Very Contemporary presents an event that opens up a multifaceted discussion on the theme of art in public spaces. Artists Francisco Correia and Judith Milz were invited to create an artistic intervention on Hoeschplatz. In addition to the installation T-T-Trees by Portuguese artist Francisco Correia, which will be on display at Hoeschplatz on 12 and 13 September from 10h to 17h, artist Judith Milz will present a 45min performance entitled ‘619 Löcher’ (619 Holes) on 13 September at 14h30. Finally, at 15h30, there will be a panel discussion with the artists and cultural actors of the network, in which the differences and similarities in dealing with public space and art in the Euregio, and specifically in Eupen and Liège (Belgium) and Düren (Germany), will be discussed.

Francisco Correia (born 1996) lives and works in Brussels. In his artistic practice, he creates narratives that straddle the boundary between reality and fiction. In his works, Correia develops narratives that evolve from the environment in which they are presented. His installation T-T-Trees, which was conceived especially for Hoeschplatz, deals with trees on and around Hoeschplatz and their relationship to regional corrugated cardboard and paper production/the paper town of Düren (I would prefer this). For this work, Francisco Correia collaborated with Smurfit Westrock Wellpappe West from Kreuzau in Düren.

Judith Milz (born 1989) lives and works in Karlsruhe and Berlin. In her artistic work, she explores narrative possibilities in which fictionality and humour appear as forms of resistance. Her lecture performance ‘619 Löcher’ (619 Holes) is about holes – those left behind by open-cast lignite mining around Düren, those resulting from missed shots when playing boules, as well as those ‘holes’ that generally appear as empty spaces and gaps in public spaces. A site-specific performance in cooperation with boules players from Düren.

Belgian artist Pauline Debrichy (born 1989) lives and works between Austria and Belgium. She studied sculpture at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp and in Vienna. Since September 2025, she has been a resident of the two-month residency programme RRRResidency (Reading the Regio Research Residency) of the Very Contemporary network at its partner Art au Centre in Liège. As a participant in the panel discussion, she will provide insights into her artistic practice and experience working in public spaces in different regions.

During the panel discussion (in English with German translations), Brenda Guesnet (Deputy Director of IKOB, Eupen) and Sophie Delhasse (Art au Centre, Liège) will discuss art in public spaces together with three invited artists. How is public space organised in the participating cities and what role can art play in this? How do artists understand public space and how do they deal with it in their artistic work? Why is art needed in public space? And what are the challenges for artists when dealing with public places?
The event is part of this year's cross-border project Reading the Region, organised by the Euregio network Very Contemporary, and is hosted by the Museumsverein Düren e.V. and the Leopold Hoesch Museum in cooperation with the IKOB – Museum of Contemporary Art in Eupen and Art au Centre in Liège.