From October 26 to 29, Namur hosted the KIKK Festival, blending Belgian and international innovations on the theme of ‘Bodies of Water’. kingkong took the pulse of this unmissable Namur event for you.

For the twelfth consecutive year, the KIKK Festival offered in-depth talks on augmented reality, virtual reality and artificial intelligence. The KIKK Market presented innovative products whilst the immersive installations of KIKK in Town captivated a varied audience. The theme of this edition, ‘Bodies of Water’, immerses the visitors in the relationship between water and life, exploring global flows and analysing the dynamics of power, culture, politics and economics in our society. A tantalizing menu was on offer for us…

For the professionals: a cocktail of talks and networking

On Thursday and Friday, it is the professional sphere we throw ourselves into. With its networking drinks and its personalized interviews, KIKK connects around 2,500 experts keen to exchange ideas in conversations which trade knowledge and business cards in an open and pleasant space. 

As far as the talks are concerned, we have to choose between 42 international speakers. We kickstart Thursday afternoon with Gemma O’Brien. She presents her audacious graphics, her illustrative lettering and her mural paintings. On her Instagram account, Gemma, alias mrseaves101, is in love with nature and fully comes into her own when involved in large-scale projects. Next up is Kirsty Jennings, the executive producer at Anagram, an English creative studio. The hall is engrossed by Goliath: Playing with Reality, a virtual reality experience which explores the life journey of an individual suffering from schizophrenia and their dealings with psychiatric institutions. Amusing us all, we then continue with the pop-kitsch show/lecture developed by Maywa Denki, the art studio run by Novmichi Tosa, based in Tokyo. Dressed in a distinctive uniform, he wittily unveils electromechanical musical instruments and has the audience in stitches of laughter. Amongst their most iconic works, let us mention the Otamatone, launched in 2010. This electronic synthesizer toy in the shape of a quaver has been hugely successful in Japan.

Concerning the pro and general public: an innovative market and an expanding KIKK in Town

Friday, Day 2, after having navigated the heart of the Creative Village in the Place d’Armes circus tent and encountered numerous nationalities (over 34 on-site!), we reconnect with the talks. With Henry Daubrez, we explore how artificial intelligence improves the creative process. The current CEO of Dogstudio describes for us his AI enhanced productions, detailing the subtlety of the process which underpins them. Despite our enthusiasm, the programme is rich and it is impossible for us to see everything. We conclude with Špela Petrič, a Slovenian artist working in the new media and with a background in natural sciences. Her artistic expression merges biomedia practices and performativity, creating unique relationships between bodies which reveal the foundations of our (bio)technological societies and suggest alternatives.

Back at the KIKK Market, an installation by OVVO Studio, based between Paris and Montreal, enthrals us. It explores the butterfly effect, bringing to light the significant influence of each individual on the system. The visitors leave a fleeting imprint in front of a sensor, triggering a reflection on themes such as life and death. Amongst the Belgian actors exhibiting at the Market, we spend some time with the Minimètre studio which develops 3D printed objects in opting exclusively for bio-sourced and biodegradable materials.

Looking for new discoveries, we leave the Market and head in the direction of KIKK in Town, an immersive exhibition part of the KIKK Festival which extends across the whole of Namur, combining captivating monumental and interactive installations. At the Delta, we are introduced to Almos Peled, a multidisciplinary artist aged 26 based in the Netherlands. He unveils his performance, ‘Phantom Limb’, in which he reinterprets medical ultrasound technology in an artistic context. Peled aims to develop workshops for patients in hospitals.

The festival-goers emphasize the diversification of KIKK in Town, which unfurls in the Namur area. At the Grand manège, we immediately take a liking to ORA: Listening to our Dead (2023) by Laura Krsmanovic. ORA offers an immersive experience, connecting the participants to the beyond with moving accounts. The interaction, via a telephone booth or messages placed in an urn, adds a participatory dimension to this conceptual and aesthetic installation. During our stroll we dive into the vast Institut Saint-Louis basketball arena, on rue Pépin. Snuggled within an enveloping darkness, we blissfully admire the landscape work of Hicham Berrada. The animation presents in large format aquatic landscapes created chemically in glass basins. Comfortably settled in, some claim to make out faces, whilst others are sure they see animal shapes.

A summit meeting, head for the Pavillon with CAPTURE #2

At the Pavillon, CAPTURE#2 unveils the digital arts in Belgium with 20 artists. ‘As we continue,’ by Pierre Coric welcomes us in. Interactive yet passive, the work dispassionately detects our presence and keeps a count of the ramblers. We leave the entrance to the Pavillon, to sit ourselves down in an armchair which is part of the installation by Lawrence Malstaf. In a few seconds, mini polystyrene balls are projected by five ventilators into a vast transparent cylinder. At the heart of the whirlwind, hypnotised yet calm in the face of this barrage, the public is challenged to stay zen whilst the environment loses control of itself. Further on, Vivien Roubaud and his ‘Salsifis douteux’ encourage the visitors make a flower bloom in accelerated time, 90 seconds. The artist questions the impact of technology on the natural flow of the living world. Unmissable, we test the installation FromO (2023) by the Superbe studio, which deconstructs a word before reconstructing it in 3.5 minutes. Visually, the machine producing the sound is impressive, like a giant assemblage of cotton buds in action.

For the curious latecomers, the CAPTURE#2 exhibition can be viewed up until January 14, 2024! 
The general consensus appears to be that the KIKK is a conceptual, captivating and inimitable festival. The fusion between technology and art broadens our horizons. The KIKK Market, dedicated to innovative tech products, elicited considerable interest. In parallel the Festival, with its KIKK your career initiative, enables jobseekers or students in their final year aiming to redirect their professional life into the digital sector, gaming or the new professions of cinema to meet the companies working in the creative and cultural industries. We love this international arts rendezvous which grows each year in Namur, offering a range of interactive works. A won-over participant emphasises the appeal: ‘Awakening the senses connects us with creation’. And how about you? Will you be there in 2024?

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