Over four weeks I developed a project with inmates at Mechelen City Prison.

This included a series of workshops around the idea of ‘circus’ (including theatre, magic, illusion, acrobatics and storytelling) given by professionals in the field. These workshops culminated in a final performance inside the prison which, because of prison restrictions was open only to staff and individuals closely connected to the project. However, footage from these workshops will be edited into a film.

The project in Mechelen started with the idea of the city and its margins, I looked at the parallels between the institutions of the circus and the prison, both of which have traditionally been pushed to the periphery. However, while the architecture and function of the prison is designed to enclose and hold its inhabitants, the circus is conceived as a space of fantasy and imaginative escape.

This project was commissioned by the Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp (MuHKA).

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