Berserk Art Agency is a nomadic connector platform for visual arts.
Das Minimale Maximum*, Belgium, 2023-onwards
Inspired by George Steiner’s essay “The Idea of Europe,” Anouk Focquier currently develops a research project examining the role of contemporary art institutions within society. She explores their current relationships—or lack thereof—with their communities and consideres how they might assume a more vital role in the social fabric.
To think of a future where contemporary art institutions are more deeply integrated into their communities, Anouk Focquier draws on the model of the traditional European café. This serves as an analogy for how these institutions could foster greater connection and engagement, creating spaces where art and society can intersect meaningfully.
Anouk Focquier envisions a reorganization of the inner workings of contemporary art institutions, advocating for horizontal organizational structures, a shift from the white cube to white spaces, and closer collaborations with social clubs and cultural centers to create openess, exchange and ownership.
Through literature studies, conversations with art professionals, researchers, and audiences, Anouk is developing an open-source toolbox filled with suggestions and inspirations accessible to all.
With the kind support of Z33 (Hasselt) & De Studio (Antwerp).
Thanks to Ed Watts (The Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester), Danny Bracken (The Mattress Factory, Pittsburg) and Yinka Danmole (AND festival, Manchester).
*a tittle inspired by German visual artist Wiebke Siem (Kiel, °1954)
Quasi Museum
Haren Prison Brussels, Belgium, 2021 – 2023
Based upon a concept of artist Ief Spincemaille, Anouk Focquier co-curated the project ‘Quasi Museum’. Quasi Museum is conceived as an activated art integration project in the prison of Haren, the second largest construction site in Belgian history, inviting both detainees, visitors and the larger neighborhood of Haren to enter into dialogue with this specific space and with one another.
For this large art integration project, Spincemaille and Focquier co-curated the permanent exhibition and invited a selection of artists to create site specific new works.
with Adrien Tirtiaux (B), Bart Lodewijks (NL), Maëlle Dufour (B), Daems Van Remoortere (B), Elnino76 (B), Ousama Tabti (ALG), Karina Beumer (NL), Katrien Oosterlink (B), Kristof Van Gestel (B), Sep Verboom (B) & Ief Spincemaille (B).
© photo: Adrien Tirtiaux, Daems Van Remoortere, Sep Verboom, Bart Lodewijks, ELNINO76
Art On Paper
Brussels, Belgium, 2022
with Daems Van Remoortere (B) + Ief Spincemaille (B)
Mirror, Mirror
V2Vingt, Brussels, 2021
Invited to make a duo-exhibition, Anouk Focquier brought together two artists researching the topic of the condition humaine, both from a different cultural and art historical background, expressed in – on first sight – two opposing art fields: painting and audiovisual art.
with Younes Baba-Ali (MA) + Kristof Van Heeschvelde (B)
Art On Paper
Brussels, Belgium, 2021
with Bilal Bahir (IQ) + Elke Andreas Boon (B) + Kristof Van Heeschvelde (B)
Belgium Art & Design Fair
Ghent, Belgium, 2021
with Kristof Van Heeschvelde + Ief Spincemaille
Anouk Focquier, founder of Berserk Art Agency, is a curator who, in her work, is interested in and researches the definition of politics, as proposed by German-American philosopher Hannah Arendt. She is interested in creating public spaces of interaction and discussion where art and a diverse audience can enter into dialogue, allowing and embracing the unknown.
Anouk Focquier has a kaleidoscopic view on different art disciplines and has a keen interest in collaborating with independent artists who translate their art in a free and unbound way.