Bernd Lohaus Stichting: 2016

Bernd Lohaus Prize 2016 awarded to GAGARIN – the Artists in their Own Words

(excerpt from the speech at the opening, October 21st 2016, by Anny De Decker)

“Tonight, the Prize Bernd Lohaus is awarded for the fifth time. Four times, it went to an artist (Lien Hüwels, Maurice Blaussyld, Gert Robijns and Olivier Foulon). Now, for the fifth edition, the prize goes to an art mediator. This makes sense as Bernd, outside of his activity as an artist, ran the gallery and dedicated himself to the oeuvre of others for ten years. In this sense, we recognize the same dedication in the activities of Wilfried Huet.

That’s why this year the Prize goes to the magazine GAGARIN – the Artists in their Own Words. Wilfried Huet started the project in 2000, has since released 32 issues and is currently working on issue 33, the last one.

GAGARIN is a very peculiar magazine, incomparable to any other. It is the only magazine in the world that gives the floor exclusively to artists.

Each issue is participated in by eight artists who work today, anywhere in the world. These eight artists come from as many countries. If possible, the texts are published in their original language and script, with the addition of a Dutch and English translation. To give you an idea of the different languages: they range from Albanese, Amharic, Arabic and even Azart to the Transvaal, Turkish and Swedish. Even braille and polyphony appear.

I will spare you the list of 264 artists, but it contains a lot of big names. Yet essay help online Wilfried has invited many artists at a time when they weren’t very known. He concentrates on those who don’t wish to wait until everything is verified and summarized, those who are prepared to search for stimulating art and ideas when they are still fresh. By bringing together, in every issue, contributions by artists from different countries, of a different language, of a different age, of a different celebrity within the art world, the reader is exposed to known artists on the one hand and the ideas of young people on the other.

This exhibition shows texts from GAGARIN, together with work by artists who published in GAGARIN. Here as well, we chose to bring together five different generations and nationalities: Roman Signer (1938, Appenzell, CH), Guy Rombouts (1949, Geel, BE), Suchan Kinoshita (1960, Tokio, JP), Joe Scanlan (1961, Circleville, USA), Petrit Halilaj (1986, Kostërrc, KS) and Kasper Bosmans (1990, Lommel, BE).

GAGARIN is a magazine much in demand among artists.

We are happy to award the Prize to GAGARIN, as original projects usually can’t count on much official support in Belgium.”

Anny De Decker, Wilfried Huet, 2016 Stella Lohaus, Wilfried Huet, Anny De Decker, Ulli Lindmayr, 2016 Gagarin, LLS 387, 2016 Gagarin, LLS 387, 2016