVAL</sub></p><hr /><p><strong>Related news</strong></p><div id=\"bookmark-44729956-8881-42b7-a3f2-7f6822ae69cf\"\n     class=\"release-content-bookmark release-content-bookmark--horizontal\">\n\n            <a class=\"release-content-bookmark__thumbnail\"\n           href=\"https://www.belganewsagency.eu/brussels-flanders-day-event-gets-new-name-to-welcome-everyone\"\n           rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\n           target=\"_blank\"           style=\"background-image: url(https://prezly.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.uc.assets.prezly.com%2F273b46ea-2bc8-4bfb-b374-9810052ca80d%2F-%2Fpreview%2F600x600%2F?ar=1%3A1&amp;fit=crop&amp;s=df01d8ca83af4f972c0a91fd5f8a2e1b)\"\n        ></a>\n    \n    <div class=\"release-content-bookmark__details\">\n\n                    <a class=\"release-content-bookmark__title\"\n               href=\"https://www.belganewsagency.eu/brussels-flanders-day-event-gets-new-name-to-welcome-everyone\"\n               rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\n               target=\"_blank\"               data-type=\"bookmark\"\n               data-track=\"Story WebBookmark Click\"\n               data-placement=\"content\"\n               data-id=\"44729956-8881-42b7-a3f2-7f6822ae69cf\"\n           >\n                Brussels\u2019 Flanders Day event gets new name to welcome everyone            </a>\n        \n                    <div class=\"release-content-bookmark__description\">\n                The annual Flanders Day celebration in Brussels has been renamed \u2018Vlaanderen Feest in Brussel\u2019 (\u2018Flanders Celebrates in Brussels\u2019). 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    "videos": [
        {
            "caption": "Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker en William Forsythe te zien in Love & Loss",
            "thumbnail": "https://img.youtube.com/vi/ATD5ErX7K8Y/maxresdefault.jpg",
            "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATD5ErX7K8Y",
            "embed": "<div><div style=\"left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;\"><iframe data-iframely-url=\"https://iframely.net/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DATD5ErX7K8Y%23_cb1781962068&key=8fe6cdec03482ac31f27a6ae8ea2fb3f\" data-img style=\"top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;\" allowfullscreen scrolling=\"no\" allow=\"accelerometer *; clipboard-write *; encrypted-media *; gyroscope *; picture-in-picture *; web-share *;\"></iframe></div></div><script async src=\"https://iframely.net/embed.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>"
        },
        {
            "caption": "Aftermovie STROOM 2025",
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    "links": [
        {
            "description": "Brussels\u2019 Flanders Day event gets new name to welcome everyone",
            "url": "https://www.belganewsagency.eu/brussels-flanders-day-event-gets-new-name-to-welcome-everyone"
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        {
            "description": "AfricaMuseum digitises archives documenting Congolese natural resources",
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