Ommegang "Behind the scene"

The first edition of the Ommegang exhibition "Behind the Scene" took place in the basement of the Halles Saint Géry in the summer of 2020 and then in the Palais du Coudenberg in 2021 for its second edition.

The Ommegang is a Brussels folk parade retracing the arrival of Charles V and his son Phillippe in 1549 in the Belgian capital. On the occasion of its classification as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity in late 2019, UrbanBrussel, sponsor of the exhibition, wanted to reveal the backstage and restore the costumes of the 1930s (made at the time by the seamstresses of the Mint).

In its current version, the parade starts at the Place du Sablon around the church and then goes to the Grand-Place for the show. There are 1400 costumed extras, re-enacting the different strata of the city, the men-at-arms, the Dukes of Brabant, the representatives of the guilds, the leaders of the Nations, the representatives of the institutions of the city, the lineages of Brussels, the Oaths etc.
So many costumes in their current version, but also period costumes kept in the reserve of the Ommegang rue des Tanneurs. And many artefacts to decorate the procession.

The exhibition reveals a selection of the pieces of the procession and proposes to rediscover this heritage somewhat neglected by the inhabitants of Brussels.

The scenography wants to be elementary, almost brutal. Both to contrast with the frills, colours, materials, costumes and other artefacts, and both in a concern for speed (manufacturing, assembly), modularity and reuse. Because the exhibition is intended to be reassembled several times in different places and contexts.

Exhibition design : Ommegang "Behind the Scene
Sponsor : Urban Brussels
Curator : Urban Brussels / Lhoas & Lhoas
Graphic design : Oil In Water
Photographs : Philippe Braquenier (exhibition photos + exposed photos from the Ommegang reserves)
Location : Halles Saint Géry, Brussels
Surface area : 335m²