WERKTANK- factory for new and old media art

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België
Leuven
WERKTANK- factory for new and old media art

production platform for new and old media Werktank is a production platform for media art.

Our main mission is the realisation and distribution of installation art that investigates the relation between technology and perception. Werktank functions as a work tool for the artist and puts its artistic, technical and productional expertise at the disposal of young and emerging artists. We accompany the artist through all the phases of the creation process of media art, from the research pr

ocess till the final realisation and active distribution of the work, by offering residencies, financial and productional support. Every year we give new artists the opportunity to work in Werktank, in parallel with a selection of artists who are supported on a longer term and who assure the continuity of the Werktank-dramaturgy. We aim to continuously challenge the artistic line developed over the past years with new impulses, at the same time trying to maintain a coherent story which connects the works we produce. Werktank operates at the crossroads of media art, visual art and performance art. Most of the works produced in our media-factory are comments or reflections on contemporary visual culture. They form a bridge between the past and the present by deliberately mixing new and old media. Often they combine the latest digital technologies with old craftsmanlike techniques, always maintaining the focus on the content and imaginative force of the artwork. Our headquarters are situated in the heart of the city of Leuven (Belgium) and consist of offices, workspaces and a technical workshop. We are an inter(national) organisation, but are also firmly rooted in the city, closely collaborating with local actors to give new impulses to its emerging artistic scene.

06/10/2025

✨ New in Distribution! ✨

The Syntonic Masks (2025) by Camille Bernard-Gravel

In Syntonic Masks, three silicone masks—each derived from the 3D modeling of a single human head—embark on a process of regeneration.

Each mask embodies one of the many possible selves of a person striving to harmonize her inner voices, moving closer to authenticity. From their phonatory organs emerge voices that shift between plaintive and melodious tones.

At once, they convey both physical and psychological pain, while also revealing a yearning to transcend suffering—seeking a passage toward serenity.

🎭 Part of our residency exchange with Recto-Verso (Québec) 🤝 With the support of:
* Flemish Authorities
* Ministère des Relations internationales et de la Francophonie du Québec (MRIF)
* Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec
🎥 Video: Bas Van Hoeck

30/08/2025

Dit was Zomertank: Born to be Wild - deel 1 ✨

Eetbaar onkruid Leuven & KNEPH namen ons mee op wandel en lieten ons onkruid met andere ogen zien.

Line Boogaerts, Ditmar Goes en Mei-Lan NG zorgden voor een straffe performance die nog nazindert.

& MengelMoes serveerde een wildplukbuffet om duimen en vingers bij af te likken.

💚 Dank aan Buurtcentrum Casablanca voor het hosten en aan alle deelnemers voor deze bijzondere namiddag!

Binnenkort delen we meer over het vervolg… stay tuned!

📷 Sophie Deforce

22/05/2025

whirlpool bath of Despair -
Far below the ocean’s surface lie brine lakes: dense, toxic pools of saltwater. These pools can have salt concentrations up to eight times higher than that of normal seawater. Among the most extreme is the ‘whirlpool bath of Despair’, located 3,300 feet below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico: A submerged brine pool so toxic that it instantly kills most organisms on contact.

This exhibition explores these alien environments, where crushing pressure, zero oxygen and chemical extremes challenge life. Combining deep-sea footage, eco-latex and salt formations, whirlpool bath of Despair invites you into this hostile zone.
Within this setting, Neneh explores extremophiles, organisms like halophilic bacteria and tubeworms that have adapted to survive within and around these brine pools. Their unique metabolisms and biochemical strategies provide insight into how marine life must adapt as global waters become more saline.

Photos by

𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗖𝗶𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘀
🗓 On view ‘till 1 June
📍 Kunstpodium T, Noordstraat 105, Tilburg.

20/05/2025

is a multimedia artist exploring the transformatie impact of ICTs on our subjectivity, drawing parallels to spirituality and old belief systems. Her current installations examine the commodification of self-care within contemporary culture, questioning the boundaries between authentic experience and manufactured desire.

Photos by

𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗖𝗶𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘀
🗓 On view ‘till 1 June
📍 Kunstpodium T, Noordstraat 105, Tilburg.

18/05/2025

Currencies -
Currencies is an installation exploring the shifting relationships between trade, language, and value, through the history of salt.The work draws from the Yangpu Ancient Salt Field in China and consists of a series of salt stones filled with Dutch seawater. The installation connects the waters of the Netherlands with the salt fields of southern China to reflect upon how linguistic influence traveled in both directions. Over the course of the exhibition, the water evaporates and crystallization begins to make visible the slow processes of linguistic erosion, exchange, and trade.Salt moved along trade routes that also carried languages, dialects, and systems of meaning. Currencies looks at how this material exchange led to semantic shifts—how the circulation of salt intersected with the formation of pidgin languages: simplified grammars developed between speakers with no shared language, often within the conditions of trade and colonization.

Photos by Cecilie Fang

𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗖𝗶𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘀
🗓 On view ‘till 1 June
📍 Kunstpodium T, Noordstraat 105, Tilburg.

15/05/2025

192.168.2.70 Chaline Bang
192.168.2.70 is a server running on a Samsung Galaxy S III, hosting a video edited with
FFmpeg in the terminal/CLI and shared through the local network.
ffmpeg -i reels.mp4 -b 1k output.mp4
The work is inspired by permacomputing, a more sustainable way of engaging with technology, by prolonging the lifespan of hardware, installing lightweight open-source operating systems, and working with small file sizes.
sudo nano /var/www/html/index.html
Everyday technologies become as transparent as salt, but I want to care for the holes in our pipelines within the data center industrial complex.
!!

Photos by Cecilie Fang

𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗖𝗶𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘀
🗓 On view ‘till 1 June
📍 Kunstpodium T, Noordstraat 105, Tilburg.

09/11/2024

It’s that time of the year again…Here is our yearly open call for CODE. Werktank offers 4 artists living in Belgium the opportunity to partipcate in the program with meetings, workshops and a 3-day Hackathon in Kunsthal Mechelen, production possibilities and international presentations.
More info on www.werktank.org

Open call for artists and non-artists based in the Netherlands and Belgium to join a co-creation project on digital rights! �Are you an artist, designer, researcher, software designer or developer? Or are you working in marketing, law, technology, policymaking or politics? �Are you interested in human rights and equality? Are you open to working on collaborative projects that can speak to the imagination of a wider audience and inspire them to think about their digital agency? �Regardless of what you do, if you are concerned about our digital rights and the lack of agency over the platforms and devices we use, we are looking for you!
The deadline to respond to the open call for participation is 15 December 2024 (before 23:59 CET). You will receive notification of the results of your application before 8 January 2025.
Apply here: https://impakt.nl/nl/nieuws/2024/code-2025-open-call

CODE 2025 is an international programme organized by IMPAKT [Centre for Media Culture] in Utrecht, in collaboration with Kunsthal Mechelen, Werktank, (production platform for media art) in Leuven, Privacy Salon / CPDP (Computers, Privacy and Data Protection conference) in Brussels and NØ School Nevers.

04/11/2024

We proudly welcome as our resident artist! He will be working on postproduction of 'Organism' and 'Excitable Chaos’.

After an inspiring performance at Navid Navab is bringing his mesmerizing work to Werktank.

🗓 November 15: Witness both installations live, with Navid performing a short version of 'Organism: In Turbulence' in person!
📅 Studio visits available from November 13–17.

👉 DM us if you’d like to attend the performance or arrange a visit!

📸 Miha Godec

Credits;
Navid Navab: Concept, composition, sculpture, programming, design, electronics, sonification, performance
Garnet Willis: Engineering, design, sculpture, electronics
Camille Desjardins: Technical and fabrication assistance
Support: Canada Council for the Arts, Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, Conseil des arts de Montréal, Le Salon Richmond 1861

24/09/2024

Adres

Leuven

Website

http://www.werktank.org/

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