The exhibition Adrianopolis takes the current state of society as its starting point, reflecting on regeneration and healing, as curators Godart Bakkers and Isabel Van Bos explain. "How do we navigate the current restrictions of a (post-)Covid society? What have we had to let go of? And what new forms of ritual help us to cope with these changes?"
︎ Three artists — Laurie Charles, Kasper De Vos, and Jacopo Pagin — delve into the city’s legends, paintings, rituals, and sagas to search for strategies of collective healing in 2021.
︎ To say that Geraardsbergen has a rich history would be an understatement. In the Middle Ages, thousands of pilgrims traveled to the Benedictine abbey each year to pray at the relics of Saint Adrian, seeking protection and healing from the plague — a devotion that earned the city the name Adrianopolis.
Yet long before Christianity arrived, Geraardsbergen was already a site of (spiritual) healing. Ancient festivals like Tonnekensbrand and Krakelingen, still celebrated to this day, trace back to Celtic rituals that mark the end of winter and the return of spring.
For each of the three artists in Adrianopolis, this marks the first time their work becomes a permanent part of the public space. “It has been a true journey of discovery,” says Laurie Charles. “I never imagined that this city held so much richness. I'm grateful to contribute to that story.”
With Adrianopolis, Geraardsbergen continues to expand its growing art collection. Three years ago, the city launched Muren, its first permanent art trail, inviting seven artists and two poets to create works inspired by local legends, mythologies, and heritage. This November, three new works will join that trajectory — works that are intended to resonate beyond time.
Through Adrianopolis, the city invites artists to enter into dialogue with its layered past. “What makes this collection so unique,” curators Godart Bakkers and Isabel Van Bos explain, “is how it weaves connections between past and present. It keeps traditions alive — not as something fixed, but as something we can question, reinterpret, or embrace as a response to the challenges of today and tomorrow.”
︎ Three artists — Laurie Charles, Kasper De Vos, and Jacopo Pagin — delve into the city’s legends, paintings, rituals, and sagas to search for strategies of collective healing in 2021.
︎ To say that Geraardsbergen has a rich history would be an understatement. In the Middle Ages, thousands of pilgrims traveled to the Benedictine abbey each year to pray at the relics of Saint Adrian, seeking protection and healing from the plague — a devotion that earned the city the name Adrianopolis.
Yet long before Christianity arrived, Geraardsbergen was already a site of (spiritual) healing. Ancient festivals like Tonnekensbrand and Krakelingen, still celebrated to this day, trace back to Celtic rituals that mark the end of winter and the return of spring.
For each of the three artists in Adrianopolis, this marks the first time their work becomes a permanent part of the public space. “It has been a true journey of discovery,” says Laurie Charles. “I never imagined that this city held so much richness. I'm grateful to contribute to that story.”
With Adrianopolis, Geraardsbergen continues to expand its growing art collection. Three years ago, the city launched Muren, its first permanent art trail, inviting seven artists and two poets to create works inspired by local legends, mythologies, and heritage. This November, three new works will join that trajectory — works that are intended to resonate beyond time.
Through Adrianopolis, the city invites artists to enter into dialogue with its layered past. “What makes this collection so unique,” curators Godart Bakkers and Isabel Van Bos explain, “is how it weaves connections between past and present. It keeps traditions alive — not as something fixed, but as something we can question, reinterpret, or embrace as a response to the challenges of today and tomorrow.”
