2022 – This is What You Came For & The Birth of BARЯA Movement

*Laurence Petrone sculpting during the process of TIWYCF*

The BARЯA movement, initiated by Els Dietvorst, was sparked by her winning the Belgian Art Prize and her exhibition at the Centrale for Contemporary Art in Brussels. Titled ‘This Is What You Came For,’ the exhibition reflects Els’s extensive artistic preparation and deep-seated aspirations.

The movement represents a collective journey into creating art that focuses on collaboration, presence, and regeneration. It’s not about creating a perfect product but rather about the process of creating art that allows for transformation, growth, and connection. The vision of the Movement has been co- created by Laurence Petrone and by the embodiment of the project by Zhang Yi, Sadrie Alves, Aurelie Di Marino, Flor Maesen, Alex Akuete, … and all the others collaborators of ‘This Is What You Came For’.

See down below for all relevant links, reviews, texts and articles.

The full team for this moment of origins: The BARЯA MOVEMENT, (BE) ACM, Sadrie Alves, Angela Alsouliman, Alex Akuete aka Xray, Simon Arazi, Stefania Assandri, Els Dietvorst, Aurelie Di Marino, Daria Likhovitckaia, Flor Maesen, Asia Nyembo Mireille, Laurence Petrone, Philippe Vandenberg, Y, Yi Zhang, Honey Zinzs. (IRL) Laoise Garvey, Maria Cahill, Annette Doran, Sandra Whelan, Aine O’Grady, Mary Verling, Fiona Power, Ingrid Schumacher.

Process video ‘This Is What You Came For’ ©Simon Arazi

The name “BARЯA” is inspired by the last storm in Ireland, where the exhibition and the movement partly originated. In Irish, “BARRA” means “honest head” and also evokes a “bare root,” symbolizing a return to the basics of life and nature. This connection to nature is further emphasized by our approach to “regenerative art,” which overlapping with practices in agriculture, focusing on restoration, renewal, and revitalization. <<more on the origins in the 2022 statement>>

‘This Is What You Came For’ culminated into a procession through Brussels with a sculpture of a beeswax tree mounted on copper, carried by the whole team and lit in front of Bozar. “A tree covered in beeswax, with formless, melted contours. Sculpted by the flames, now extinguished, but present in the traces they leave in the exhibition. Traces of a ritual that took place on the evening of the opening when the wax tree was paraded through the streets of Brussels, from the CENTRALE to Bozar, where it was lit on fire. The tree was carried by members of The BARЯA Movement, a collective of artists, long time collaborators and former students that has grown organically over the last few years and fits within her practice.” ©Bozar

Visual report of the parade ©Bozar

BARЯA cherishes collectivity and interaction, emphasizing empathy, dialogue, and the fluidity of creativity. It’s a movement that is co-created with the public and involves moments of sharing through various forms of artistic expression, including performances, music, and installations.

The team behind the BARЯA exhibition at Centrale included a group of young(er) artists and collaborators who helped shape this vision, along with the guidance and contributions of Centrale’s curatorial and technical staff.

Photo series of the process by Flor Maesen: