Art Gallery - Gallery Deweer, ART Gallery, art gallery, artists exhibit, exhibit graphics, painters, photographers, sculptors, sculptures, sculpture to Otegem

ECLiPS / 25 Jaar Deweer Art Gallery

19 September - 21 November 2004


Four years ago, the Zwevegem power station fell completely silent, after a working life of almost ninety years. After a short second life as an energy museum, ownership of the site, that had meanwhile been classified, was transferred from the electricity company Electrabel to the municipality of Zwevegem. The local council joined forces with various partners, including the intermunicipal company Leiedal and the Monuments and Sites Division of the Flemish government, to come up with plans for its redevelopment. A study week with young Belgian and foreign architects yielded interesting proposals for a new multifunctional use of the impressive building complex. A non-profit association, vzw Transfo, was founded to manage the site, bringing together representatives from the municipal authorities, Leiedal, and the province of West Flanders, amongst others. It was clear from the start that the buildings and sites of Transfo Zwevegem would lend themselves to a variety of functions. Accordingly, the provisional plan for its conversion comprises a mixture of housing, services, offices, recreation, catering, and, of course, culture. One of the parties who were involved to help plan cultural activities on the Transfo Zwevegem site was Deweer Art Gallery. We immediately saw that Transfo Zwevegem was the perfect location for celebrating our twenty-fifth anniversary. A number of people, including Lieven Van Den Abeele and Anne Pontegny, were found willing to contribute to the concept. Vzw Transfo, the local authorities, and the architects' firm Pol Van Sileghem unhesitatingly joined the project. And then, after a few months of efficient collaboration, there it was: the ECLiPS exhibition. This show fits in perfectly with the strategy of the local authorities to save the site from oblivion with a series of events. We hope that Deweer Art Gallery has contributed to the success of these plans with ECLiPS.