From 16 March to 1 June 2024, the Biennale de l’Image Possible (BIP) is taking over an exceptional venue: the former Chiroux library in Liège. With its theme “MUTANTX”, transformation, mutation and change are at the heart of the programme.
Cleared of the thousands of books and documents it once housed, the former provincial library of Chiroux, a landmark building in the city of Liège, now seems to float in the neighbourhood like a ghost ship. For the Biennale de l’Image Possible (BIP), this huge 7,000 m2 glass and concrete complex will be transformed into a mutantxartistic biotope. It will bring together in one place the work of over 50 Belgian and international artists, including Aline Bouvy (BE-LU), Tobias Zielony (DE), Yan Wang Preston (UK), Puck Verkade (NL), Elie Bolard (FR), Clara Thomine (BE), Marnie (BE- CH), Louis-Cyprien Rials (FR), Richard Pak (FR), Klaus Pichler (AU), Chantal Van Rijt (BE-NL), Mikail Koçak (BE), Chloé Malcotti (BE), Lua Ducret (BE-CH) and many others.
Visitors will also be taking part in this collective dynamic. Invited to bring this space to life, they will be invited to be or become mutantxand to question their role in the profound transition of the city and, more broadly, of the world. To be mutantx is to have the capacity for action, expression and demand. Mutantx do not exist without a link to their territory, which is transformed and reinvented by them. Mutantx assert the possibility of transforming space and time. They represent diversity, mixing, inclusion, attempts and hopes.
On this year’s programme: a visual arts exhibition (photography, video, installation), residency and temporary exhibition spaces for artists and students from Belgian and international art schools; a shared production workshop; a permanent bookshop; experimental mediation systems for all ages; fanzines and micro-publications linked to current events; festive and performance events; a book festival; talks and screenings; a space for participation and reflection on the urban, sociological and artistic challenges of the buildings to be redeveloped; and more.