Last weekend I went to visit an outdoor art exhibition called The Crystal Ship. Place to be was the coastal city of Ostend, Belgium.
The concept was that international and national artists create gigantic murals and art installations, spread all over the city. The art festival featured artists like Jaz, Roa and Isaac Cordal. Belgian’s national radio Studio Brussel created a lot of buzz for this event, so quite some people showed up, although I’m guessing the first sun rays of the year had something to do with that too.
While it’s an absolutely great idea, the organization lacked experience. Although a small plan was available to take with you along your walk and the murals were numbered, things could have been a bit more planned. For instance murals 7, 14 and 19 were next to each other. Moreover the map failed to provide a recommended route. Some were also way too far from the city centre if you were on foot, as was the case for most people.
We ended up seeing only a few murals and spent the rest of the day soaking up the sun on the beach. On the bright side, even the two-week arts festival is over, the murals will remain visible for 2 more years, until the next edition where they plan to add several more!