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Provinciaal Domein Dommelhof

(UN)COMMON SPACES 2020-2024 Partner, member of IN SITU since 2009


Dommelhof is a provincial domain in the region of Limburg, Belgium. Founded as the first cultural centre of Flanders in 1968, Dommelhof evolved into a creation centre for circus and transdisciplinary arts. Dommelhof is organized into two platforms for artistic development, production, presentation, and reflection.

The first one is Circuswerkplaats Dommelhof, a "pôle des arts du cirque" focusing on the research, creation, and diffusion of today’s circus. Circuswerkplaats Dommelhof also organizes the festival Theater op de Markt, a circus and site-specific art festival for a broad audience. In the even years, the festival takes place in the city of Hasselt and welcomes approximately 120.000 visitors. In the odd years, the festival is hosted at Dommelhof and focuses on circus arts. Circuswerkplaats Dommelhof also works on different presentation formats that diffuse the circus arts throughout the province of Limburg.

 

The second artistic platform in Dommelhof is C-TAKT which is focusing on transdisciplinary arts. C-TAKT sets up artistic projects that explore the boundaries of disciplines, and which experiment with innovative forms of audience engagement. C-TAKT functions as a platform that brings together multiple local, regional and international partner organizations to offer state-of-the-art support to transdisciplinary artists.

 

Dommelhof offers a comfortable context for the artists in residence of both platforms (Circuswerkplaats Dommelhof & C-TAKT), including 4 indoor rehearsal and creation spaces (theatre, dance studio, black boxes), outdoor spaces for circus tents, a technical atelier, and hotel accommodation. Artists are supported in different ways (logistic, technical, artistic, financial, promotional, etc.). The residency program results in sustainable and long-term relationships with artists and creators.

 

Dommelhof, Circuswerkplaats Dommelhof, and C-TAKT are a member of several European co-operation projects, including IN SITU Platform (2014-2017), IN SITU ACT (2016-2020), IN SITU (UN)COMMON SPACES (2020-2024) and Circostrada. This strong international focus allows monitoring innovations in the performing arts field. Moreover, Dommelhof has always exchanged international productions with network partners, resulting in enriching presentations for our regional audiences, and the introduction of Flemish artists in an international context.