Press file Mons 2015 DOSSIER DE PRESSE 3 GROWING TOGETHER In 2015, the beauty, intelligence and creativity of Europe will reside in Mons for twelve months. For the citizens of the Mons region, the Borinage and Saint-Ghislain, this is a unique opportunity to make a qualitative leap forward, to grow together and to improve their future. The path leading to this culminating moment has been a long one, but today we can be proud and happy! We can be proud, because the programme, even if not finalized yet, is already magnificent: 300 events, 5,000 artists, 400 organisations mobilised, 1,200 active ambassadors, 22 partner institutions, several dozen participating cities… An intense mobilisation of talent and creativity. We can be happy for our citizens, who will be spoiled for choice during this exceptional year, and for our businesses, our retailers and E D ITO R I A L our community life. Becoming European Capital of Culture means ELIO DI RUPO receiving a tremendous economic and social springboard which will OFFICIAL MAYOR enable us to leap higher and further forwards. A powerful process has MINISTER OF STATE been set in motion, from which Mons-Borinage will be the first to bene- fit for decades, thanks to the investments that have been made and the new development tools that have been put in place. Mons is changing, Mons is progressing, Mons is building its future! I wish to express my warm thanks to the women and men ‘in the shadows’ who have turned this ambitious project into reality. I am espe- cially keen for people to realise how much dedication everyone has shown, and with what talent and perseverance. The greatest master- piece of Mons 2015 is undoubtedly the success of this fantastic effort. Finally, I wish everyone – from the child who still has everything to discover to the oldest inquisitive onlooker or art-lover – a wonderful year of culture in Mons. Mons 2015 PRESS FILE 4 WIDESPREAD ENTHUSIASM In 2015, Mons and its region will hold aloft the banner of Euro- pean culture. The challenge is considerable, not just in cultural terms, but on the material plane too. The public interest foundation formed to oversee this year as a Capital of Culture has received the support of many partners who have joined us in the adventure. The Foundation’s founding members – the Federation Wallonia-Brussels, the Walloon Region, the Province of Hainaut and the City of Mons – have, through GUY QUADEN their financial support, made it possible to give the project its rightful PRESIDENT European scale. This support was recently supplemented by the OF THE MONS 2015 FOUNDATION award of the Melina Mercouri Prize by the European Commission. Our official sponsors, ING, the National Lottery and the non- profit organisation ‘Club Mons 2015 entreprises’ are also major partners who have been with us ever since the project took shape. Alongside them, numerous private and institutional partners – more than twenty of them – have made their own contributions, reflecting the enthusiasm and interest aroused by the project at the national level as well as at the local and regional level. On behalf of the Foundation’s Board of Directors, I would like to thank them for this. The convergence of all these efforts should allow the Belgian public as a whole and the foreign visitors whom we expect in large numbers to enjoy a unique cultural experience in Mons throughout the year 2015. 5 A CITY IN TRANSFORMATION It’s true. We took a risk by taking our time, desiring to do things properly and opting for the wisdom of maturity. And now we’re there. The musicians are backstage, the actors are treading the boards, the poets have put pen to paper and the sculptors are wielding hammer and chisel. In the streets of the city, strange characters are running amok, pursued by a strange machine that films them from every angle. The noises of a city in transformation carry right up to the tree- YVES VASSEUR tops. We will devise fantastic festivals, kindle the fires of celebration, COMMISSIONER, set up the bright lights. We will open new venues, sample their MONS 2015 distinctive atmospheres together, experience long-term urban adven- tures. To quote Léo Ferré’s vision of the Golden Age, ‘We shall have bread, brown as girls under the golden sun. We shall have wine, wine that sparkles even in sleep. We shall have blood in our white veins, and Monday will usually be Sunday.’ (*) The invitations have been sent out: to the people of Mons, Bel- gium, Europe, the planet. To young, old, students, teachers, children, parents allowed. At Café Europa, they are already meeting. Different generations, different nations, all together. Mons is now on the map of the world, enriched by its partners who are joyfully creating an amazing profusion of projects, almost all of which, like ours, relate to our main theme of the encounter between culture and technology as a guarantee of a productive future. Mons is a new and open city, emboldened by the large-scale support of its citizens for the adven- ture of 2015. Transformation. Artists are already pouring into the construction sites before the concrete has even dried. Cranes are lifting in the roof- beams, painters are splashing colour around, and above all, people are talking, eager to discover, share and create. Because a European year of culture means more dialogue, more mutual support and respect, and more togetherness. 2015 looks set to be an exceptional year, but it represents but a step towards a transfigured future. A Golden Age? (*) L’âge d’or – Léo Ferré © Mara de Sario Mons 2015 PRESS FILE 6 In 2015, after Antwerp, Brussels and Bruges, Mons will become the European Capital of Culture, the first time a Walloon city has had the honour. As main sponsor, ING Belgium has chosen to be closely associ- ated with this great cultural event. Art and culture are highly prized at ING. As well as possessing a magnificent collection of artworks, ING Belgium supports many A WORD initiatives that help form the artistic and cultural scene in Belgium. Next to our exhibitions Yves Saint-Laurent, A visionary, Birth Day by Lieve Blancquaert, To the Point, the neo-impressionist portrait and BY ING the current exhibition The Power of Object(s) in the ING Art Center RIK VANDENBERGHE at the Place Royale, we also gladly support major events such as Art CEO ING BELGIQUE Brussels or the Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth. By choosing to be a partner of Mons 2015, we wish to promote art and culture and make them accessible for all, in line with our com- mitment to being a universal bank and our support of the economy. ING Belgium also wishes to show its desire to participate in the economic prosperity of a city and a region. This partnership also clearly shows that we want to anchor ourselves in the region of Mons, because we believe it is very important to support the economy. We wholeheartedly hope that, thanks to Mons 2015, the city and the surrounding region will be able to flourish in socio-economic terms and take advantage of the positive effects that will result in terms of culture, tourism and the media. 7 C ONTE NT TA B L E THE METAMORPHOSIS – INFORMATION MONS 2015: 200 Practical information THE BIGGER PICTURE 202 The Foundation Mons 2015 12 Infrastructure 204 Mons 2015: a sustainable project 14 Socioeconomic reconversion 205 I’m labeled Mons 2015. And you? 16 Art and Creation 208 I’m partner. And you? 20 2015 ways of participating 218 Our next meeting 24 The project of an expanded territory 28 Digital 30 Parties and public spaces THE PROGRAMMING 33 Exhibitions and museums 81 Parties, Gastronomy & Art in city 127 Theatre & Dance 155 Music 179 Digital Mons 2015 PRESS FILE 8 9 THE METAMOR- PHOSIS MONS 2015: THE BIGGER PICTURE Mons 2015 PRESS FILE 10 11 Meet Vincent van Gogh, St George, Daniel Libeskind and the citizens of Mons at Mons 2015, a massive, cultural celebration offering more than 300 key events that will amplify and resonate the voices of the citizens of Mons. The momentum of our Euro- pean Capital of Culture 2015 will unlock new paths digitally and through collabora- tion with 18 partner cities in Belgium and France. It is also an integral part of a wider socio-economic redevelopment project, putting Mons and its surrounding region on the map as a “Creative Valley”. The idea of Mons as a European Capital of Culture took root back in 2002-2003. Who could have imagined at that time the extent to which the barriers would be broken down in 10 years’ time between the cultural, social and economic sectors? At the dawn of the tech- nological revolution, societies are called upon to break barriers and innovate, otherwise they risk losing out in the marketplace of the new century and the globalisation process. Mons was already at the time the Cultural Capital of Wallonia, and opted to develop it’s cultural and creative side. The city will inaugurate five new interconnected museums, providing a focal point for its art and heritage collections. Mons Memorial Museum will open in ‘Machine-à-Eau’, a stunning backdrop of brick, steel and glass created by the Mons-born architect Joseph Hubert and built in 1870-1871. The building will become the centre of a new “Memorial Region”, a living space that will extend beyond the city centre, including in particular, the Saint Symphorien Military Ceme- tery. UNESCO-listed heritage sites will be framed by other museums: the neolithic flint mines of Spiennes, Le SILEX’S – Spiennes: One of the eldest and biggest archaeological sites in Europe, recognised by UNESCO in 2000.