Street residence [BETHLÉAIME] with Ultimatum Colectivo @ Place Bethléem

On a sunny morning, Paula Isiegas Arribas and Maximilien Engels, artists from Ultimatum Colectivo, set up on Place Bethléem. They observe the square and its parallel realities. Around 50 per cent of those passing by are men – alone or in groups – aged between 20 and 70. Thirty per cent of the passers-by are families with children playing. One in ten people pause for a moment to enjoy the sun. A few walk on without stopping. And then there are all those coffee drinkers or, as is fitting for Brussels, beer drinkers.

How can we highlight the connections between these people? Or even strengthen them? Two questions the artists will set about tackling straight away! During the BETHLÉAIME street residence, they invite residents and passers-by to share their stories, poems, music and critical thoughts, thereby adding new layers and meanings to the square and its people over the course of four days. They take their cue from a veritable rope installation that hangs over the square like a spider’s web and present a wide range of activities.

On the programme: interviews with Radio Poétik, short stories for on the go, an auction and exhibition of words, a philosophers’ corner in the shelter of the shade, and plenty of workshops and games such as making banners, a plant swap, drawing ‘cadavres exquis’, creating melodies with bells and ropes, skipping, and slacklining.

On the final day, it’s party time, and Paula and Maximilien are rounding up all the local residents to bring the street residency to a spectacular close. You’re coming too, aren’t you?