Sunday afternoon is open-air time. Three performative sets will dialogue with the environment of Maison de la Création at Cité Modèle in the North of Brussels. Vica Pacheco & Loto Retina, Bárbara González and Paul Gründorfer present outdoor and ambulatory performances in its vicinity. In the evening we move indoors to hear concerts by Imane Guemssy and NikNak. The bar will be open and a mobile kitchen will be present.

An intervention in which a series of audio-visual assemblages are temporarily installed, consisting of handmade circuits, scrap metal, wind-up toys, radios and musical instruments that are altered and activated by the artist as she explores different ways of connecting with the environment. These materialities articulate themselves in contact and resonance with the space, weaving unexpected relationships between bodies and voices that influence each other, coupled with the energy of the place and its context, to create a sensitive and poetic atmosphere that alters the usual mode of perception.

Bárbara González’s practice is based on research and action exploring sound, visual, and bodily connections through spatio-temporal experimentation. Since 2006, her geo-territorially mobile project, Acción Rizoma, has produced over 100 site-specific actions. She creates audiovisual assemblages combining decentralized technologies to evoke transformative experiences  and actively engages in musical improvisation and transdisciplinary collectives.

A performance conceived as a live duet for two large-scale hydraulic sound sculptures arranged in a mirrored configuration. Developed in collaboration between Vica Pacheco and Loto Retina, the piece explores sound as a result of physical processes rather than fixed musical notation. Drawing inspiration from pre-Columbian whistling vessels, the work speculates on forgotten or unknown sonic technologies. Sound emerges acoustically from the interaction of water, air, pressure, gravity, and time – without amplification or digital mediation. Through continuous modulation, the two sculptures enter a dialogue: mirrored yet never identical.

Vica Pacheco is a Brussels-based artist. Her multidisciplinary practice spans experimental music composition, ceramics, and 3D animation. Her work, often described as eclectic and energetic, explores mythological crossbreeding and interactions between human and non-human. She employs a syncretic approach, blending archaic, and contemporary technologies with heterogeneous elements to create immersive sound performances and installations.

Self-described as “gnom ’n’ bass,” it is not so far-fetched to imagine Loto Retina as some fantastical creature who just happened to wander into this mortal realm, and their songs don’t do a lot to refute this possibility. Their high-fructose music combines micro-sample chaos and gloopy bass with unpredictable percussion to create a congregation of organic and mechanical sounds. While there is a digitality to Loto Retina’s sound, sometimes resembling a pleasantly malfunctioning robot, it also holds an animistic and feral quality: this is music that growls as much as it grooves.

-ship is a sound sculpture for the entrance area of La Maison de la Création, Cité Modèle, Brussels. The suffix -ship is used in English to form abstract terms, often having to do with states, relationships, or properties. It connects to the festival theme from the Mothership as a layer that surrounds a location or a social sphere. Using simple and fragile materials it tries to detect what escapes the imaginary engine-room of an Institution – where does it draw its powers from? In addition to the auditory focus on the adaptive nature of sonic systems, it also seeks to address the question of spatial presence and explore the different qualities of exposure to unfamiliar elements.

Paul Gründorfer works across conceptual and process art, site-specific interventions, sound sculpture, and performance. He develops process-related systems and explores variable or unstable conditions through amplification, feedback, and plural signal streams. His work treats sound as a found object within social and environmental contexts, examining system instability, the interplay of control and reaction, and the mechanisms of hidden or emergent signals.

Imane Guemssy is the first woman of her generation to break taboos by practicing Gnaoua music, positioning herself as a pioneer and ambassador of this ancestral tradition. Gnaoua music is a sacred tradition rooted in history and spirituality that continuously evolves by blending tradition with modern influences. Through her art, Guemssy explores new musical worlds, while still emphasizing the spirituality of Gnaoua, and proving that music has no gender; it is a universal language capable of transcending cultural and social barriers. In doing so, she helps bring this tradition to new audiences worldwide.

NikNak presents an afrofuturistic sonic journey through turntablism and immersive sound design, transporting audiences into a richly textured world where rhythm, memory, and imagination collide. She weaves intricate layers of vinyl manipulation, atmospheric electronics, and spatial sound to shape performances that feel both hypnotic and deeply narrative. Her set unfolds like a shifting landscape – part ritual, part exploration – where ancestral echoes meet futuristic pulses. Through bold improvisation and precise soundcraft, NikNak invites listeners into a multidimensional experience that challenges expectations and expands the possibilities of what turntablism and experimental music can be.

NikNak is an artist known for her distinctive turntablism, immersive compositions, and captivating improvisations. Praised by DJ Mag, Clash, The Wire, and Resident Advisor, her debut album Bashi earned critical acclaim. Her fourth studio album, Ireti (2024, Accidental Records), was named one of the year’s best by Mixmag and Bandcamp, cementing her place in experimental electronic music.