Studio Stadswaag
Exhibition and public programme
Coordinated by Nico Dockx and Caroline Thaler
With contributions by BLESS, Luc Deleu, Brandon LaBelle, Emilia Schupp, and Rirkrit Tiravanija
14 – 17 May 2026
Part of the Antwerp (Academy) Art Weekend
Fri 15 May: Public programme at Studio Stadswaag (see details below)
Studio Stadswaag is a collaborative project on art in public space that started in 2024 as a joint venture between the research group ArchiVolt of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, Stadsform, district Antwerpen, and Platform Kunst in Opdracht / Flanders.
During Antwerp Art Weekend 2025, the first art integration at the newly renovated Stadswaag square opened, where eight duos of students and alumni from the Academy designed grates for the trees on the square.
For Antwerp Art Weekend 2026, the next chapter of this ongoing set of artistic interventions will be presented. Protocol proposals by invited artists BLESS, Luc Deleu, Brandon LaBelle, Emilia Schupp, and Rirkrit Tiravanija will be on view.
These protocols will inspire the further development of the physical Studio Stadswaag. Through a large gateway, the new space connects to the square, creating an additional opening in the Academy walls. This autonomous and self-organised space for and by students and alumni will allow them in the future to programme exhibitions, lectures, workshops, performances, concerts, and other activities in dialogue with the neighborhood. If all goes according to plan, the space will open after renovation in early 2028.
PUBLIC PROGRAMME
Alongside the presentation of the protocols in Studio Stadswaag, the Academy and Stadsform organise a public programme.
THU 14 MAY
- 19:00 - 21:00 - Lecture by Luc Deleu - How do you come up with radical ideas for the city and its public spaces? - at Stadsform (in Dutch)
FRI 15 MAY
- 12:00 - 18:00 - Telling, Making and Trying the City - at Stadsform
What proposals can be made for the city of the future? What do they look like? And what can art contribute to these proposals? Dive into these questions, read up on some of the most interesting examples, sit down to watch some inspiring fragments and show us your ideas in person. - 18:00 - 19:00 - Prelude Studio Stadswaag - at Studio Stadswaag
Come and discover the possibilities of the future Studio Stadswaag. Kick off the evening with food from recipes of contributing artist Rirkrit Tiravanija. - 19:00 - 21:00 - Temporary Opening Studio Stadswaag - at Studio Stadswaag
We introduce to you the future Studio Stadswaag through protocols and guidelines that will be in use after the completed renovation. These will be presented through a publication and afterwards we will bring these protocols into use (for the first and temporary last time) by performances by artisits Brandon Labelle, Emilia Schupp and BLESS.
SAT 16 MAY
→ Check the complete programme at the Academy here
(Image: Studio Stadswaag, Antwerp Art Weekend 2025, tree grate by Céline Meulemans and Justine Grillet)
