click on the imagePotential counts for nothing until it’s realised
(Jenny Holzer)
From January 3, 2009 until January 2, 2010, KALENDER took place in Antwerp, a series of more than 150 activities related to traditional holidays, the cycle of the seasons, geopolitical shifts, and life as we know it. Benjamin Verdonck continues his project under the moniker ALTIJD KALENDER (CALENDAR FOREVER). On the one hand he hopes to support a number of other initiatives in the city; and on the other, he is busy building a local network of people from various backgrounds and talents, with whom he hopes to realize some distinct ideas. “It could be a biological French fry maker, or chicken coops in the city as an alternative form of garbage disposal. Or I could make an opening in my garden wall to the two gardens that border it in order to turn locally-raised produce into a possibility.”
What is the role of an artist in such a network as this? To what extent can art and ecology, local and global, individual and collective, life and work, influence each other? An exploration of the answer to this question can be brought to the public in a number of different ways such as small theatre productions, a street action, readings at schools, or an internet site. KALENDER was an everyday exercise in which many different possibilities were explored. The project’s continuation supports sustainable engagement, realisation, and testing/inquiring into the possibilities.
