On May 11, as part of the Night of the Arts (Kunstennacht) in Hasselt the new cultural space FAX offered the soup for all passers-by. Despite the fact that the space itself was in deep repair and visitors couldn’t get inside, FAX warmed everyone with a cup of soup made from the secret ingredients, heated by candles in a shopping cart among the concrete walls.
While other galleries offered candy, flyers, drinks and … some art SOUP at SIX-action proved to be a powerful gesture of care and hospitality.
It made me think about the cultural concept of soup as the basis, the simple life-giving substance and as the first necessity. We may be poor, but we must be able to offer a bowl of soup to our guests.
Thus, the FAX project is just getting started, there is still a lot of work, but it has already shown that it can meet the basic needs of its visitors.
words by Masha Ivasenko @ivasenkomasha
images by Ilse Jooken @scampishnit