OFF THE MAP
2025
“Mapping the off-spaces outside of the off-program”
Print on tracing paper
29,7 x 42 cm
Collaboration between me and Alec De Bruyn
This map was created within the context of Antwerp Art Weekend. This annual event “highlights and connects Antwerp’s vibrant contemporary art scene”.
However, to be included in this program, even off-spaces with no budget whatsoever need to pay 300 euros. The event attracts a big crowd, but many spaces remain invisible because they can not (or, righteously, don’t want to) pay the amount.
As a protest against the fee that you have to pay just to be seen, me and Alec De Bruyn created “off the map”. This parasitic map, printed on transparant paper, was to be laid upon the official map of Antwerp Art Weekend, masking and altering it.
Our map included the artist-run spaces and off-spaces. These are very diverse in their mission, size and structure, but together they are of great value within the field of arts. All the spaces were scaled in proportion to each other, but not in proportion to the existing map.
For the occassion, we remodelled our own project space into a fake tourist information center. Here we handed out these maps, misguiding the visitors of Antwerp Art Weekend to these underrepresented spaces. We also offered alternative walking routes, as well as we organised the artistic street fair ‘Straatwerken‘, where we had our own alternative program.
For more information on the project:
www.dingendienietverkopen.be/offthemap
