Ballroom Project #3

The third edition of Ballroom Project took place during Antwerp Art Weekend, from 13 to 16 May 2021. Within the broader city-wide programme of Antwerp Art Weekend, Ballroom offers non-Antwerp galleries a creative, dynamic, and artistic platform without losing sight of its commercial dimension.

After a successful first edition at Pekfabriek in 2019 and an online edition in the following Covid year, Ballroom Project returned to its physical form in 2021. The initiative was founded by Ida Wollens of DMW Gallery and Bart Vanderbiesen of Base-Alpha Gallery, and curated by Yirka De Brucker.

The project operates at the intersection of exhibition and commercial platform, presentation and sale. A selection of like-minded galleries participates by invitation, following in the spirit of initiatives such as Poppositions, Art-O-Rama, and Condo.

In 2021, Ballroom Project took place at BORGERHUB, the former courthouse of Borgerhout: an elegant townhouse on Borgerhout’s main street, within walking distance of Antwerp Central Station. Galleries from outside Antwerp were invited to discover the city’s flourishing art market or reconnect with their existing networks here.

Ballroom Project seeks to avoid the conventional art-fair experience. Rather than using separate booths, the curator develops an exhibition concept from the participating galleries’ submissions, attuned to the specific character of the venue.