The founder of eight choirs or Antwerp bands, they are both winners of the Ekerse culture prizes. A social cultural project was also not missed by the Ekerse voters when they had to award the third prize, the eye-catcher.
The three Ekerse culture prizes are awarded every two years. The residents themselves were given the opportunity to submit the nominees and a professional jury selected the three winners. All nominees were invited to a festive celebration on May 2.
Three winners
Glenn Pellis is in various music groups and also puts other Antwerp artists in the spotlight. He was therefore right to receive the ‘promising talent’ award. “I have been trying to put the Antwerp dialect on the map in various ways for ten years. I really didn’t expect it at all.”
After 55 years, it is not surprising that conductor Jef Cleymans has won the career prize. “This award is actually for all my successors who do fantastic work. They are formidable conductors who are known abroad. And hopefully all the wonderful singers, who now number more than a hundred, can continue to sing at home and abroad.”
The eye-catcher went to Cultuurstation Tracé. Inspirers Stef Van Eyck and Ivan Janssens completely disappeared. Their range of cultural exhibitions are well known in Ekeren. But since this year they have been organizing workshops with wood, stone, textiles and glass for the organization De Heder, a center for people with disabilities.
“The organization is new in the Rozemaai district and was looking for connections, and we were happy to help with that,” says Ivan. “It’s brilliant to see what creativity lies within them.”
Three statues
The three trophies that Bram Tassiers created nicely reflect the prize they represent. The statues weigh exactly 2180 grams, a number that sounds very familiar to the people of Ekeren.
A clear loss was Erik Baelus. He died unexpectedly in January, but was nominated for all prizes. All the more reason to celebrate his family with forget-me-nots, because Ekeren clearly doesn’t do that either.
Tags: Diverse talent wins culture prizes dedicate prize successors Ekeren