In fact, based on the elements of the scenography of the work The Soft Layer (2019), Decoratelier invites different audiences (students, inhabitants of the medina, trainees, members of a creative collective, etc.) to rethink the installation to make it an adaptable urban construction, modular and reusable in order to welcome the public in the coming years in different places in the medina. This year the structure will be used for the Summit.

> About Jozef Wouters and Decoratelier

Jozef Wouters (1986) is a Brussels-based scenographer and theatre maker. Using his Decoratelier as a base, he engages in various projects and artistic collaborations. In 2019 Jozef and co-founder Menno Vandevelde were awarded the Flemish Culture Award (Ultima) in the category of performing arts for their work at Decoratelier. Wouters’ work often relates to a specific location and initiates a dialogue between strategic spaces, social processes and the power of imagination. In 2020 his book Moments before the wind was published, a heterogeneous collection of notes and reflections on space, scenography, art making and institutional critique, edited by Jeroen Peeters. Since 2017 he is an autonomous artist in residence with Meg Stuart/Damaged Goods.

Decoratelier is a constantly evolving project, located in a former factory in Molenbeek (Belgium). Since 2016, it has functioned as an artists’ workspace that is accessible for theatrical productions, interdisciplinary collaborations and social experimentation. The first project that took shape within its walls was Atelier III (2017), the predecessor of Projecting [Space[ (Ruhrtriennale 2017), in collaboration with Meg Stuart/Damaged Goods and Jeroen Peeters. In 2019 Decoratelier produced Underneath Which Rivers Flow, a secret garden full of wormholes leading to unimagined worlds, together with open art house Globe Aroma. In the summer of 2020 and 2021, Decoratelier housed the outdoor festival Something when it doesn’t rain, a heterogenous program of workshops, music, performances, screenings, discussions and more, curated and organised in close collaboration with local residents and organisations.