11/09/2010 – Bicentenary of the Grand-Hornu!

On the weekend of 11th and 12th September 2010,
the Grand-Hornu site invites you to celebrate its bicentenary

The festivities will include the launch of the project to renovate the miners’ terraced housing, with the inauguration and visit of the project house, a performance by Fanfare Détournée, privileged contacts, guided tours, joyous aperitifs, memoirs presented on a giant screen, classical music concerts and a host of surprises.

The events, enhanced by the presence of the Governor Mr. Claude Durieux, the Provincial Deputy Fabienne Capot, the Burgomaster Jean-Claude Debiève, Ms. Françoise Foulon, director of Grand-Hornu Images and Mr. Laurent Busine, director of the MAC's, are being organised for the site’s partners, the local community and the many friends of the site from across Belgium.

A few words of history
Grand-Hornu… Between Utopia and Wonder

Situated in the heart of the Province of Hainaut, a few kilometres from the cities of Mons and Valenciennes, Grand-Hornu is one of Europe’s most beautiful neoclassical industrial heritage sites. The history of this remarkable complex began in the 19th century when Henri De Gorge, a French captain of industry, embarked on the coalmining venture and decided to develop a mining business in Hornu, at a time when “black gold” was still a relatively secondary source of energy.
The site was thus built in 1810, in the context of the burgeoning industrial revolution that was to make the region in which it is situated the second most important industrial centre in the world!
Also at this time, De Gorge began the construction of a workers’ housing district with over 400 houses – one of the oldest in Belgium – which still surrounds Grand-Hornu today and which punctuates its landscape.
The early years were difficult, but the Grand-Hornu colliery soon became one of the largest mining businesses in the newly created Belgium, producing and exporting over 50% of coal requirements to a territory extending from northern France to south of the Paris region.

After being one of the flagships of Belgian industry, the Grand-Hornu site has now become one of Belgium’s leading cultural centres. The Grand-Hornu site occupies an area of 6 hectares and has approximately 10,000 square metres of various buildings.
It hosts two cultural structures:

Grand-Hornu Images which explores the field of relations between art and industry. Design, industrial creation and applied arts are given a preponderant place here out of respect for the site’s initial vocation.

The Museum of Contemporary Arts of the French Community of Belgium – MAC’s is a space entirely given over to contemporary arts, founded in September 2002, which takes a poetic, sensitive approach to human memory.

Publication
An original book has been published on the occasion of the bicentenary of Grand-Hornu.

Edited by Laurent Busine, this work is widely illustrated and results from iconographic and scientific research conducted by Jérôme André, art historian and curator at the MAC's.
Through the numerous illustrations divided into thematic sections (Utopia, architecture, the establishment, education and posterity), he invites us to place in perspective the unique vision of the site’s founder, Henri De Gorge...
The book also contains a rare text, reproduced in facsimile, precisely detailing the site as it was in 1828.

Texts by Denis Gielen and Jérôme André. Iconographic and scientific research by Jérôme André.
Format 22 x 27 cm, 208 pages, text in French, colour illustrations, fabric slipcase and binding.

Renovation of the District
The Project House

A project to renovate the miners’ terraced housing has been initiated for the bicentenary of Grand-Hornu. The project house is an information and renovation assistance centre. A permanently manned office has been set up there to enable local inhabitants to see a computer simulation of the planned work.

Programme
Bicentenary Celebrations

Wednesday 1st September at 19.00

Recording of the TV programme “Le Jeu des dictionnaires”, in partnership with the channel La Première.

Thursday 2nd September 2010 at 19.00

Information session for inhabitants of the municipality about the plan to give a new boost to the centre of Hornu and the renovation of the miners’ terraced housing at Grand-Hornu.

Friday 3rd September 2010 at 11.30

Press conference
Promotion of the ceremonies to celebrate the bicentenary and the Grand-Hornu miners’ terraced housing renovation project.

Saturday 11th September 2010 (by invitation)

12.00: Reception of privileged contacts from the pedagogical teams (education and associative sector). Sandwich lunch and presentation of pedagogical activities for the 2010-2011 season. Guided tours of the current exhibitions will be available until 16.00.

16.30 to 21.00:

16.30 to 17.15: Reception of the general public.
Broadcast on a giant screen of a video loop illustrating the bicentenary of the site until the retransmission of the concert at 19.30.

17.15: Inauguration and visit of the project house

17.30 to 18.45: Concert by “Fanfare détournée” in the square courtyard or the Grand Auditorium in the event of bad weather.

Bars serving drinks and a catering point (chip stall) will be set up in the square courtyard and the gardens (last drinks served at 20.45).

19.30: Gala concert performed by the Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia and the group Soledad in the Grand Auditorium. Live retransmission of the concert is envisaged in the square courtyard for people who can not access the auditorium.

21.00: DJ/VJ evening in the Grand-Hornu restaurant and the square courtyard, in collaboration with L’Ubiquité.
The restaurant L’Ubiquité will be open and will offer various meal formulas. Reservation essential: +32(0)475 772 159.

Sunday 12th September 2010 (free access for everyone)

From 10.00 to 18.00, open day for the general public with guided tours of the exhibitions, family activities, free concerts, conferences on heritage professions (Charles Kaisin and Winston Spriet), facilitation session on the relationships between heritage and contemporary art based on the “Grand-Hornu Registers” and the work of Bertille Bak in the exhibition “À toutes les morts, égales et cachées dans la nuit” (“To All the Dead, Equal and Hidden in the Night”) (Sophie Trivière). Drinks and catering payable except between 12.00 and 13.00.

11.00: festive aperitif in the square courtyard accompanied by a musical formation.
Broadcasting on a giant screen of a video loop illustrating the bicentenary of the site until the retransmission of the concert at 16.00.

16.00: free closing concert at the end of the heritage days by the philharmonic class from the Mons conservatoire in the round wing.

Programme Ludwig Van Beethoven
Sonata for violin and piano No.7 opus 30 no.2 in C minor
Seven Variations on the duet “With men who feel love” from the opera “The Magic Flute” by Mozart, for cello and piano, WoO 46. Trio for piano, violin and cello, opus 97 in B-flat Major “Archduke”.
Natalie Forthomme, cello, Laurent Houque, violin and Misa Kakumoto, piano.

Live retransmission of the concert is planned in the square courtyard for people who can not access the performance.

SITE DU GRAND-HORNU
Rue Sainte-Louise 82
BE-7301 Hornun n - Belgium

Website: http://www.grand-hornu-images.be

Opt in: communication@grand-hornu.be