GraffitiStreet

As the brainchild of The Crystal Ship street art festival how did you first get involved with street art?

Bjørn van Pouke

Art has always been present in my life. In a time long before social media, when I was a teen I wrote for a DIY punk zine which also featured illustrations and art, a bit later I contributed to various music, photography and street art blogs around the world.

One thing lead to another and I encountered that standing on the sidelines is just not for me, I wanted to actively participate and started organising concerts, club nights and music festivals. Firstly I did all of those things together with my friends and later I got noticed by a booking agency where I started working until my mid-twenties.

What happened is that I slowly started to feel out of place, so I decided to quit my job in music, took my experience with me and started organising my first art projects including the very first street art festival in Belgium back in 2011. Ever since I have continued organising various art projects, exhibitions and an art festival that moved from city to city each year.

Elian, The Crystal ship 2019. Photo Credit Alex Stanhope

GraffitiStreet

What's the most challenging part of being a curator of a street art festival of this scale?

Bjørn van Pouke

The thing is when you invite +15 artists per year to work in the same city, public space gets limited. This year was quite challenging to find suitable locations for our murals specifically. That is also the reason we experiment with sculptures and installations, furthermore we also repaint some works from 2016. I believe we have contacted every wall owner in the city and although the social engagement of the festival is massive, not everybody wants to have a mural from us. Personally I believe it is also a way to keep the art collection up to date and relevant although I prefer to keep everything the way it is.

Dourone, The Crystal ship 2018. Photo Credit Alex Stanhope

GraffitiStreet

Can you tell us a little more about this years theme "The Dictatorship of Art" and the message behind it.

Bjørn van Pouke

This is the very first year we apply a theme to the program: The Dictatorship of Art.

The theme of the fourth edition of The Crystal Ship, is in fact not meant as a provocative statement. It is, quite simply, manifest. For let us be honest: we have already tried everything else – popes to presidents, communism to capitalism, aristocracy to mediocracy – and the world is still on the brink of a nervous breakdown. And that is why The Crystal Ship is – emphatically, because only then we can make a difference – aligning with the German artist Jonathan Meese, who states that Art is by far the most radical thing you can do with your life. Forget politics, forget religion, forget ‘purchasing power’ or other truisms.

Only Art has the power to truly change the world. Only Art will let you bring something meaningful to the table. So stop what you are doing. Now! Right away! Drop everything, muster all your passion and creativity, fire up all your lust and enthusiasm, and go nuts. Not half-heartedly, not just a bit, but completely nuts. Choose Art. Choose The Dictatorship of Art.

The Dictatorship of Art, The Crystal Ship 2019, Ostend.

GraffitiStreet

What does the future of Crystal Ship look like in your vision?

Bjørn van Pouke

We have definitely interest in organising the festival abroad. This year we will also see two editions of our mini festival Kaleidoscope, one in less than two months in Torhout.

Bosoletti, The Crystal ship 2017. Photo Credit Alex Stanhope

GraffitiStreet

What's your opinion on using street art as a medium to increase tourism to a city?

Bjørn van Pouke

With over 125.000 visitors per year to The Crystal Ship in Ostend, we have always embraced cultural tourism although it has never been our focus. Inspire visitors to come to a certain city to see art is of course a good thing, if you do not forget to engage with the local community. For us, art is always a social thing. That is the reason we collaborate with local (cultural) organisations, organise workshops, do artist talks and engage with the locals for instance inviting over 350 students of the local art school to make not one, but three incredible social-cultural projects.

Miss Van The Crystal ship 2019. Photo Credit Rosh Boroumand

GraffitiStreet

Street art in the year 2100, what are your predictions?

Bjørn van Pouke

Difficult question, since street art (visual art created in the public domain) is one of the oldest and most widespread techniques to create art. From cave paintings, to fresco’s during the Roman era, up until Mexican muralism in the early twentieth century. Street art has always been there, ever since mankind first learned to bang rocks together and spark fire. I believe we will still paint murals and create works in the streets, I’m pretty sure about it.

Oak Oak, The Crystal ship 2019. Photo Credit Alex Stanhope