LOONA’S TALE

Agenda 29/11 – 4/12/2018

Prochain article sera en français

What is more insignificant than a cat in an apartment of a Western capital city?

It’s the cliched image of a peaceful household. Put a cat in a house and suddenly it becomes a warm heaven (or an allergen hell)…. The cat itself can have (and usually do) a vibrant personality doing thousands of incredible things for a cat like chasing big insects, keeping the mouse at large and annihilate any depression tendency of the human sharing the same house. And that’s already a very impressive list.

Till last Friday, I had that kind of wonderful and endearing companion, called Loona. Some friends comforted me saying that I really took good care of her, as she lived 20 very healthy years (she died without getting sick, she just shut down for a couple of days, and that was it).

But truth to be told, she’s the one who added years to my life.

Several years ago, on a cold winter night (it’s not another cliché, it was really cold outside), everyone in the building was asleep… So was I, till Loona start to scream to wake me up. When I was indeed awake, she was not satisfied yet and kept on looking at me and showing me the way to the front door…. that I opened only to discover a big white smoke coming from the basement (and more specifically from the heating system.. told you it was a cold night!).

I had the time to knock on all doors and wake everyone up and to call the firefighters. Thanks to her, not only everyone was safe, but, of the five individuals who were in the building that night, four of them have kids today…

Of course (to add another cliché to my story) like any authentic heroine’s tale, there’s a little touch of romance in it.

Loona had a real true love story. A story that amazed everyone when I tell it, so I’ll share it with you all today… It happened when we were squatting at a friend’s house for a couple of months. She quickly found her way out to the street (for the first and last time of her life).

While out and about, she met another cat and they soon started a real relationship. I’m not kidding… Every morning the “guy” came to the door house, put his muzzle in the letters’ gap. Loona would soon request the first human that she found on her way out to open her the door, so she could join her lover. They would go for the whole day, doing whatever cats in love would do. Then at the end of the day, they would return together. The other cat was a real gentlecat: he was waiting with her till a human would open the door to let her in, and would kiss her goodbye before heading to his own house… till the next day!

After Loona and I left to move into our new house, her lover kept coming back to my friend’s house. When I visited them months later, they told me that he was still looking for her… and he indeed showed up at the window and jump at me recognizing the scent of his real true love…. It was heartbreaking to witness, to be honest…

Why am I telling you all that? Well first because this platform is the only one I really have to make it public that she lived and she’s not around anymore and that she will be missed.

Secondly, to tell you that if such an “insignificant” cat could save lives and even somehow made possible new lives, imagine what your impact is….

And if you feel too down to realize your importance in the world… share your life with a cat, they’re good at comforting and they give a soul to your house. And if you are allergic or have an anti-pets landlord, you can go out, dive into Brussels cultural scene and even maybe make new friends!

Here are some suggestions for the coming days (and check also the calendar for more suggestions):

If I say “Art in the public space”, you’ll probably think first about street art (like graffiti). There’re two events around it: one is a symposium at the Architecture Faculty, in Flagey “L’art urbain entre pratique illégale et commande publique” with academics and artists talking. I’ll be at the opening session on Wednesday evening and probably the whole day Friday as – by coincidence – we are talking about street art on our radio show on Sunday. Our guest will be Chloé Saelens as she’s curating the exhibition “Street Art to Canvas”, starting on Thursday and where we’ll be able to see the work of several artists like Samuel Idmtal, Eyes-B, Sara Conti and many more.

But Art in the public space is way more than just street art. For example, the performance that Lukas De Clerck is creating is in the public space, so it falls into that category. “We are trying to have a conversation” is the name of his project where we (I say we, as I’m participating with few others) are going to whistle in the center of the Square Marie Janson… Join us to listen to our little conversation!

This week, another important day is the 35 years anniversary party of Radio Panik! This free radio, that runs thanks to the hundreds of volunteers is still well and alive! We will be in Beursschouwburg, Ciné Palace, Ciné Central, La Machine and AB Salon for workshops, concerts, live radio shows, Dj’s sets,… As the media tend to be for a large public, we will start the festivities early in the day and each venue will offer a different experience!

Check their website for the full program!

Other nice stuff going on:

The Photomatic events are back since a couple of weeks: every Wednesday, the Café La Biche is welcoming Dj Croco who’s curating the event which consist of projections of art work usually from photographers, but could be also from illustrators like this week event with Sandrine Astier, Paul JJ Michiels and Noémie Barsolle

Luis Pôlet is having an exhibition at the Lesbrouss’art Gallery… which will, unfortunately, close its doors at the end of this year. During 10 years, Ria Kaate – the gallerist – opened her door and the walls of her gallery to many artists for free, helping them show their work.

Lefto is going to spin at C12 with Red D all night long, back to back. Wow wow! Sound like a good party to go to on Friday night.. Price is 5€ before midnight (and then 10€).

And as always: another great party the same night: Sfumato w/ Rifts & Fleur Live hosted by La Garçonière Prod. at Chez Jacques Club…Entrance here is 8€.

Fleur played for the anniversary party of our radio show back in September, in the ponds of Ixelles, and her set was really cool and smooth, her voice mixed with electro sounds that she creates. I wonder how it is in a club setting. Curious about it.

On Sunday, there’s a big march for the Climate in the streets. I won’t be able to make it, but still, I could be on time for the “Soirée projection pour l’Environnement” at la Clé (an autonomous housing) organized by Le Cri, a citizen collective. It will be chill, you’ll be welcomed with a soup and a bar (all at a price of your choice) and I’m sure you’ll be able to share your thoughts after seeing the documentary “2 Degrés avant la fin du monde”.