GEEL
 

WITH/ MET/ AVEC 

ANDRÉ VAN IN - DANNY SMOLDERS - BÉATRICE DELCORDE

1979 - 1’33” - DUTCH - DUTCH AND FRENCH SUBTITLES

GEEL IS A TOWN LOCATED 45 KILOMETRES FROM ANTWERP, IN THE CAMPINE REGION OF BELGIUM, WHERE A UNIQUE TRADITION OF FOSTER CARE HAS BEEN PRACTISED SINCE THE MIDDLE AGES. THROUGH THIS SYSTEM, PEOPLE EXPERIENCING SOCIAL OR PSYCHOLOGICAL VULNERABILITY ARE WELCOMED INTO THE HOMES OF LOCAL FAMILIES AND BECOME PART OF DAILY COMMUNITY LIFE.

THIS TRADITION IS ROOTED IN THE LEGEND OF DYMPHNA, AN IRISH PRINCESS OF THE SEVENTH CENTURY. AFTER THE DEATH OF HER MOTHER, HER FATHER, THE KING, WAS DRIVEN TO MADNESS BY GRIEF AND DEMANDED THAT HIS DAUGHTER MARRY HIM. DYMPHNA FLED AND FOUND REFUGE IN THE WOODS OF GEEL, WHERE SHE CARED FOR VULNERABLE PEOPLE UNDER THE PROTECTION OF THE CHURCH. TWO YEARS LATER, HER FATHER FOUND HER AND ORDERED HER BEHEADING IN THE YEAR 620.

THE PEOPLE OF GEEL BURIED HER BODY AND, ACCORDING TO TRADITION, MIRACULOUS HEALINGS OCCURED AT HER GRAVE. AS A RESULT, PILGRIMS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD CAME TO GEEL, WHERE THEY ARE STILL WELCOMED BY THE LOCAL PEOPLE TO THIS DAY. THIS DEVOTION IS CONSIDERED TO BE THE ORIGIN OF THE TOWN’S UNIQUE FOSTER CARE SYSTEM FOR PSYCHIATRIC PATIENTS.

ANDRÉ VAN IN MADE A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THIS EXTRAORDINARY COMMUNITY BETWEEN 1974 AND 1976. BETWEEN 2024 AND 2026, DURING A RESIDENCY AT KUNSTHUIS YELLOW ART IN GEEL — AN ART-THERAPY CENTRE FOUNDED BY JAN HOET IN 2004 — BÉATRICE DELCORDE UNDERTOOK RESEARCH AND RESTORATION WORK ON THE FILM.

FROM THURSDAY ONWARDS, WORKS BY DANNY SMOLDERS WILL BE ON VIEW ON THE BEL-ÉTAGE. DEVELOPED OVER NEARLY TWENTY YEARS AT KUNSTHUIS YELLOW ART, THIS BODY OF WORK EMERGED FROM A PERSONAL TRAJECTORY SHAPED BY THE CREATIVE ENERGY OF THE ANTWERP PUNK SCENE OF THE 1970S. TOGETHER, THE FILM AND THE ARTWORKS OFFER A REFLECTION ON CARE, HOSPITALITY, HUMAN DIGNITY AND THE ENDURING SPIRIT OF GEEL.