Trying Things Out part 1: Chris-Armel Iradukunda

Trying Things Out is an evening that invites you to discover performing arts works that are still in development. There is no pressure of a premiere: attention, curiosity and care take centre stage. The audience is invited to explore what is still being researched, taking shape, questioned and experimented with, and to engage in informal conversations with the artists afterwards.

Over the past few years, Globe Aroma has welcomed several performing artists looking for artistic companionship, rehearsal space, coaching, technical support and a network within the sector. With Trying Things Out, we are creating a gentle in-between step between the studio and the audience: a testing ground where artists are given the time, space and community to try out their work, let it grow and learn together. It is not a finished performance, but a moment in the creative process. A space where watching becomes a form of care, and feedback is a gift.

Come watch, listen and share.

Trying Things Out part 1

Chris-Armel Iradukunda
Rêves lucides d’une santé sans papiers

In this performance, Chris-Armel Iradukunda invites the audience to take part in a theatrical simulation based on a future scenario for healthcare for undocumented people in Brussels.

What if people who have been overlooked by the healthcare system for years could have their medical expenses reimbursed and collectively manage a solidarity fund that supplements the emergency medical aid provided by the Belgian state? How might such an initiative work? And what if this future became a reality today?

Through role-play, Chris invites the audience to explore and test this scenario together. An artistic experiment around access to healthcare, self-organisation and solidarity, in a context where the rights and safety of undocumented people are increasingly under pressure.

To health!

The performance lasts approximately 2.5 hours.

Want to know more about the artist Chris-Armel Iradukunda?
Chris-Armel is a versatile, self-taught artist. His practice brings together audiovisual media, software, textiles and the performing arts. After fleeing the Chinese and Burundian governments in 2016, following a politicised incident involving a photograph of the president on the campus of a university in Beijing, he spent eight years working on the awalkaday.art project, both in Belgium and in the digital realm.

As an undocumented artist, Chris has carved out his own path for his artistic practice on the Ethereum blockchain, within a financial system independent of the Belgian government, which denied him asylum and his rights. He is also a playwright, actor and co-organiser of a festival of performances on bicycles.

The artist received coaching from Silke Huysmans and Dounia Mahammed throughout the preparation process of Trying Things Out.