“Do you see me?” is the theme of the 25th edition of Theater Aan Zee: all employees are curators

Last year the festival had 17 days due to corona, in order to be able to use the many locations optimally and to create sufficient capacity. “This summer we will return to our proven recipe as usual: eleven days. We also blow out 25 candles, and we like to celebrate that with everyone, the public, the artists, the employees, the people of Ostend,” it sounds in a press release.

Do you see me?

Each year TAZ is tied to a theme. Under the heading ‘Do you see me?’ the organization proposes a festive edition. “Do you see me? Do you like me? Do you see me for who I am, or for who you expect? Everyone needs to be seen, to care for others and themselves.”

“With this idea as a guideline, we have put together a versatile and polyphonic program that is reflected in Boy by Kyoko Scholiers, Pied de Poule by Studio ORKA or Echo’s van Istanbul by Stichting Nieuwe Helden. The full program will be available from 7 June via the website and in the brochure.

Employees in the spotlight

Every year Theater Aan Zee also has a curator. But this year there are several: “This summer we would like to put the many employees in the spotlight. Do you see the many hundreds of (in)visible people who literally and figuratively put their shoulders under the festival every year? This year they, all together, the curators of the festival.” They help shape the birthday party and are visible in the poster image, the brochure and on social media.

The people of Ostend also play a role. “We want the 25th anniversary celebrate the existence of TAZ by putting the city in the spotlight. For this we distribute seeds of the sweet blue Lupine in various places. We also like to call on everyone to share images.”

Theater Aan Zee starts on July 27 and lasts until August 6.