From 2–11 October the city of Bruges breathes AMOK. KAAP's biannual festival unfolds across unexpected spaces – a psychiatric hospital, a swimming pool, and care homes, among other locations – bringing together music, sound art, performance, and participatory art around one central question: AM I OK? Guided by the conviction that art can be a form of care, the festival explores mental wellbeing, human connection, and the role artists can play in creating spaces for reflection, encounter and shared experience.
2–4 October: Art as Care
AMOK opens in celebration with a free W.E.R.F. records clubnight at Cactus, featuring Compro Oro, Helena Casella and Kunde, among others. Also on the programme are the Icelandic quartet ADHD, the Austrian trio other:M:other and Will Guthrie's avant-garde gamelan Ensemble Nist-Nah. Musician and filmmaker Micha Volders presents his docu-fiction short film SŏN as a concert performance. At care locations, including Viro and Huis met vele Kamers, intimate 'Presents' are created out of encounters between artists and residents.
The first weekend also offers immersive experiences for the audience. At the Guilini Swimming Pool, Pool of Sound transforms the water into a sonic universe with music by Elena Rykova, Pak Yan Lau and Joël Cahen. Campfire by Bosse Provoost and Ezra Veldhuis envelops the listener in light, sound and stories.
10–11 October: Art in Care
For its second weekend, AMOK takes up residence at the Psychiatric Hospital Onzelievevrouw in Bruges. Through a trail of performances, installations and concerts, the general public is introduced to art within a care context. The chapel serves as a concert hall: Joachim Badenhorst performs Youran, a musical meditation on grief and letting go, originally created for North Sea Round Town, while Argentine performer Paula Sanchez explores the limits of the cello as well as her own body in a literally breathtaking solo.
The programme further includes collective moments of breath, movement and sound, and intimate one-on-one experiences. Dans in Brugge-maker Christian Bakalov spends a month in residence at the institution, drawing inspiration for his Breathing Choir — a choir that centres on breathing techniques widely used in mental healthcare, promising an immersive performance.
Meanwhile, in the greenhouses, Benno Steinegger invites visitors to listen to sounds generated by plants, granvat offers a soothing listening massage, while Frank&Robbert / Robbert&Frank lets you craft your worries away.
Anneleen Keppens explores the lack of social support for mothers in the premiere of Lullabye. In a scenography built around a swinging hammock, Keppens sings, dances and embodies lullabies about the ambivalence of motherhood and other caring practices. The performance is followed by an intimate care ritual directed towards caregivers.
There is also a programme for the active participant. Katleen Van Langendonck, curator and grief coach, leads a Mindful Walk combining breathwork and walking meditation. Clinical psychologist Brenda Anyango invites participants to a body-centred workshop with Healing Movements, where moments of movement and stillness guide you to listen to your own body. The caring art project t a s t b a a r collectief offers bespoke artistic and intimate rituals in which families move together in search of what may bring comfort.
Finally, the tafelredes — inspired by the legendary interventions of James Ensor — invite conversation and reflection on art, care and social blind spots during a shared dinner, while the Delicate Revolutie, in collaboration with De Republiek, creates space for encounter and dialogue.
Art and care are increasingly intertwined, and through the partnerships KAAP has built, we hope to carry that connection forward sustainably into the future.