Featuring Commissioned Projects by Architects Leopold Banchini x Giona Bierens de Haan x DVS1, Atelier Fanelsa, Jean-Benoît Vétillard and Alter, choreographers and visual artists Eddie Peake, Marilyn Minter, Joshua Serafin and Kenza Taleb Vandeput

http://www.horstartsandmusic.com

Now in its 11th year, Horst Arts & Music doubles down on its mission to bring  together cutting edge art, architecture and performance, with a focus on community, ecology and the ‘democratization of the dancefloor’. Each year these site specific projects are debuted at the May festival, with the architectural projects acting as permanent infrastructure and community spaces within the ASIAT park and art commissions being exhibited throughout the summer exposition to follow.

At the core of the  programme for 2025, is the Horst Expo ‘There Will Come Soft Rains’, which features a number of striking installations and interventions, delving into themes of rebirth and evolution.  Participating artists for the exhibition – much of which will remain on site throughout 2025 – include esteemed artists such as Eddie Peake, Marilyn Minter, Joshua Serafin, and Kenza Taleb Vandeput presenting new, multi-layered works that probe the intersections of art, identity, and community building.

The exhibition theme is further mirrored by a series of high-profile architectural interventions, including a brand new, semi-permanent stage co-designed by DJ and producer DVS1 and architects Leopold Banchini and Giona Bierens de Haan, and site-specific work by Atelier Fanelsa, Jean-Benoît Vétillard, Alter, YRD Works, and more. 

All this complements a previously announced music programme focused on the boundary pushing convergence of global club culture, bringing together a scene whose strength lies in its diversity.

From festival to summer exhibition and beyond..

Horst blends fine art and architecture to transform ASIAT Park into a space of experimentation and connection. Throughout the festival, artists will showcase performances and interventions that integrate seamlessly with the musical and spatial environment. The summer exhibition extends the presence of art and architectural elements in the park, from sculptures to innovative stages and pavilions, allowing art at Horst to resonate both temporally and spatially.

During the three-day festival, a lineup of unique in-situ performances will feature artists like Eddie Peake, Hamed Dehqan and Nathaniel Moore, alongside installations by Esben Weile Kjær and Marilyn Minter. Eddie Peake, a multidisciplinary artist and DJ from the UK, will captivate audiences in the Rain Room with ‘The Pervert’, a performance exploring themes of voyeurism and desire through a group of gold-painted nude dancers and a live soundscape created by Peake himself. Represented by White Cube Gallery, ‘The Pervert’ is scheduled to tour four additional European venues during 2025, including Fold London and Galeria Municipal do Porto. The evening will also include a participatory dance performance examining pre-internet virality in the Iranian diaspora by Hamed Dehqan and Nathaniel Moore. This work was created during an intensive residency at Antwerp’s DE SINGEL.

The visual arts programme engages with ideas of desirability and consumption in the post-capitalist era. Esben Weile Kjær will reveal a monumental inflatable sculpture depicting a golden rat.

Marilyn Minter will collaborate with Antwerp gallery Tick Tack to present a video installation that merges fashion aesthetics with feminist themes, projected monumentally onto one of the  iconic cooling towers.

Summer exhibition ‘There Will Come Soft Rains’

This year’s exhibition is titled ‘There Will Come Soft Rains’, inspired by the poem of the same name by American lyric poet Sara Teasdale from 1918. “In her poem, Teasdale reflects on how, despite the devastations of World War I and a flu pandemic, a gentle rain shower continues undisturbed, allowing spring to bloom,” explains Louise Goegebeur, artistic coordinator at Horst Arts & Music. “The art programme named after this poem challenges us to consider how we can evolve from conflict and decay to a harmonious future.” The exhibition creatively engages with the theme of resilience, expanding beyond the planned site due to unforeseen changes and adapting to unlock an additional piece of land at the edge of ASIAT Park. This expansion not only represents physical growth but also embodies the theme of thriving amidst challenges.

The 2025 edition of the summer exhibition invites a diverse group of artists to reshape the site. Kenza Taleb Vandeput, the fashion designer behind Kasbah Kosmic and artist in residence at Horst, will showcase a textile installation that embodies multicultural and decolonial narratives in fashion, shaped during workshops with diverse communities residing in ASIAT Park. The piece will be displayed as a large, symbolic flag on an existing antenna tower. Performance and installation artist Joshua Serafin, a rising star at the Venice Biennale 2024, introduces a new piece titled ‘Buried in a Coffin the Size of a Grain of Rice’, a performative space where the audience plays a central role, watched over by a sculpture of a guardian amid a staged swamp. The theme of water is further explored by Sumayya Vally, who in collaboration with curator Shendy Gardin and Trïennale Brugge presents ‘Grains Of Paradise’. This installation places six African boats on land in ASIAT Park, which are sown by students from the Vilvoorde horticultural school Horteco to experiment with plant species that can play a role in rewilding the area. The work pays homage to Paul Panda Farnana, a Congolese intellectual and human rights activist who studied at Horteco and is recognized in the Flemish Canon. Nearby, Belgian artist Maen Florin will lend a number of her existing works, placing her ceramic sculptures of anthropomorphic vegetation and hybrid creatures in the colonnade of the former State of Play installation by Stand Van Zaken. Bengali artist Sounak Das will occupy the clay pavilion by Afrah Shafiq and BC Materials.

‘Dark Skies’ by Leopold Banchini, Giona Bierens de Haan & DVS1

Highlighting the festival is ‘Dark Skies’, a pioneering project by sound artist DVS1, architect Leopold Banchini, and designer Giona Bierens de Haan. This unique collaboration has produced a dual-purpose wooden structure that acts both as a dance canopy and a revolutionary sound system, directing sound spatially from above. “This project exemplifies the innovative spirit of Horst, merging sound engineering with architectural design to redefine the festival experience”, states Carole Depoorter, architect at Horst Arts & Music.

Lasting impact

Significant architectural modifications are also a key focus this year. The German architects from Atelier Fanelsa will design a new roof for the renowned ‘Rotunda’. After testing in the Bioregional Design Lab of the Technical University of Munich, 485m2 of sheet material will be produced on site in ASIAT Park from invasive plant species such as Japanese knotweed, nettles, and elderberries. This process, part of a three-week Horst Atelier in April, showcases how bio-based, hyper-local, and collaborative architecture can also serve as stunning scenography.

Additionally, two notable projects are being launched that will significantly contribute to the local fabric. Horst Arts & Music reinforces its commitment to making a lasting impact on the Vilvoorde community by developing new infrastructure with the participants of the Horst Ateliers and the city’s residents, which will continue to serve the community long after the festival has ended. For instance, French architect Jean-Benoît Vétillard has designed a new skatepark in consultation with the local skate community, which will function both as a sports facility and a vibrant meeting place. Furthermore, Alter, an independent architectural collective associated with 51N4E, in collaboration with the German collective Baukreisel, is developing a new youth meeting place. This venue will act as a flexible and accessible space for young people to gather, create, and experiment. In a nod to the Darse site across the river, the German artist collective YRD.Works will install ‘Succession’, a performative spatial intervention involving a metal cage structure that will stand for at least five years, allowing resilient nature to gradually reclaim it.

Complete art programme for Horst 2025 (a-z):

Alter & Baukreisel — Atelier Fanelsa — brasebin terrisse x Björn Vanoverbergh — Eddie Peake — Esben Weile Kjær — Hamed & Nathaniel — Jean-Benoît Vétillard — Joshua Serafin — Kenza Taleb Vandeput — Leopold Banchini x Giona Bierens de Haan x DVS1 — Maen Florin — Marilyn Minter — Sounak Das — Sumayya Vally — YRD.works

Complete music programme for Horst 2025 (a-z):

AliA & Mia Koden, Amelia Holt, Amor Satyr & Siu Mata, Angel Rocket (live), Baka G, BADSISTA, Basile3, Best Boy Electric, Boudewijn Ericx, Brodinski, Cami Layé Okún, Casper, CCL & Objekt, C.K, CC:DISCO!, Cheyanne Hudson, Coffintexts, Dana Kuehr, Darwin, Desyn, DJ Carpet Crawler 3000, DJ Marcelle, Djrum, DJ Shoplifter, DJ Slimzee & MC Riko Dan, dj sweet6teen, Dorisburg, Dr Banana, Dresden (Ivan Smagghe & Manfredas), DTM Funk, DVS1, Eclair Fifi, Elena Colombi, Elisethere, Emily Jeanne, Eris Drew, Erol Alkan & Palms Trax, Erykah, FOR ALL QUEENS! with MAKADSI, Arakaza, Sadiq Bellamy, Rokia Bamba, Four Tet, Gamine, Gaiko, Generations in Sync (DJ Pete, Erik Jabari, Moritz Von Oswald), GiGi FM, Gguusstt, gyrofield, Hagop Tchaparian, Hannah Holland & Josh Caffé, Helena Hauff & DJ Stingray 313, Introspekt, JakoJako, Jana Rush, Job Jobse, Josey Rebelle, Konduku, Kuba’97, Laura Conant & cratje, Leef, Lefto Early Bird, LLOYD, Lucy Cook, Mala, Mandana, Mandy Pixel, Mattias El Mansouri, Mika Oki, Mouataz & Farah, Nosedrip, Nina Welch, NVST, ojoo, Oceanic, OMOLOKO, Otis, PALA10, Paula Tape, Paquita Gordon, Perra Inmunda, Piezo, Polygonia & Steffi, Pont-Levis, r.omy, Reece Spooner, Renoiterrible, Rrita Jashari, Sagat, Sibil, SHYBOI, Sound Running Deep, Surgeon (live), Tau Car, Tereza, The Bug (live), Uni Son, Verraco, Volition Immanent (live)

Supported by Vlaamse Overheid, Agentschap Natuur en Bos, Nationale Loterij, Stad Vilvoorde, TICK TACK, ENGIE, Horteco & Triënnale Brugge

About Horst Arts & Music 2025

Festival: May 1st—3rd
Expo: May 15th (vernissage) — September 7th (finissage)
Hours & Tours: Thursdays & Fridays: 16:00 – 20:00; Saturdays & Sundays: 12:00 – 20:00 (free guided tour at 15:00)