Portal (School Work, Vol.1)

Herman Asselberghs has worked for almost a quarter of a century at the film department of LUCA School of Arts – Campus Sint Lukas Brussel (also known as Sint-Lukas). The turbulent context of contemporary higher arts education — some speak of the neoliberal knowledge factory — is both subject and location of his current film project. Over the next two academic years, the filmmaker plans on gleaning scenes on campus that will serve as building blocks for a longer film that has Film School Time as its working title. Oscillating between observation and intervention, between documentation and invention, and fusing the lyrical and the critical, this long-term project seeks to give shape to the mess of (art) school.

In Portal (School Work, Vol.1), Asselberghs lets his open working process solidify for a first and limited time. The short film offers a brief topographical survey. Five years after LUCA officially opened its Brussels campus, Patrick Lootens of POLO Architects guides two film students through his building on a regular school day. Architect and users (and spectators) cross each other in a labyrinth construction designed to help losing one’s way.