Produced by the Antwerp Queer Arts Festival, the HIVISIBLE collective and Toneelhuis, this edition offers a Positive Lunch in the sumptuous Foyer, followed by a powerful theatre show in the auditorium.

During the Positive Lunch (12:30-14:00), guests will enjoy live performances by emerging and established artists, with a special focus on people living with HIV. 
Your host and first performer is drag king Raoul les mécaniques. Miss Bear Belgium 2023 Ebony Nyota and and drag queen Diva Beirut will surprise you with classy acts ranging from soulful lip-synchs, to chic, lively and eclectic Lebanese drag. Performer Bas Van der Kruk combines spoken word and dance in interaction with the audience. Caribe Montiel & Simon(e) Paetau provide a visual spectacle like a tableau vivant with flowers and fruit.

The afternoon continues with a carefully curated stage programme (3 pm - 4.30 pm) featuring international names such as choreographer/dancer Juan Cruz Cizmar and drag artist & singer Leona Winter, who each challenge stigma and celebrate visibility through their art. Activist and artist Mel Rattue tells her story as a long-term survivor, mother and peer coordinator at Positive East in London and Act Up London activist. Filmmaker Marina Vergueiro will be present with her film Letters to Myself. In it, she challenges the invisibility of women when we talk about HIV and transforms personal stories into collective strength and dialogue. 

This edition also features a collaboration with Visual Aids. On 3 December, De Cinema (De Studio) will screen Meet Us Where We’re At, a programme of six short films that highlight the experiences of drug users and harm reduction practices in relation to the ongoing HIV crisis. The films, made by artists from Puerto Rico, Brazil, Nigeria, Germany and Vietnam, take you through various spaces and show the complexity of drug use. Some films document the visible world of drugs — such as a harm reduction programme in a Berlin park or a night during the Rio carnival — while others show hidden, intimate places where safety is found: bedrooms, underground clinics and moments of connection between loved ones.

Bourla programme
12.30pm - 2pm: Positive Lunch in the Foyer:
lunch buffet + artistic programme
Host: drag king Raoul les mécaniques
Performances: drag queens Ebony Nyota (Belgium), Diva Beirut (France/Lebanon), dancer/performer Bas Van der Kruk (Netherlands), performers Caribe Montiel & Simon(e) Paetau (Germany/Spain)

3pm - 4pm: Stage show in the theatre hall
Singer Leona Winter (France), spoken word artivist Mel Rattue (United Kingdom), choreographer/dancer Juan Cruz Cizmar (Argentina) with live music, and filmmaker Marina Vergueiro (Brazil) with her film Letters to Myself and extra special appearances…

Currated by Luca Modesti, François Vaiana and Marcia Poelman