Pieter Van der Gheynst's night fever

MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF BRUSSELS
“For Museum Night Fever a number of artists with links to the Zinneke Parade will be doing their thing in the Museum of the City of Brussels. They have transformed the museum into a boring, stuffy ministry. What they call the Ministerie van Poëtische Wanorde/Ministère des Désordres Poétiques (Ministry of Poetic Disorder) has a number of crazy civil servants. The public has to hang around and wait its turn like in a real ministry. When you get to the counter you are given a task that has something to do with poetry in Brussels, legends, or history. For example, you might have to make up a poem. If you succeed you are given an official document, which gives you the right to a guided tour of the museum. The link with the outside world is strengthened by having a megaphone on the Grote Markt/Grand-Place to attract the attention of passers-by. Among other things, there will be readings of absurd poetry.”

MUSEUM VAN ELSENE/MUSEE D’IXELLES
“I think this is a really attractive museum. You can see that they have been putting a lot of effort into reaching a broader public for a long time now. They are ambitious, in a good way. Right now they have an exhibition about Jules Chéret. Like Toulouse-Lautrec, he used to make posters relating to nightlife and cabaret. And that burlesque atmosphere will be the thread running through Museum Night Fever there too. For example, there will be a group of ladies dancing, decked out in plumes and feathers. There will be music from the Belle Epoque, mixed with electro, tableaux vivants, and more.”

JUBELPARK/CINQUANTENAIRE MUSEUM
“There will be lots going on in the Jubelpark/Cinquantenaire Museum too. The common denominator is voice and sound. There will be guided tours given by ‘newcomers’ – some of them from the Klein Kasteeltje/Petit Château [asylum centre]. An Iranian, for example, will interpret Islamic art, thereby giving an extra angle to the traditional Western view. There is also a collaboration with students from the RITS, who have organised a circuit for which they have developed soundscapes. For a Merovingian tomb, for example, they have made a sound recording as if the deceased is talking to the visitors.”

ROYAL MUSEUMS OF FINE ARTS
“This is the first time the ‘Museum of Ancient Art’ has joined in. So I’m really curious. Their activities have silence as their theme, which contrasts strongly with the Museum Night Fever idea. So it is quite a challenge! There will be a silent ‘flash mob’, for example, and stories will be told with sign language. In the Rubens Room, however, there will be baroque performances.”

ROYAL LIBRARY
“The Librarium, the museum for books and writing, will focus on graffiti. Among other things, they have an exhibition of graffiti by young people from the Marollen/Marolles district. The Brussels graffiti artist Obêtre is tackling a tarpaulin, several metres high, on the facade that looks out on the Kunstberg/Mont des Arts – and visitors can have a go with spray cans themselves inside.”

MUSEUM NIGHT FEVER: 3/3, 19 > 1.00, www.museumnightfever.be