Temitayo Ogunbiyi's artwork You will find companionship in greener grounds (2024), which will be permanently integrated on the DE SINGEL site within the On Sculpture trail, will be festively inaugurated with a conversation with the artist and a communal meal.
For this new work, the front square of DE SINGEL will be depaved to make way for a new green zone. On it, there will be a big 30-metre ‘line’ in stainless steel that interprets the walking route between Antwerp and Lagos, where the artist lives. This is a route that links numerous communities. The installation is an ode to the different communities who have settled in Antwerp from across the globe, bringing their own culinary cultures with them. To emphasise this intercultural exchange, the artist has designed a garden of edible plants, where indigenous varieties grow alongside edible species popular in Lagos and elsewhere. Smaller constructions in stainless steel are play structures for children, an audience that the artist considers very important in her practice.
For the inauguration, the artist collaborated with De Kompaan, a neighbourhood kitchen from Borgerhout, which started cooking in dialogue with her and her herbs. They served soup and bread to visitors.
18:30: start food sharing
19:00: artist talk with Temitayo Ogunbiyi
20:00-22:00: music and hang-out