A new edition of the triennial art festival Beaufort is coming our way. Every single coastal municipality, except Bredene, will participate. The new works of art go on show in six months’ time. Beaufort brings accessible and monumental works to the Flemish seaside resorts.
The eighth edition of Beaufort will build on what has already been created: national and international visual artists have been asked to create unique sculptures that are easily accessible and that can be visited 24/7. Every coastal municipality is participating in Beaufort24, bar Bredene.
"It is quite an honour to be able to organise the eighth edition. We want to build on what is going on in the municipalities. The works of art have to be ready in six months’ time" says curator Els Wuyts.
Together, the artworks constitute an open-air exhibition in public spaces encompassing the entire 67 kilometres of our coastline. "We want to bring art and coast even closer together. We sought a suitable artist for every location. Beaufort24 also edges slightly further inland offering a series of visual installations along the route of the coast tram that connects port zones, village centres, markets, dykes, fields and parks in one single movement."
50 permanent artworks
42 works of art remain in seaside resorts thanks to previous editions. Eight of the artworks created for Beaufort24 are permanent works and this means that the Beaufort Sculpture Park will continue to grow. The artists selected for Beaufort24 represent a mix of Belgian and international artists:
- Filip Vervaet (B) and Maëlle Dufour (B) in De Panne.
- Johan Creten (B/FR) and Jorge Macchi (ARG) in Koksijde-Oostduinkerke.
- Selva Aparicio (SP) and Alexandra Bircken (GER) in Nieuwpoort
- Lucy + Jorge Orta (UK/ARG) and Jef Meyer (B) in Middelkerke-Westende.
- Femmy Otten (NL) and Marius Ritiu (RO) in Ostend.
- Sara Bjarland (FIN) and Pei-Hsuan Wang (TAI) in De Haan-Wenduine.
- Romain Weintzem (FR) and Driton Selmani (KOS) in Blankenberge.
- Monika Sosnowska (PL) in Zeebrugge, together with a second work presented in co-production with the Bruges Triennal 2024.
- Richard Deacon (UK) and Lucie Lanzini (FR) in Knokke-Heist.