Two VIBRANT DAYS celebrating the SPIRIT and ART of the Bloomsbury Group.
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This year’s focus, CHARLESTON IS NOT A DANCE, refers to Charleston in Sussex (UK), the beating heart of the Bloomsbury circle, where art and craft merged into one creative whole.
During the festival, De Studio becomes for two days a central meeting point, a hub of ideas, legacy, and exchange.
With a REMARKABLE LINE-UP of international keynote speakers, a WORLD PREMIERE EXHIBITION in the Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library an inspiring BLOOMSBURY DINNER created by YOUNG ARTISTS, looping DOCUMENTARIES, and a TABLE EXHIBITION featuring unique tableware made by emerging BELGIAN and BRITISH artists.
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Books by the invited lecturers, along with a carefully curated selection of Bloomsbury-related titles, will be available daily at De Studio, at the bookshop booth hosted by one of Antwerp's most renowned bookstores
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The festival offers a fresh perspective on Bloomsbury’s enduring influence.
A FESTIVAL-CAFE will be open at De Studio during the weekend.
A FEAST FOR THINKERS, CREATORS and DREAMERS!​
***Tickets will be available end of september 2025***
*************FESTIVAL PROGRAM*************
FRIDAY 5 December
Location: Casa Lozana , Antwerp
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​6:30pm: Official opening of the festival
Concert by PIERRE FONTENELLE & MAX CHARUE
Drinks & Bites
​Ticket: 85€
SATURDAY 6 December
Location: De Studio - Maarschalck Gérardstraat 4 - 2000 Antwerp
10:00am: Doors open
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11:00am: VIRGINIA NICHOLSON interviewed by Annelies Beck, My Childhood at Charleston
Virginia Nicholson is the granddaugher of Vanessa Bell, Chair of the Charleston Trust and author of many books.
3:30pm: DARREN CLARKE: Is Craft Art?
Darren Clarke is Head of Collections, Research and Exhibitions at the Charleston Trust.
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6:00 - 11pm: ARTISTIC BLOOMSBURY DINNER
Six Belgian and two British artists will create unique tableware and scenography for this special evening. A young Belgian chef will prepare a menu inspired by original Bloomsbury recipes. Each dish will be introduced and historically framed within the Bloomsbury context by writer and journalist Eric Rinckhout.
The unique tableware pieces will be available for purchase; proceeds go to the artists and The Gordon Square Society.
Credits: Virginia Nicholson
Virginia Nicholson with Vanessa Bell & Duncan Grant
SUNDAY 7 December
Location:
De Studio - Maarschalk Gérardstraat 4 - 2000 Antwerp
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10:00am: Doors open
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11:00am: ALEXANDRA HARRIS: The Art of Being Modern
Alexandra Harris is Professor English at the University of Birmingham and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. She is the author of many books and essays and renowned for her inspiring and eloquent lectures.
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3:30pm: GERT VOORJANS: Sense of Place
Gert Voorjans is an iconic Belgian tastemaker and interior architect renowned for his unique style. He has designed homes for some of the world’s leading residential and corporate clients. Drawing on influences from East and West, he creates richly layered environments suffused with colour, each one visually stunning​
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Free Visit in The Studio from 10:30am until 7pm:
-Looping documentaries on Duncan Grant and Charleston in the Rotonda.
-TABLE EXHIBITION where one can purchase unique pieces of tableware made by young Belgian and British artists.
Photographer: Kaatje Verschoren
Copyright:The artist's Estate
Image credits: The Culturium
WORLD PREMIERE EXHIBITION
Letter by Letter (From the Woolf's Hands)
Handprinted Books By Virginia & Leonard Woolf
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For the first time in Belgium, a public exhibition brings together all 34 books hand-set, printed, bound and published by Virginia and Leonard Woolf themselves under their Hogarth Press imprint. Those are rarities in the literary and bibliophile world. The original covers and illustrations, designed by Bloomsbury artists Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant, Dora Carrington and Roger Fry, among others, give each book a unique visual identity. Due to the limited number of copies printed and their distinctive design, these publications are highly sought after and considered coveted pieces of art today. A complete set of Virginia and Leonard Woolf's hand-printed titles has rarely been exhibited worldwide, and our exhibition is the first to present several titles with their variant covers; as such, it can be considered a world premiere, offering a rare opportunity to immerse oneself in the Bloomsbury book arts. The exhibition is complemented by the first “Bloomsbury” book and all the books published by The Omega Workshops, the inspirers of the Hogarth Press.
An unprecedented exhibition!
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Made possible thanks to the generosity of the lenders, co-founder Ben Majchrowicz and Pierre and Marie-Madeleine Coumans. In collaboration with the professional team of the magnificent and unique Nottebohm Room in the Hendrik Conscience Library.
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Accessible by guided tour only.
More information on guided visits, tickets, and time slots : click here
Tickets available from mid-September.​​
EXTRA MUROS In Partnership
OVER SCHOONHEID & TOEVAL
Talk by Marie Peeters
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Renowned Belgian artist Sofie Muller welcomes the Gordon Square Society and their guests to her historic townhouse in Ghent.
Once home to neo-Gothic architect Jean-Baptiste de Bethune, founder of Saint-Lucas Academy in Ghent, the 18th-century house now resembles a mini-museum, filled with art by Muller and fellow artists.
In Sofie's 19th-century private chapel, now a captivating cabinet of curiosities, Marie Peeters will speak on the many facets of beauty, a core value of the Gordon Square Society as both inspiration and aesthetic delight.
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Saturday 27 September (For Patrons of the Society only)
6:00pm: welcome and visit of the house
7:30pm: start of the talk
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Sunday 28 September
10:00am: welcome and visit of the house
11:00am: start of the talk
​Language: Dutch​​​
INTERVIEW
Eric RINCKHOUT talks with bibliophile collector Ben MAJCHROWICZ
Collecting Rare Bloomsbury Books
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Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library, Nottebohmzaal
Sunday morning 30. November. (exact hour to be confirmed)
After the interview, attendees may visit the exhibition Letter by Letter (By the Woolf's Hands).
More info coming soon
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