What the flag?! 2021

The flag has a long tradition of different uses and meanings. Flags are commonly used to transmit signals, to identify countries, regions or cities, or to visually demarcate a territory. Flags are also frequently used to represent political ideas and beliefs. The artists are asked to respond from their own work and vision of the medium “flag” within the context of the location in which they are shown. The different flags will be shown to the public at various locations in and around the inner city of Heerlen. There is also an exchange of artists flags between art organizations and museums in the Euregion, a collaboration within the Very Contemporary network.


The Very Contemporary network partners invite artists (of their current exhibitions or as part of their collection) to design a print for the flag. A flag from each Very Contemporary venue will be raised at a different Very Contemporary venue to show the relationship between the venues in the network.

image: close up 1 - close up 2, Kristina Benjocki, 2021

The flags at the Very Contemporary venues are an addition to the What the Flag? exhibition in the centre of Heerlen (NL). As part of the city-centre exhibition, Greylight Projects invited a group of twelve international artists to translate their work to one or more flags, spread over different locations. A map with the locations can be found via #mappingheerlen.


Participating artists: Balta, Kristina Benjocki, Arthur Cordier, Xavier Duffaut, Célie Falières, Theo Turpin & ANGL collective, Claude Horstmann, Irma Kalt, Michael Kargl, Donya Saed, Cléo Totti, Silke Schatz, Elodie Moreau, Alexis Gautier, Joséphine Kaeppelin, Francis Feidler, Mike Moonen, Mark Gonzales, Fleckstein/ Dworczyk, Rem Koolhaas, Philippe Herbet.


>>> click here for more information and the maps with locations <<<


image: Justine Mathonet receiving the flag by Fleckstein & Dworczyk at the Centre wallon d’art contemporain – La Châtaigneraie in Flémalle