Brussels biennial Flower Carpet has broken from tradition this year in more ways than one: The majority of the carpet is made up of dahlias rather than the traditional begonia, and it has been designed by a local street artist
Brussels’ Flower Carpet is back on the Grote Markt for its 23rd edition. The biennial event is breaking with tradition in its use of flower this year, with more than 80% of the design created with dahlias instead of the traditional begonias. That has everything to do with climate change, according to the event’s technical director Koen Vondenbusch.
“We’re now working with dahlias, which can take the sun and heat much better than begonias,” he explained. Dahlias are native to Mexico and really love a lot of sun – but less so rain.”
Another new aspect for this edition is the theme. Usually inspired by a guest country or specific cultural event, this year it has been designed by Liège street artist Océane Cornille, better known as Whoups. She calls the design “Rhizome”, after the underground stems of some plants that shoot out roots horizontally.
“I draw inspiration from the concept of plant rhizome to express the complexity and interconnectedness of Brussels,” she explains. “The lines represent the rhizome of plants, but are also a metaphor for the urban rhizome, where neighbourhoods converge and diverge in a complex and dynamic network.”
Flower Carpet in figures
1,680 square metres 1 million flowers 400 volunteers to lay it out 4 days on the Grote Markt First Flower Carpet: 1971
The overall style uses an Art Nouveau approach, a nod to Brussels’ strong connection with the architectural genre. The changes for this edition meant “adapting quite a bit compared with previous editions,” said Benhur Yusuf Ergen, city councillor economic affairs at Brussels-City, “but the results far exceeded our expectations.”
It takes 400 volunteers fewer than four hours to lay out the Flower Carpet . It will be on view for just four days, from 15-18 August. It can be visited for free, but the best view is from the terrace of the Town Hall, which requires an €8 ticket.