watsups – water as the source of urban public space

By spring 2027, Kunsthal Mechelen is developing a new art commission in public space as part of a broader project. For this new artwork, they are looking for a curator or mediator. You may apply either as an individual or as a collective.

WATSUPS – Water As The Source of Urban Public Space – is a European project in which the city of Mechelen develops the environment around the Dijle and passes on the knowledge to a next city. The project has two main goals: improving biodiversity and better connecting the inhabitants with the river. Specifically, there will be new swimming zones, quay walls and green areas.

Art will also have an important place within this project, in three different locations. For one of which we are writing this open call. It concerns the area around the bridge on the Olivetenvest. This location forms an important connection between the Keerdok, where within this project a swimming zone will be created, and the Dijlestraat. Moreover, it is also a connection between the city center and the neighborhoods just outside the ring road.

Kunsthal Mechelen is a generous, open house for contemporary art. With no central base of operations extends to various spaces in the city, including the public space. Kunsthal Mechelen is open, mobile, mixed. The program is flexible and unfettered to predetermined formats. It is layered and breaks down patterns of expectation. It is polyamorous and idiosyncratic; it moves and transforms with the cadence of a changing society and arts field. The operation aims to show art that questions, explores and depicts the world in all its complexity. It wants to bring exciting, innovative – and also critical – perspectives on life and society, in dialogue with the city and its inhabitants.

Goals of the project:

As part of WATSUPS, the artwork will be part of the Olivetenvest revitalization and help define the identity of the area. The artwork translates biodiversity for a wider audience, which is the main goal of WATSUPS. Therefore, the artwork does not disturb ecosystems and is mindful of the impact on the environment and local residents, including non-humans.