KFDA Arts Festival: Uniting Flanders and Francophone Belgium
The Kunstenfestivaldesarts in Brussels (KFDA) opens this Friday, showcasing over 170 performances in the performing arts genre with a budget of just 1 million euros, a paradox in the current cultural funding climate.
Attracting around 30,000 spectators annually, the festival traditionally kicks off the European performing arts season ahead of the Avignon Festival in July and the Edinburgh International Festival in August. However, the sector has been facing ongoing budget cuts across Europe.
According to co-director Daniel Blanga Gabbay, the budget is substantial yet limited compared to other festivals. Nonetheless, it allows for the support of artists' productions debuting at the festival.
The festival model relies on keeping venue costs low in Brussels, with many spaces provided free of charge, as well as on co-productions and partnerships to fund artists' works.
Truce Between Flemish and Walloon Communities
This year's lineup features prominent names such as Italian director Romeo Castellucci and French choreographer Boris Charmatz, alongside artists making their European debuts, including Thai choreographer Thanapol Virulhakul.
The festival collaborates with international institutions like the Festival d’Automne in Paris and the Sharjah Art Foundation in the UAE.
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KFDA has consistently showcased artists from around the world, reflecting the festival's dual identity, which is co-funded by the Flemish and Walloon communities of Belgium. During the festival, the historically conflicting regions set aside their differences.
This year, performances will be presented in Persian, Spanish, and Thai, with subtitles in French, Dutch, and English.
Now in its 31st edition, the festival was founded by Flemish director Frie Leysen, who aimed to create an international event that transcends Belgium's linguistic divide.
The festival's theme resonates with global tensions. In the performance Prisoners of Love: Until the Sun of Freedom, themes of Palestinian prisoners are explored, while Noli Me Tangere questions theater as a space for liberation.
The most "ambitious" production of the festival will be A Flower of Forgetfulness by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, opening the program on Friday.
"A large white canvas floats in the air of the Brigittine chapel, as if carried by a constant breath," the festival program states.
