The second edition of the Ghent International Festival (GIF), from 4 to 21 April 2024, showcases the wondrous power, class and grandeur of Ghent as a city of culture. Eight partners are collaborating for the second edition of this biennial: CAMPO, NTGent, VIERNULVIER, S.M.A.K., Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, KOPERGIETERY, Kunsthal Gent and Gouvernement. The theme of this year's multidisciplinary festival is THE YOUTH IS THE CITY, THE CITY IS THE YOUTH.
Young people are central to the programme's DNA. Not coincidentally, Ghent will also be European Youth Capital in 2024. During GIF, work will be shown by young makers, by artists working with children and young people, as well as by artists asking themselves what it means to be young.
Flagship is Building Castles in the Sky, a production by Gouvernement that takes you to different parts of the city. Spurred on by a group of makers, children are given the chance to turn their fantasies about their own neighbourhood into unique works of art.
The more darker sides of youthfulness are also featured. British Katy Baird, for instance, questions the relationship between hedonism and class: who has access to frenzied pleasure? Milo Rau, house artist at NTGent, shows us through the archetypal story Medea how children deal with the radical power of tragedy, and Brazilian creator Frederico Araujo provides insight into his whimsical search for his queer identity.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Ghent International Festival (GIF), from 4 to 21.Apr.2024 on different locations in Ghent.
Full programme and tickets from 22.Jan. via gif.gent
