From Studio — © Patrick De Roo
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In De Studio, the arts center on Mechelseplein, ‘Christmas in the Studio’ would start on Monday. Due to the new corona measures, the theater party for families can no longer take place. As a protest, all Christmas trees are now hanging upside down on the facade. “We feel tied up by the Consultation Committee”, says artistic coordinator Amelie Aernaudts
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The mandatory closure of cinemas, concert halls and theaters is particularly hard on the cultural sector. There is a lot of misunderstanding and anger, also among the artists and employees of De Studio in Antwerp. Christmas in the Studio, the theater party for families that would start on Monday, has been cancelled, just like all other activities.
As a protest, the arts center has renamed the eight-day event ‘Christmas from De Studio’ and all Christmas trees are hanging upside down on the facade. “We feel tied up by the Consultation Committee”, says Amelie Aernaudts, artistic coordinator of De Studio. “Christmas in the Studio was almost sold out, but now we have had to disappoint about two thousand parents and children. This is not only sad, but also tragic. We were so excited to offer a nice Christmas program here. We also felt that there was a need for art and culture during the holiday. We have taken all measures into account. We have tried to reinvent ourselves a hundred times and as a cultural sector we only get a ‘fuck you’ from politics. The support measures will come, but they will remain a blanket for the bleeding. We were still able to run with the limitation of two hundred people inside, but this feels like a lockdown, for the fourth time… And that weighs very heavily on all our colleagues.”
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