To Have or To Hold
In 2024, we proudly marked ten years of Horst Arts & Music. What started as a hopeful endeavour in 2014 has flourished into a year-round tapestry, interwoven with an exhibition, atelier weeks, our very own night club, and, of course, the annual festival. This 10th edition was not just a milestone, it was a sincere thank you for joining us along the way.
With Horst turning the page on its first decade, a new chapter awaits. To celebrate the ever-growing Horst community we gathered on the right bank of the Zenne river. With a new stage for the dancers in the form of the decagonal Ring by the Belgian-Italian studio Piovenefabi, a home for Vilvoorde and the Horst heads was built for years to come. Connecting the temporality of the music, the expo and our ateliers with a communal space that thrives all year.
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ARTS
Hidden between the greenery, our Expo spread its tentacles across the entirety of the Horst grounds. This year’s exhibition, ‘To Have or To Hold’ entailed site-specific artworks reflecting the site’s transforming ecosystem.
Eight visual artists and collectives were given free rein in and around Asiat Park to question the defining role of human interference. From site-specific commissions that physically intervened in the context, to digital interpretations that shine a contemporary light on today's data-driven society. The exhibition brought together the natural world, the human mind and technology to offer the possibility of stepping back, observing and perhaps re-setting patterns. While ‘To Have’, closely associated with ownership and possession might imply a one-sided relationship, the act of holding implies caring for the other. By questioning what it means To Have or To Hold, the exhibition advocated for the focus on relationality—deciding whether to cherish or possess, to nurture or utilise public space or to commit to the site by repurposing existing infrastructure.
ARCHITECTURE
As the Horst site evolves we had to say goodbye to the Eyes. Eyes. baby which transformed itself into The Swirl. The beating heart of the festival fenced by a friendly maze of gauze and scaffolding, offering an indoor club escape early in the day. All while its newest counterpart hid in plain sight, bathing in sunlight, across the other side of the festival. A circular stage design that deepened our connection with Asiat Park. Supported by our Atelier operation, the Horst architecture team held a workshop within the public space of the park to create the fabulous Ring by the architecture studio Piovenefabi. A decagonal installation which served as an impressive stage during the festival and became a versatile sports and recreation venue for park visitors long after the festival dust has settled.
Piovenefabi
Jozef Wouters & touche-touche
Stand van Zaken & Serban Ionescu
However, not only dancefloors regenerated. At the central Officer’s Bar, Stand Van Zaken together with multidisciplinary artist Serban Ionescu bundled their expertise for a total redesign of the site’s former leisure point. Revitalizing the bar with a harmonious blend of circular materials, lively colours, and unexpected fixtures.
MUSIC
Adi & Unai Trotti, Akanbi, Aida, Alex Sourbis, Alfred Anders, Anz, Aurora Halal & DJ Nobu, Bae Bae, Ben UFO, Bibi Seck & Jenny Cara, Bobbi Watson, Bongo Hi-Fi, Broodoo Ramses, C.FRIM, Clyde & Gouren, Coast 2 Coast (Gene & The Ghost), Dangermami, DDVRKK, Dee Diggs, deep creep, DJ Fart In The Club, DJ Luv You, DJ Shahmaran, DJ SWISHA, Eli Verveine, Emily Jeanne, Etienne 4U, Fais Le Beau & Eoin DJ, Fatoosan, For All Queens!, FRONTAL, Fuga, Gavsborg, Gerd Janson, GOLDENZEBORA, GOMAR, GЯEG & Le Motel, iced lattina, Jasmín, Jaxx TMS, Jex Opolis, Juliana Huxtable & JASSS, Kelman Duran, Kendal & fka.m4a, Kennedy, Ketia, Kr!z, Larson, LazerGazer, Leeon, Lefto Early Bird, Lola Haro, Maito, M I M I, Melissa Juice, Mystique, Nene H, NIKS, NOORIYAH, Noannaos, O’SIMMIE, Octo Octa (d&b set), Onohno, Ossia, PANTERA & Leinthebox, Paulo Sea, Prosumer, RHR, Richard Akingbehin, Rrose, She The DJ, Shy One, Sixsixsixties & Timmerman, Skream & Benga, Snad, Solid Blake, Sookie, Soumaya Phéline, Sugar Free, Susobrino, Swayzak (live), Tai Lokun, Tom Rynders, Unos, upsammy & Kiernan Laveaux, Vinessett, Violently Happy, Woody92 & Sunju Hargun, Zakia.
In a never-ending search for the outer edges of progressive culture, the programming of Horst 2024 displayed the versatility of inventive toying with the festival’s past, present and future, highlighted by a cheeky ode to the festival’s roots in the heydays of dubstep. Offering the spotlight to the new guard, under the wings of the old.
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