Looking for something a bit different this autumn and winter? Look no further. From mid-October to January 2022, it’s all going off in Leuven, one of Belgium’s most beautiful cities, as the brand-new BANG! Festival hits streets, parks and museums with a three-month extravanganza of exhibitions, headline music acts and more. This weekend it launches with special offers and events.
What’s it all about then? BANG! Festival is inspired by one of Leuven University’s most famous sons: Georges Lemaître, the man behind the Big Bang Theory, (no, no, not the American sitcom, the . . . you know, Actual Scientific Theory about the universe expanding and it all beginning with the disintegration of a single ‘primeval atom’). Just as Lemaître’s theory rocked the world, so the BANG! Festival is about to take over the city of Leuven – for three months.
It all opens today at Leuven’s Park Abbey, with a 1.5km trail of video, light and sound installations set against the exceptional backdrop of this 12th century complex, one of the best-preserved abbeys in Europe. As night falls, the Abbey grounds will become an otherworldly playground for children and adults alike. (Sturdy footwear and a small torch are a good idea.)
On Saturday 16 October 2021, the adventure continues at the heart of the Abbey, Neerhof. Bringing together the beats of DROM, Three Been Wèh and others, from 1.30 pm the day is dedicated to making some noise – and you’re invited to take part. Bring your percussion instrument or pots and pans, and from 4.30 to 5:00 pm, join in the Biggest Bang. Other treats for your ears include carillon concerts, and a never-before-heard Mechelen Choirbook performance by Park Collegium’s own ensemble. Plus, at the Norbertine Gate, the voices of Cappella Pratensis will send shivers down your spine with a resurrection of Gregorian chants from the illuminated manuscripts of Tongerlo’s 16th century abbot.
Food trucks and a bar will keep your atoms energised, and every day from 5-10pm, planetarium experts introduce Georges Lemaître’s life and the stars. And from 7-11pm (when night skies are clear), everyone aged six or above can
During this opening weekend, the Eye to Infinity exhibition at PARCUM is half price. Through religious iconography including works from the Royal Library Belgium, the Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam, and Leiden University, explore how humans have tried to get to grips with their origins and ponder the mystery of life on earth. Book in advance!
Don’t forget – the BANG! Festival keeps expanding until January 2022, with exhibitions, guided walks, lectures, fringe artists, and gigs. Money-saving ‘combi tickets’ are available throughout. At M Leuven, from October 22, discover how humans have been Imagining the Universe from prehistory to the Age of Reason. Be there for the Belgian debut of precious masterpieces on loan from places like London’s National Gallery, Madrid’s Patrimonio Nacional, and the Vatican. At the same venue, be sure to see works by four-time Turner-nominated land artist Richard Long.
To the Edge of Time is another must-see, at University of Leuven library. Artworks and fascinating scientific objects (including from London’s Science Museum and Royal Astronomical Society) tell the story of the Big Bang Theory, from Einstein through Lemaître to Stephen Hawking’s quantum multiverse.
BANG!’s rich and varied lecture programme includes nights like 29 November at Martelarenplein’s Dome, where physicist Thomas Hertog will talk about the relativity of time, accompanied by electronic soundscapes by Vincent Caers and 360° visuals by Klaas Verpoest.
Even just strolling around, you can enjoy the BANG! cosmos. French artist Felicie d’Estienne d’Orves, selected by the public to create a bespoke artwork for Leuven, has used her characteristic blend of astrophysics, perception and natural light cycles. You’ll find her masterpiece spanning over 80 locations around the city from 1 December.
And my personal hot tip: the international headline acts at November’s Planetarium Music Festival.
