FREE ENTRY / Kunstenfestival - Open Call ‘The Smell of Grass is Changing’

“If grass smells like concrete, a village will lose the authenticity needed to survive. The balance will shift.” – inspirator Koen Vanmechelen

For the next edition of the art festival, we aim for a Watou shaped by collectives and collabs, celebrating collaborative creation’s diversity and strength. The theme of this year’s open call, “The Smell of Grass is Changing”, represents the adaptation, transformation and renewal we seek in the arts, inviting reflection on our changing world and its impact on our creative process and interactions.

With this adage, internationally acclaimed artist Koen Vanmechelen, the inspirator behind Patchwwwork, the experimental precursor to the Watou Art Festival, invites artists to engage in a new unique creative journey.

Since 2021, Vanmechelen has initiated Patchwwwork as a research project, organising an in situ ‘artist’ encampment as an immersive experiment and learning process, culminating in this new call. For the next edition, we seek collectives and collabs eager to contribute to Watou’s evolution and transformation, engaging in a journey stimulating both senses and mind.