The Space that Connects
International Art Exhibition on
Empty Space and Relationship
28 AUGUST TO 31 AUGUST 2026
In 2025, the exhibition MOVE!, realized in and around the historic Sint-Pieters Church in Jette, was honored with one of the prestigious Japanese Sogetsu Excellence Awards — an international recognition of artistic vision, innovation, and impact.
Building on that recognition, we continue the journey. Where MOVE! explored movement as action, change, and responsibility, THE SPACE THAT CONNECTS turns its attention to something more subtle yet equally powerful: the space that connects.
Art and the Meaning of Empty Space
Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging, is often described as the art of subtraction. What is left open is as meaningful as what is placed. Central to this philosophy is the concept of Ma — the charged space between elements. Not empty, but alive with possibility.
In Western culture, space is often seen as absence. In Japanese aesthetics, space is presence. It shapes rhythm, directs attention, and creates relationship. In this exhibition, artists explore how empty space functions not as a void, but as a field of connection.
From Movement to Relationship
If MOVE! asked what sets us in motion, THE SPACE BETWEEN US asks what holds us together.
In a time marked by polarization and distance, the exhibition reflects on how relationships are formed — between people, between cultures, between artwork and viewer. Through installations inside the church and in its surrounding garden, artists reveal how distance can create dialogue, how silence can speak, and how openness can invite encounter.
Each work becomes a meditation on connection. Not through spectacle, but through presence.
A Participatory Exhibition
As in previous years, the exhibition grows out of international summer workshops where artists and advanced practitioners create both intimate arrangements and large-scale installations. Working inside and outside the historic church, participants explore how architecture, light, height, and landscape shape spatial experience.
The church and its garden once again become a living gallery — a place where art does not merely decorate, but activates space and invites reflection.
A Community Initiative
The exhibition is organized by Musica Cultura Jette, in collaboration with Dirk Vannetelbosch, priest and passionate advocate of art in community spaces, and Ilse Beunen, ikebana artist and teacher. Building on a long-standing tradition of bringing people together through flowers and art, this project continues to create dialogue between artistic practice and communal life.
In the unique setting of the Sint-Pieters Church, architecture and botanical art meet in a conversation about space, relationship, and shared presence.
Dates and Program
The exhibition runs from Friday August 28 to Monday August 31, 2026, daily from 2:00 PM to 10:00 PM.
On Thursday August 27 at 8:00 PM, the evening before the opening, a concert will take place in collaboration with Musica Cultura Jette — creating a dialogue between music and spatial experience.
THE SPACE THAT CONNECTS is more than an exhibition. It is an invitation to reflect on the invisible structures that connect us. How much space do we need? How do we experience it? And what becomes possible when distance is not something to overcome, but something to understand?
Step into the space. Experience the interval. Discover what happens in between.
St. Peter's Church in Jette
Aug. 28 to Aug. 31, from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. each day.
Pl. Cardinal Mercier 51, 1090 Jette
More about the church community in Jette:
http://www.kerkjette.be
More about ikebana and Ilse Beunen:
https://www.ikebana.be
Flower Concert 27.08.2026 20:00
Reservation: 10 euro
BE97 7330 2664 7849 Musica Cultura Jette
Learn more about the church community in Jette
https://www.kerkjette.be
Learn more about ikebana and Ilse Beunen
https://www.ikebana.be
