Cultural Compass: Sculptural exploration, a new look at Carmen and Egyptian treasures
Every Sunday, Belga English picks its favourite events from the cultural agenda. This week: Antony Gormley's massive sculpture installations take over Antwerp, a new take on opera's favourite heroine and an immersive look at the ancient world of Tutankhamun.
Antony Gormley: Geestgrond, until 20 September, KMSKA
More than 100 works spread across galleries, rooftops and public space: with Geestgrond, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA) presents the largest solo exhibition ever staged on the European mainland by British sculptor Antony Gormley. Created specifically for the museum, the ambitious exhibition transforms the galleries of KMSKA and parts of Antwerp itself into a vast journey through Gormley’s exploration of the body, space and human existence.
For over fifty years, Gormley has investigated what it means to inhabit a body in the world, creating works that are at once monumental and deeply personal. Best known internationally for sculptures such as Angel of the North and Exposure, the artist here reveals not only large-scale installations but also notebooks, drawings, photographs and experimental pieces that offer insight into his creative process.
Rather than functioning as a conventional retrospective, Geestgrond places Gormley’s work in dialogue with masterpieces from the museum collection by artists including James Ensor, Auguste Rodin and Julio González. The title itself refers both to the sandy geological soil of the Low Countries and to the meeting point between the physical and spiritual worlds.
One of the exhibition’s highlights is Cave, a monumental steel installation visitors can walk through, turning sculpture into something physically experienced rather than simply observed. Elsewhere, Gormley works with clay, wood and even slices of bread, constantly shifting between the industrial and the intimate. Extending from the museum galleries onto Museumplein and the Antwerp quays, the exhibition becomes less a static display than a city-wide encounter with sculpture itself.
Carmen, 29 May to June 13 at Opera Ballet Vlaandreren and 20 to 28 June at Concertgebouw Brugge
“Carmen is instinctive, almost animalistic, like a scorpion that seduces and then destroys,” says renowned Belgian choreographer Wim Vandekeybus, who makes his opera directing debut with Opera Ballet Vlaanderen’s new production of Carmen. Staged on a monumental scale involving around 200 performers, the production promises a raw, physical reinterpretation of one of opera’s most recognisable works.
Rather than leaning into familiar imagery of the femme fatale and flamenco spectacle, Vandekeybus approaches Bizet’s opera as a psychological and instinct-driven clash between freedom and possession. For him, Carmen is neither victim nor cliché, but “a human being of flesh and blood” who is rebellious, magnetic and impossible to control. Opposite her stands Don José, consumed by jealousy and obsession in what the director describes as “an exploration of the complex interplay of desire, power and ego”.
Known for the visceral physicality of his work with Ultima Vez, Vandekeybus brings dancers directly into the emotional core of the opera. “The dancers will embody the soul of the characters,” he explains, creating an abstract and intuitive layer alongside the narrative itself. The result is a production where emotion emerges as much through movement and ritual as through music.
The scale is equally striking. Alongside soloists, orchestra and choir, the production features dancers from Opera Ballet Vlaanderen and Ultima Vez, as well as children from a karate school and members of the Roma community.
The title role is shared by mezzo-sopranos Raehann Bryce-Davis and Josy Santos. Bryce-Davis, a former member of Opera Ballet Vlaanderen’s Young Ensemble, has become a favourite with local audiences over the years thanks to her commanding stage presence and richly warm voice. Her return to take on one of opera’s most demanding heroines adds an extra emotional layer to the production.
Treasures of Tutankhamun, 29 May until 31 August, DIVE, Antwerp
The Treasures of Tutankhamun invites visitors deep into the world of Ancient Egypt through an immersive experience that blends archaeology, storytelling and cutting-edge technology. Inspired by Howard Carter’s discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb, the exhibition retraces the life, death and mythical afterlife of the young pharaoh through monumental projections, detailed replicas and interactive installations.
At the centre is a spectacular 360-degree projection space that surrounds visitors with shifting desert landscapes, temples and burial rituals, creating the sensation of stepping directly into the ancient world. Alongside it are meticulously recreated treasures, including Tutankhamun’s iconic golden mask, jewellery and ceremonial objects, each offering insight into the beliefs and grandeur of Egyptian civilisation.
A virtual reality experience pushes the immersion further still, transporting visitors into the pharaoh’s tomb and the world beyond it.
Ongoing events
Antwerp
Antony Gormley: Geestgrond until 20 September
Treasures of Tutankhamun until 31 August
we refuse_d until 7 June
The Antwerp Six until 17 January
Martial Arts until 29 November
Plantin’s Plants until 2 August
Mashid Mohadjerin: Drifting Belgians until 30 August
The Tower of Babel until 8 June
Bruges
The Whispering Walls Rêve
Inventing Obsessions until 19 June
Brussels
Bellezza e Bruttezza until 14 June
ROTONDE
Becoming Ancestors until 28 June
Collection Meets Spanish Artists until 16 August
Hasselt
Ludo Thys until 27 September
Before Our Eyes until 23 August
Kortrijk
Abby & Friends until 13 September
Leuven
Valérie Mannaerts: Antennae until 30 August
Jabbeke
Constant Permeke: The English Years (1914-1919) until 15 November
(MOH)
#FlandersNewsService | British sculptor Antony Gormley © PHOTO ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP
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