North West Walls Street Art Project

Rock Werchter and Arne Quinze have been hatching a joint artistic project for about two years now. The extension of the grounds has finally made those plans possible.

Arne Quinze conceived the structure of North West Walls, an unusual and impressive constellation of shipping containers. Arne has decided not to exhibit his own work at Werchter, but will act as curator of North West Walls. He is inviting street artists to do their thing on the canvas that he has devised for them. New works will adorn the North West Walls every year.

Arne Quinze began his career as a graffiti artist in the mid 1980s. His later work, from huge public installations to small, more intimate pieces, grew from the street art of the day. Not only that, but Arne Quinze sees an interwoven connection between street art and music. As curator and designer of the North West Walls he is now able to offer a platform, in an environment that lives and breathes music, for street artists from around the world.

With North West Walls, curator Arne Quinze aims to give the audience a taste of the world of street art. Our cities are currently full of beautiful street art. These works are often of the finest quality. In the year 2014, street artists are part of the international art circuit and find their way to the most prestigious art galleries. Yet their art remains open to the public at large, both literally and figuratively.

Graffiti artists are anything but naive about society. They travel the world and rub up against all kinds of cultures. This gives them a highly cultivated outlook and understanding of our modern world. Their art often conveys a complex story and carries a message. It is fascinating to see. And street artists don’t just attack a wall with a spray can these days. So many new techniques have come into play, involving markers, brushes, stencils, spatial elements, etc.

Though art is one of the cornerstones of society, the threshold to art houses is still high for many. Street art bridges this gap between art and the community. Art in the street can address the embitterment of society, inspire people to broaden their thinking and to put things in perspective.

For the first edition of North West Walls Arne Quinze went in search of the greatest possible diversity. From very classical graffiti involving compositions of letters to a more surrealist, modern approach. Each of the five guest artists is among the best in the world and has their own style and much respected technique. And three of them are Belgian, no less.

2015 artists: Gamma Gallery, Fintan Magee, Smug, Pixel Pancho, Nychos, Lula Goce