On Sunday 23 November, we will visit The mouth is a portal, a project by Lisa Vlaemminck, followed by an autumn walk with Natuurpunt along the Maricolen path.

The mouth is a portal is a gate that literally opens the wall of the institution, inspired by a drawing by artist Luc De Roeck from the Dender Collection. The gate marks the threshold between inside and outside, between order and unpredictability, between care and freedom. On its surface, ceramic objects are attached – cakes, fingers, intestines – things that both entice and decay, introducing something bodily into the pure, Catholic order of the institution, governed by the Brothers of Charity. The opening in the wall allows not only air and light to enter, but also a different way of seeing – from within, from the gut, from a sensory and instinctive knowledge that escapes control.

The gate The mouth is a portalis freely accessible and forms part of the redevelopment of the campus of the Ariadne Psychiatric Centre in Lede. This new green zone – The Green Thread of Ariadne – connects the monastery garden, the edible garden, the hay labyrinth, and the cafeteria courtyard into a single walking route open to the public. With new passages in the wall, picnic areas, and natural play zones, the campus becomes an inviting gateway to the surrounding landscape of the Molenbeek and Geelster valleys.

–––

The mouth is a portal is one of the outcomes of Kunst op Voorschrift (“Art on Prescription”), an intermunicipal cultural project that gives artworks from the municipal heritage collections of the Dender region a new role within mental healthcare. In collaboration with Erfgoedcel Denderland, the Ariadne Psychiatric Centre, NW (Open House for Contemporary Art and Film), KADOC KU Leuven, and the Dr. Guislain Museum, artworks from the so-called Dender Collection serve as sources of inspiration for clients and therapists. By connecting heritage, care, and contemporary art, the project aims to challenge the stigma surrounding psychiatry and make cultural participation more accessible for people in care.