JAN-JAN VAN ESSCHE - KHAYAL: Opening Night

Based on his 2025 Spring-Summer collection, Khayal, JAN-JAN VAN ESSCHE - KHAYAL offers insight into the world of Antwerp fashion designer, Jan-Jan Van Essche. The exhibition is an invitation to experience both the past and the future, all in the now.

Jan-Jan Van Essche has invited members of his own community to share aspects of their lives by way of an associated and varied programme of music, dance and film.

On 6 December, Joachim Badenhorst, Sean Carpio, Bert Cools, Indrė Jurgelevičiūtė and Tsubasa Hori provide music for the opening night of the exhibition.

Belgian composer and saxophone/clarinettist Joachim Badenhorst is a performing and recording artist active on the creative music scene in Europe, the US and Asia. After years of conservatory training in jazz improvisation and new music, he has since divided his time between Belgium and cities in the US and Europe, collaborating and recording worldwide with established new and experimental music ensembles and artists, while incessantly exploring the visceral elements of sound.

Born in Arequipa, Peru, and raised in Dublin, Ireland, Seán Carpio is a multi-instrumentalist whose work diverges from song, to sound and improvisation. His twenty-year career has seen him share the stage with artists such as Joachim Badenhorst, Sam Amidon, Henri Texier, Louis Stewart, Sharon Phelan, TAS Mani, Cian Nugent, Rhiannon Giddens, Mark Turner, Aoife Nessa Frances, Mikkel Ploug and most recently FC Bergman.

Bert Cools has expressed his musical talent since childhood, using the guitar as his main instrument. Active primarily in improvisation, electronics, folk, and world music, Bert performs worldwide and composes for his own bands—Merope, Hoera., and Book of Air Vvolk. He also collaborates with international acts such as Danish band Efterklang, American artist Sam Amidon, and Trixie Whitley. In 2013, he co-founded granvat with his brother Stijn Cools, an arts platform.

Indrė Jurgelevičiūtė, a Lithuanian singer and 'kanklės' (Baltic psaltery) player, crafts serene, otherworldly soundscapes blending Lithuanian folk, electronics, original compositions, and improvisation. She performs solo and with Merope, alongside Belgian guitarist Bert Cools. Their new album, Vėjula, is out on Stroom and granvat. Indrė has collaborated with a diverse range of artists, including Shahzad Ismaily, Laraaji, Efterklang, and Tsubasa Hori. She also composes for theatre and multimedia.

Tsubasa Hori is a Japanese percussionist living in Antwerp. Her music fluctuates between traditional Japanese 'taiko' percussion and contemporary experimental music. Thanks to this combination, Tsubasa Hori feels at home in the underground circuit as well as in major dance, theatre and music productions. In her live improvisations she enters into a dialogue with the architecture and acoustics of the hall; movement, energy and utmost concentration play a crucial role.