2018-2025 - Nomadic Classroom
From 2018 to 2025, BOK existed as a tent, an organisation, a community, a movement, a collective work of art and a research project, in Brussels and beyond. It was a multi-linguistic and transcultural place with a poly-centric world view and alternative, embodied learning as connective tissue.
As a semi-nomadic classroom, the colourful BOK tent would stay in the same spot in the city for a few weeks or months and then move on again. BOK could host in between two and fifty people – with possibilities to shrink and expand. A public program was proposed, composed of and shared by different local “bodies of knowledge”. Every one could propose and every one could attend, for free, following BOK'S “set of intentions”. The "corpus" got composed through artistic methodologies of detecting underexposed/invisibilized knowledge, practicing active listening, considering knowledge transmission in its performative aspects. Depending on the locations, BOK collaborated with different social partners, organisations and individuals.
The corpus of all embodied knowledge that was shared in BOK, can be found here.
All BOK episodes
BOK Manchester26 August 2019
BOK Manchester
26 August 2019
"Learning Day" in St. John's Gardens, Manchester (UK) during the Tenancy Residency by Quarantine, in the framework of Meet The Neigbours (Creative Europe)
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Created by Sarah Vanhee, Flore herman | Produced by Quarantine | With the financial support of Tenancy/Meet The Neigbours (creative Europe)
BOK AbattoirSeptember-November 2020
BOK Abattoir
September-November 2020
Concept Sarah Vanhee | BOK Team Flore Herman, Nadia Mharzi, Sarah Vanhee |
With ‘bodies of knowledge’ met in the city |
Production & Communication assistant Luisa Marc |
Technique Cillian O’Neill |
Executive producer Manyone |
With the collaboration of Cultureghem |
With the financial support of Manyone, Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Kaaitheater, BUDA, Vooruit, CAMPO, Noorderzon Festival of Performing Arts & Society, BIT Teatergarasjen, Bergen, Reykjavik Dance Festival, Antwerp Research Institute for the Arts, the Flemish Community, the Flemish Minister of Brussels, Youth & Media, the Flemish Community Commission, the French Community Commission & the Municipality of Anderlecht
BOK RésistanceFebruary 2021
BOK Résistance
February 2021
BOK-by-foot at Place de la Résistance, Anderlecht
During the lock-down because of COVID-19, all meetings outside the family circle were prohibited. What was still allowed was walking, outside, with a maximum of four people. During that period, BOK tent was transformed into BOK on foot: a peripatetic school, where one could learn from a body of knowledge while walking. BOK on foot was identified by a red parasol that meant, in all weather conditions: 'this is a place to learn from each other.'
→ Download Corpus
During the lock-down because of COVID-19, all meetings outside the family circle were prohibited. What was still allowed was walking, outside, with a maximum of four people. During that period, BOK tent was transformed into BOK on foot: a peripatetic school, where one could learn from a body of knowledge while walking. BOK on foot was identified by a red parasol that meant, in all weather conditions: 'this is a place to learn from each other.'
→ Download Corpus
BOK Team Flore Herman, Nadia Mharzi, Sarah Vanhee |
With ‘bodies of knowledge’ met in the city |
Production & Communication Luisa Marc |
Executive producer Manyone |
Thanks to Zinnema which hosted the BOK office |
With the financial support of Manyone, Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Kaaitheater, BUDA, Vooruit, CAMPO, Noorderzon Festival of Performing Arts & Society, BIT Teatergarasjen, Bergen, Reykjavik Dance Festival, Antwerp Research Institute for the Arts, the Flemish Community, the Flemish Minister of Brussels, Youth & Media, the Flemish Community Commission, the French Community Commission & the Municipality of Anderlecht.
BOK JosaphatMarch-June 2021
BOK Josaphat
March-June 2021
BOK-by-Foot in Parc Josaphat, Schaarbeek
During the lock-down because of COVID-19 , all meetings outside the family circle were prohibited. What was still allowed was walking, outside, with a maximum of four people. During that period, BOK tent was transformed into BOK on foot: a peripatetic school, where one could learn from a body of knowledge while walking. BOK on foot was identified by a red parasol that meant, in all weather conditions: 'this is a place to learn from each other.'
→ Download Corpusbeaborgers.jpg)
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During the lock-down because of COVID-19 , all meetings outside the family circle were prohibited. What was still allowed was walking, outside, with a maximum of four people. During that period, BOK tent was transformed into BOK on foot: a peripatetic school, where one could learn from a body of knowledge while walking. BOK on foot was identified by a red parasol that meant, in all weather conditions: 'this is a place to learn from each other.'
→ Download Corpus
BOK Team Flore Herman, Nouha Mhamdi, Nadia Mharzi, Sarah Vanhee |
With ‘bodies of knowledge’ met in the city |
Production & Communication Luisa Marc |
Executive producer Manyone & BOK vzw/asbl |
Administration Sevie Tsampalla |
With the financial support of Manyone, Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Kaaitheater, BUDA, Vooruit, CAMPO, Noorderzon Festival of Performing Arts & Society, BIT Teatergarasjen, Bergen, Reykjavik Dance Festival, Antwerp Research Institute for the Arts, the Flemish Community, the Flemish Minister of Brussels, Youth & Media, the Flemish Community Commission, the French Community Commission & the Municipality of Schaarbeek / S.A.M.E Festival
BOK TéléphoneMay 2021
BOK Téléphone
May 2021
Kunstenfestivaldesarts
BOK-téléphone was a switchboard that brought together the knowledge of 35 Brussels youth. A phone booth was located in the Institut Pacheco, festival centre of KFDA, where people could call one of the young people to learn from them.
→ Download Corpus
BOK-téléphone was a switchboard that brought together the knowledge of 35 Brussels youth. A phone booth was located in the Institut Pacheco, festival centre of KFDA, where people could call one of the young people to learn from them.
→ Download Corpus
Presentation Kunstenfestivaldesarts | Conception Sarah Vanhee, in collaboration with Flore Herman & Nadia Mharzi | The Class/BOK-téléphone in collaboration with Atheneum Brussel, Institut-Sainte Marie, Stéphanie Gheerolfs, Sebastien Marandon | Executive producer Manyone, BOK vzw/asbl | Production assistant Luisa Marc | Communication Cillian O’Neill | Coproduction Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Kaaitheater, BUDA, Noorderzon Festival of Performing Arts & Society, BIT Teatergarasjen, Reykjavik Dance Festival, Vooruit | With the financial support of: the Flemish Community (VG), the Flemish Minister of Brussels - Youth & Media, the Flemish Community Commission (VGC), the French Community Commission (COCOF), the Municipality of Anderlecht, and the Municipality of Schaerbeek | Research KCA&ARIA | Special thanks to all the students and bodies of knowledge
BOK Jacques BrelSeptember-December 2021
BOK Jacques Brel
September-December 2021
BOK team Damla Ekin Tokel, Flore Herman, Nadia Mharzi, Joana B. Polge, Sarah Vanhee | With ‘bodies of knowledge’ met in the city |
Production & Communication Luisa Marc |
Administration Sevie Tsampalla |
Executive producer BOK vzw/asbl |
With the financial support of Manyone, the Flemish Community, the Flemish Minister of Brussels, Youth & Media, the Flemish Community Commission, the Municipality of 1000 Brussels, Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Kaaitheater, BUDA, Vooruit, CAMPO, Noorderzon Festival of Performing Arts & Society, BIT Teatergarasjen, Bergen, Reykjavik Dance Festival & Antwerp Research Institute for the Arts | Thanks to Kaaistudios which hosted the BOK office
Big BOK Multiplication13 March 2022
Big BOK Multiplication
13 March 2022
Kaaitheater, Brussels
BBM was a unique learning afternoon, during which gathered around fifty ‘bodies of knowledge’ to encounter an audience of about 150 people in Kaaitheater on March 13, 2022. Defying the traditional split between stage and audience, the stage was used as a place to gather, with the tent in the middle. All the theatre- including backstage, storage rooms, entrance-hall, foyer, balcony, dressing-rooms, … - was used to host twenty different ‘learning circles’, each consisting of two different ‘learning sessions'.
→ Download Corpus.jpg)
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BBM was a unique learning afternoon, during which gathered around fifty ‘bodies of knowledge’ to encounter an audience of about 150 people in Kaaitheater on March 13, 2022. Defying the traditional split between stage and audience, the stage was used as a place to gather, with the tent in the middle. All the theatre- including backstage, storage rooms, entrance-hall, foyer, balcony, dressing-rooms, … - was used to host twenty different ‘learning circles’, each consisting of two different ‘learning sessions'.
→ Download Corpus
Initiated by Sarah Vanhee | In collaboration with different 'bodies of knowledge' living in Brussels | Creation Damla Ekin Tokel, Flore Herman, Jean-Baptiste Polge & Sarah Vanhee | Production Luisa Marc, BOK vzw asbl & Caravan Production | Coproduction Kaaitheater, BUDA, Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Noorderzon Festival of Performing Arts & Society, BIT Teatergarasjen, Reykjavik Dance Festival, Voo?uit & CAMPO | with the financial support of the Flemish Community (VG), the Flemish Minister of Brussels - Youth & Media, the Flemish Community Commission (VGC), the French Community Commission (COCOF), Gemeente Anderlecht, Gemeente Schaerbeek, KAOS vzw, Connecting Brussels | Research Conservatorium Antwerpen, University of Antwerp (UA) & the Antwerp Research Institute for the Arts (ARIA)
BOK BergenApril-June 2022
BOK Bergen
April-June 2022
BOK Local, Bergen (NO)
BOK Local was a transmission protocol that allowed a local team and partners to create BOK in their own city. BOK Brussels team passed on the methodologies and experiences to the local team, who then facilitated a series of local learning days, spread over several months. The accompaniment of BOK Brussels team throughout the process catered for a sustainable way of working while keeping the artistic integrity of BOK in a specific context and location.
→ Download Corpus
BOK Local was a transmission protocol that allowed a local team and partners to create BOK in their own city. BOK Brussels team passed on the methodologies and experiences to the local team, who then facilitated a series of local learning days, spread over several months. The accompaniment of BOK Brussels team throughout the process catered for a sustainable way of working while keeping the artistic integrity of BOK in a specific context and location.
→ Download Corpus
BOK team Danja Burchard, Amelia Meyer |
With ‘bodies of knowledge’ living in Bergen |
Artistic transmission Flore Herman, Sarah Vanhee |
Presentation & executive production BIT Theatergarasjen |
With the financial support of BIT Theatergarasjen, Create to Connect -> Create to Impact |
Production Management for BOK Caravan Production
BOK Tenace14 September 2022
BOK Tenace
14 September 2022
BOK team Damla Ekin Tokel, Flore Herman |
With ‘bodies of knowledge’ met at Allée du Kaai, Brussels |
With the support of Toestand vzw & Boot Tenace
BOK Learning Days Gent8-11 March 2023
BOK Learning Days Gent
8-11 March 2023
BOK tent at Zonder Naam park
The BOK Learning Days consisted of a trajectory in which the BOK Brussels team transmitted the core of the project to a local community of 8 to 15 participants. Together they built a four to six days program of public learning days, creating a local corpus of embodied knowledge, shared with a larger audience.
→ Download Corpus
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The BOK Learning Days consisted of a trajectory in which the BOK Brussels team transmitted the core of the project to a local community of 8 to 15 participants. Together they built a four to six days program of public learning days, creating a local corpus of embodied knowledge, shared with a larger audience.
→ Download Corpus
BOK team Damla Ekin Tokel, Flore Herman & Sarah Vanhee | Workshop participants Annelies Bos, Heba Kassab, Zoë Lejour, Hilde Maelstaf, Kapinga Muela Kabeya, Siebren Nachtergaele, Gulseren Van Dort, Kaatje Vermeiren | Thanks to the ‘bodies of knowledge’ who have shared their knowledge in the BOK tent | With the support of CAMPO, VIERNULVIER & Caravan Production as part of Women & Children First-festival by VIERNULVIER
BOK Learning Days IxellesSeptember-October 2023
BOK Learning Days Ixelles
September-October 2023
BOK tent at Place Flagey
The BOK Learning Days consisted of a trajectory in which the BOK Brussels team transmitted the core of the project to a local community of 8 to 15 participants. Together they built a four to six days program of public learning days, creating a local corpus of embodied knowledge, shared with a larger audience.
→ Download Corpus
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The BOK Learning Days consisted of a trajectory in which the BOK Brussels team transmitted the core of the project to a local community of 8 to 15 participants. Together they built a four to six days program of public learning days, creating a local corpus of embodied knowledge, shared with a larger audience.
→ Download Corpus
BOK team Damla Ekin Tokel, Flore Herman, Joana B. Polge & Sarah Vanhee | Participants of the creation of BOK Learning days Ixelles Judith Ciselet, Selim Clérin, Céline De Vos, Mamadou Taslim Diallo, Aurélien Leforestier, Mélanie, Alice Néron, Laura Oriol, Béatrice Wegniez & Oziana Zegers | Thanks to the 'bodies of knowledge' who came to share their knowledge in the BOK tent | Scenography Cillian O’Neill | Technique Théâtre Varia | Production / Administration BOK vzw asbl, Caravan Production |
Co-production & presentation Théâtre Varia & Le Rideau de Bruxelles | With the financial support of Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie, Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles - Service pluridisciplinaire et transversal de la culture, Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles - Promotion de la Citoyenneté & de l'Interculturalité, la Commune d'Ixelles
BOK Learning Days Kortrijk17-29 May 2023
BOK Learning Days Kortrijk
17-29 May 2023
BOK Tent at Van Raemdonckpark
The BOK Learning Days consisted of a trajectory in which the BOK Brussels team transmitted the core of the project to a local community of 8 to 15 participants. Together they built a four to six days program of public learning days, creating a local corpus of embodied knowledge, shared with a larger audience.
→ Download Corpus
The BOK Learning Days consisted of a trajectory in which the BOK Brussels team transmitted the core of the project to a local community of 8 to 15 participants. Together they built a four to six days program of public learning days, creating a local corpus of embodied knowledge, shared with a larger audience.
→ Download Corpus
Participants BOK Learning Days group Alexandra Cordonni, Anja, Fennel Mészáros Ortiz, Jolan Soens, Linde, Elisabeth Nienhuis, Natalia Pekarovska, Robert, Ruth Allewaert, Rustam Khan, Triene Nottebaere, Vanessa Wagneur | BOK team Joana B. Polge & Flore Herman | Production Kunstencentrum BUDA, DURF2030, Avansa, Unie der Zorgelozen & Schouwburg Kortrijk | Part of APAP, FEMINIST FUTURES | Administration & production management Caravan Production & BOK vzw | Design tent Cillian O’Neill | BOK Learning Days is a format initiated by Sarah Vanhee in collaboration with Damla Ekin Tokel, Joana B. Polge & Flore Herman | Thanks to the ‘bodies of knowledge’ who have shared their knowledge in the BOK tent in the past and today
BOK closure - Bokumentation16 October 2024
BOK closure - Bokumentation
16 October 2024
Closing event at La Bellone, Brussels
After five years of learning together, bodies of knowledge - in its known forms - came to an end. To thank everyone, we invited all bodies, listeners, collaborators, partners, co-producers, allies, friends, … to a festive closing event at Le Bellone (Brussels) with some words looking back; a documentation and archive corner; the entire corpus of BOK in sticker form, to give back the knowledge to the city; a collective performance transforming the tent and dividing it over a collective body; never-ending encounters and infinite embodied knowledge.
After five years of learning together, bodies of knowledge - in its known forms - came to an end. To thank everyone, we invited all bodies, listeners, collaborators, partners, co-producers, allies, friends, … to a festive closing event at Le Bellone (Brussels) with some words looking back; a documentation and archive corner; the entire corpus of BOK in sticker form, to give back the knowledge to the city; a collective performance transforming the tent and dividing it over a collective body; never-ending encounters and infinite embodied knowledge.