2015: Mons – European Capital of Culture

01.04.2015

Have you ever heard of a city opening five museums at the same time? We have!!!!

VAN GOGH IN THE BORINAGE, THE BIRTH OF AN ARTIST
JANUARY 25, 2015 – MAY 17, 2015
In 1878, at the age of 25, Vincent van Gogh arrived in the Borinage* as a preacher and lived with the coal miners. But soon, he became extremely interested in the people and scenes around him, developing a preference for ideas drawn from the everyday lives of farmers and laborers. He ended his career as a clergyman by choosing the life of an artist. During his stay of almost two years in Belgium, he wrote to his brother Theo, who was both his financial and emotional support, about his desire to sketch, and began his studies by copying prints. Special attention will be paid at the exhibit to these impressive correspondences, written in French, which testify to his growth as a person, and put his transformation into an artist on display. Many aspects at the beginning of his artistic work appear to us as an indication of his entire career and will be shown at the exhibit.
* name of an area west of the city of Mons, known for its former coal mining industry. The villages of Cuemes & Wasmes are located in the Borinage.

Exhibition at the BAM (Mons Museum of Fine Arts) -Rue Neuve B-7000 Mons
Cooperation between Mons 2015 Foundation the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the Kroller-Muller Museum & the City of Mons.
Curator: Sjraar van Heugten

More exhibitions around Van Gogh Van Gogh’s modest house in Cuesmes has been preserved and can be visited.

Lust of Life, the movie by Vincente Minnelli with Kirk Douglas as Van Gogh and Anthony Quinn as Gaugin (he won an Oscar for his performance) was filmed in Mons. It was quite rare in 1955 for Hollywood to choose to film on location instead of in the studios in California. Many inhabitants of the mining villages were extras in the movie.

– Premiere screening of the digitally restored Lust of Life.
– Exhibition bringing together photos from the set, professional and amateur films, press clippings.
– Van Gogh on film’s festival with movies from Robert Altman, Maurice Pialat, and Alain Resnais.

VERLAINE, CELL N2, POETIC TURBULENCES
October 17, 2015 – January 24, 2016
Paul Verlaine is one of the most talented and popular French poets. In 1872, he started a stormy and complicated love affair with the poet Arthur Rimbaud. In July 1873, at the age of 29, in a drunken, jealous rage, Paul Verlaine fired two shots with a pistol at Arthur Rimbaud, wounding his left wrist, though not seriously injuring him. As an indirect result of this incident, Verlaine was arrested and imprisoned in Mons. During his incarceration, he underwent a religious conversion to Catholicism which influenced his work and provoked Rimbaud’s sharp criticism. Romances sans paroles was the poetic outcome of this period, a collection of verses strongly influenced by his affair, followed by Sagesse, a volume of poetry detailing his religious conversion. The exhibition will be read like an epic novel with numerous objects and previously unseen works illustrating this incredible saga. It will show Verlaine’s constant struggle between sin and repentance.

Exhibition aux Anciens Abattoirs “ Place de la Grande Pecherie B-7000 Mons

THE MAN, THE DRAGON, THE DEATH
October 18, 2015 – January 17, 2016
Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic, Anglican, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches. He is immortalized in the tale of “St. George and the Dragon,” which took place at the beginning of the fourth century. This story tells the tale of a dragon in a Mediterranean land who demands human sacrifices each day. One day it is the King’s daughter’s turn. George, a young Christian officer, subjugates the monster, ties the princess’s belt around its neck and returns to the city with the princess and the monster. The Royal family and the inhabitants are converted to Christianity and George slays the dragon. The Saint George exhibition contains a selection from the many paintings, sculptures, drawings, and illuminations that have represented the Saint in several ways. It aims to demonstrate that the traditional image of Saint George and the historical knowledge we possess about him have the unique privilege of being a powerful stimulant for the imagination. It shows how the legend of Saint George and the Dragon is perceived as man’s various struggles against hostile forces, and also and perhaps more importantly, man’s struggle against himself in affirming his own destiny.

Exhibition at the MAC’s (Musee des Arts Contemporains)
Site du Grand-Hornu – 82 rue Sainte-Louise B-7301 Hornu
Cooperation between Mons 2015 Foundation, MAC’s- Musee des arts contemporains, the museums of the City of Bruges (musea Brugge) & the City of Mons.
Curators: Laurent Busine & Manfred Sellink

Doudou: The Procession of the Golden Chariot & the Battle of Lumecon takes place every mid-June in Mons.
The Procession of the Golden Carriage is a 657 year old tradition and has been recognized as a masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. After the procession, the Battle of Lumecon starts. An enormous crowd gathers in the main square of Mons to watch St George on horseback, fighting and slaying the dragon. This medieval performance clearly symbolizes God triumphing over Evil.
5 New Museums
General information
Belgian Tourist Office in New-York:
Francoise Haffreingue
212-758-8130 x 253
[email protected]