Contour

Since 2003, the Contour Biennial of Moving Images has occupied a distinct position in the visual arts in Belgium. Focusing on screen works, the 8-week exhibi­tion in the historic center of Mechelen also offers instal­la­tions, sound works and live arts. C0N10UR is produced and presented by nona arts centre. Its 10th anniversary edition runs from September 9 to November 5 in 2023 and is curated by Auguste Orts.

During C0N10UR, the five Auguste Orts’ artists will not present their own screen works. Instead, they will plug into the rich Belgian ecosystem of artists’ film practices and contri­bute to its sustai­nable develop­ment by suppor­ting new screen works that will be able to lead their lives well after the 8-week span of the actual exhibi­tion. Orts resolu­tely opts for local embedding: the core artists of diverse origins invited to this festive Contour edition reside in Belgium. Multipli­city is essential to this exhibi­tion project: a gathering of artists and works in which different genera­tions can coincide and various forms and formats of the moving image can enter into the conver­sa­tion.

C0N10UR is staking on an ongoing dialogue with the artists, organi­sa­tions, institu­tions and all actors involved. The biennial builds upon its experience with creative produc­tion deployed for an extended period of time. The curators of this edition show a clear passion for the moving image and the visual arts, a love for cinema and its audiences, as well as for the perfor­ming arts and live music, both central to the regular program of the nona arts centre. Throug­hout a full and varied program, C0N10UR aims at putting a poetics as well as a politics of the moving image front and centre.