"The Crystal Ship is a contemporary art festival specialised in public space which sets sail to the city of Ostend, Belgium with talented creatives. World-renowned artists created gigantic murals and fantastic art installations that form a permanent artistic trail in the city.
The curator of The Crystal Ship, Bjørn Van Poucke, is extremely enthusiastic about the collaboration with the city of Ostend. “Nowhere else in Europe have so many artists in this genre been brought together for a joint arts festival. With The Crystal Ship, we wish to bring art to the people and that is exactly what we did: Over the course of 2 weeks we created +20 impressive murals and +200 smaller interventions. Right in the centre of the city, the place where people live and work. That is pretty unique!”
Artists who contributed to the first edition:
1010 (Germany), Agostino Iacurci (Italy), Cyrcle (United States), Disorderline (Belgium), Elian (Argentina), Ella & Pitr (France), Eversiempre (Argentina), Guido Van Helten (Australia), Jaune (Belgium), Jaz (Argentina), Mister Fiksit (Belgium), Nuart preetns Biancoshock (Italy) and Isaac Cordal (Spain), Pixelpancho (Italy), Pol Cosmo (Belgium), Roa (Belgium), Robert Montgomery (United Kingdom), Siegfried Vynck (Belgium), Smates & Locatelli (Belgium) and Zio Ziegler (United States)."
*********************1010 (Germany), Agostino Iacurci (Italy), Cyrcle (United States), Disorderline (Belgium), Elian (Argentina), Ella & Pitr (France), Eversiempre (Argentina), Guido Van Helten (Australia), Jaune (Belgium), Jaz (Argentina), Mister Fiksit (Belgium), Nuart preetns Biancoshock (Italy) and Isaac Cordal (Spain), Pixelpancho (Italy), Pol Cosmo (Belgium), Roa (Belgium), Robert Montgomery (United Kingdom), Siegfried Vynck (Belgium), Smates & Locatelli (Belgium) and Zio Ziegler (United States)."
A lover of all things graffiti, mural-esque and large in scale, i stumbled across this Colossal article showcasing a public art exhibit in Belgium. the type of work, application and creative context is just the type of work I would love to get involved with in my own practice. I plan on attempting to get involved in large scale artwork (larger than the the usual A5 - A2 at least) over the summer, creating personal projects and putting myself out there with the possibility of doing large scale artwork for free - if just for the exposure at least. I also plan on contacting relevant practitioners / experts in this field, asking for any tips on how to go about this style of work - without the added worry of vandalism etc...i want the artwork to last after all.
Possible areas of application:
- Public wall space within the city (Leeds, or home town Cambridge)
- Inside wall space within various coffee shops, stores and creative outlets looking for an interior re-vamp
- Attending public exhibits like this, signing up for a space and having a go at live art on the spot - terrifying but a necessity if I am wanting to pursue this line of work.
- Festival space: It is soon to be festival season and with festivals come the need for visual artwork in and around the sites. A dream of mine, although how possible I am not sure....