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Vantroyen, Jean-Claude
5 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
Photo ban is arrogant
In June a museum dedicated to Belgium's best known comic artist Hergé (The Adventures of Tintin) will be opened in his home town of Leuven. On Monday it was opened to journalists who, however, were allowed neither to film nor take photos. In its leading article the daily Le Soir criticises this decision: "The interest in museums has been growing for several years. In a society where a clear vision for the future no longer exists, identity is being sought in the past and in the artistic production that gives our present its pride and meaning. … And since the opening of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao in 1997, cities and states have realised that the museum is not a superfluous luxury but a spearhead for tourism and economic revival. … At the Hergé Museum, from which photo journalists were banned, they believe the names of Hergé and Tintin … will be enough to attract hoards of international culture tourists. This is an arrogant attitude. What a pity."
» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » Exhibitions / Museums, » Belgium
Hugo Claus, more than just a Flemish writer
Hugo Claus, the Flemish artist, writer, poet, filmmaker and playwright, passed away March 19th at the age of 78. Interviewed by Jean-Claude Vantroyen, Jan Goossens, the director of the Royal Flemish Theatre (KVS) recalls that this Dutch-language writer wasn't always as appreciated. He also praised Claus' anti-nationalist positions. "Fundamentally, he was a bastard-artist. He loved mixes, anything hybrid. His biggest enemy was purity. In his literary work, and as a human being. He couldn't stand anything nationalist, closed or monocultural. He fought this tendency in Flanders from his first day to his last. Flanders salutes him now, but there were always difficult and problematic relations with him. Today, he's a great man. This was not always the case."
» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » Film, » Literature, » Belgium
All available articles from » Jan Goossens
Who will run Belgium's museums ?
The government of Flanders recently reiterated its desire to gain regional control of scientific and political policy, currently run by the federal government. Jean-Claude Vantroyen considers that "the great federal cultural institutions of the country work well. ... The Flemish want to transfer [the management of] these institutions to the Communities [Flemish, French, and German], for co-management. They say that it will work better this way. ... To work together, you must be able to listen to each other, to develop a common understanding, what we call a cooperative contract. But here we are, and since the Communities were established, since 1980, they've never been able to come to agreement. ... Let's admit that even if a miracle allows us to forge a deal, who will own the buildings, the collections, the monuments ? Here we can clearly see the friction, incessant, and in proportion with the issues: collosal. And then, there is the Flemish theory of 'he who pays, decides'."
» to the homepage (external link, Le Soir)
More from the press review on the subject » Exhibitions / Museums, » Cultural Policy, » Belgium
Ambassadors promoting intercultural dialogue
In an interview conducted by Jean-Claude Vantroyen, the French director Radu Mihaileanu explains his mission as ambassador in the context of the 2008 European Year of Intercultural Dialogue (EYID). He is one of seven ambassadors who have been named by the European Commission to prompt cultural exchange across Europe. "To travel all over Europe in order to reinforce communities' sense of their richness, culture, identity, to plead in favour of other cultures and other identities. ... We ambassadors are the go-betweens, ferrymen, guides. "[I feel like a go-between] as an artist and because I have a fortunate background. I was born in Romania; I am French, as well as Jewish, European and universal. ... It is good that Europe is calling upon artists, rather than bureaucrats. We artists are used to working with people, to listening to them to, bringing them together and reinforcing their richness."
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More from the press review on the subject » Literature, » Music, » Europe
All available articles from » Radu Mihaileanu
Belgium's ambitions for European Library project
"One can spend hours listening to Patrick Lefèvre. The new director of the Belgian Royal Library has an infectious enthusiasm when he talks about the Digital European Library, the weapon in the counter-strike against the aspirations of Google and, next in line, Microsoft and Yahoo, to digitise all of human knowledge as they see fit," the daily reports in an article that assesses Belgium's contribution to the European project that is slated for launch at the end of 2006. "To be credible, we must be in the lead pack of European libraries," Lefèvre asserts. But the newspaper regrets the lack of financial resources at Belgium's disposal. "The budget allocations are inadequate to cover the huge needs."
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More from the press review on the subject » Culture, » Belgium
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