A symposium around soil that roots around for forgotten stories and future dreams

Decoratelier has temporarily moved into an abandoned factory in Molenbeek that sits on highly polluted ground. A thick slab of concrete prevents oil, chemicals and heavy metals from seeping into the daily life and work above ground. But what are we walking on, really? What would we discover if we had a closer look at the soil beneath our feet? What invisible histories and alternative tales would we unearth?

With the symposium Boring (dictionary: to drill or enlarge an existing hole), Decoratelier wants to dig into these questions. Every day we bore together, inviting residents and expert readers to perform a drilling and take a soil sample, reading and amplifying the stories contained within. Together, we’ll speculate about the future ecosystems, life forms and modes of dwelling that could thrive there. Boring is a journey through various talks and performances in a specially designed scenography, where visitors can think along and carry the stories forward.

Programme:
Narrating more-than-human worlds
How do we narrate and make sense of underground worlds? Do we need consent or rituals to descend into the holes of earth? In a series of short interventions, architects and urban researchers khalda el jack, Bernardo Robles Hidalgo, Jeff Verschueren and Sebastiaan Willemen uncover various aspects of the Decoratelier site, relating to pollution and remediation, displacement and resilience of ecosystems. By listening to the soil, Marie Brumagne David and Bram Van Cauwenberghe evoke a ‘sonic diplomacy’ with more-than-human worlds. In our adobe theatre, Aga Batkiewicz and Stefanie Wenner seek guidance from rubble and minerals, diamonds and stars to experiment with storytelling ancient and contemporary that seeks to narrate our entanglements with history and with the earth. Afterwards, Inne Eysermans invites us to prick up our ears and listen critically to songs carried by the soil. More info

Boring is a three-day symposium taking place on 4, 5 and 6 September.

In collaboration with Vai (Flanders Architecture Institute), MolenbeekforBrussels2030 and Kanal-Centre Pompidou

Curated by Jeroen Peeters and Jozef Wouters
Concerts curated by Matinée
Produced by Coreatelier
Thank you to Cassonade, Nina Serulus and the Summer Birds
With the support of Damaged Goods, VAI – Flanders Architecture Institute, KANAL – Centre Pompidou, Molenbeek for Brussels 2030, the Flemish Authorities and the Flemish Community Commission

Admission: €20 /
Reduced price (students, senios, job seekers, people with disabilities): €15

From 6PM you can attend short lectures. Until 8PM Cassonade will serve a delicious meal in the courtyard (included in the ticket price). At 8 PM the program continues indoors, and from 10 PM the doors open for a free concert by Matinée.

The symposium takes place in English, with surtitles in French and Dutch.

Photos: © Julie De Meester