The Belgian National Lottery is withholding funds from a high-profile Brussels cultural event amid concerns over its administration, The Brussels Times has learned.
'Sculptura', organised by the Brussels Sculpture Festival VZW, had endorsements from the Brussels-Capital Region, the Flemish Government, the National Lottery, and the European Parliament (EP). But several contributors remain unpaid.
Screenshot of promotional page by the European Parliament for the second edition of 'Sculptura'. Source: EP
The exhibition received €40,000 in 2023 and €50,000 in 2024 from the Brussels-Capital Region. The money was part of a joint grant from the cabinets of outgoing Minister-Presidents Rudi Vervoort (PS) and Sven Gatz (Open VLD), according to Vervoort's spokesperson, Selin Salün. According to Salün, the Region was unaware of the issues artists were facing. They declined to comment further on the situation.
Sculptura wrapped up the second edition of its two-month-long free sculpture exhibition at Gare Maritime in March. It featured a line-up of 38 artists, all of whom loaned their works.
However, The Brussels Times was informed that several artists had not been reimbursed for shipping costs and had not been paid. Transport company IDS Spedition is also yet to be paid. The unsettled bills amount to over €22,000, according to reports by multiple artists and invoices seen by The Brussels Times.
In a statement, National Lottery spokesperson Jérémie Demeyer confirmed that one artist had alerted them to the issues. "We are following up on the matter," he said. Demeyer added that no funding had been provided yet as supporting documentation from the organisation was not submitted.
Screenshot of social media post on Sculptura's account thanking the support of the National Lottery. Source: Instagram
The European Parliament's "non-financial cooperation agreement" included the loans of sculptures from its Contemporary Art Collection. This arrangement aligned with its 'Art in Democracy' exhibits, explained the EP press services. The EP did not respond to requests for comment on Sculptura's issues.
Both the Brussels-Capital Region and the EP failed to provide a concrete description of what checks and balances were in place when choosing to endorse Sculptura #2, despite repeated inquiries from The Brussels Times.
'A disaster'
German artist, Willi Reiche (70), got involved in Sculptura #2 following an invitation from the Brussels Sculpture Festival's managing director, Äke Verstraelen. "It was a very interesting exhibition and the idea is really good, but how it’s been handled has been a disaster," he said.
Reiche is yet to receive compensation for transportation and his artist fee, despite repeated attempts to contact Verstraelen. He is currently owed €1,675, he told The Brussels Times. While not every artist reported an issue, Reiche's case is not isolated.
Reiche setting up one of his pieces for Sculptura #2 at Gare Maritime.
Nevena Ekimova, a Bulgarian artist, saw signs of trouble early on, when her attempts to be reimbursed for the €1,300 in transportation costs – for which she had to take out a loan – were met with silence.
But she wasn’t worried at first: "During the whole thing, it looked like a big event, and you know the European [Parliament] is also involved with the exhibition so I didn't doubt that he would eventually pay us. But then he didn’t."
Ekimova's artwork for Sculptura #2.
Sculptura's organisation eventually provided a statement to The Brussels Times: "Due to unexpected financial obstacles and the delay of previously promised funding, we have experienced setbacks in payments to artists and transport companies."
Czech artist Kryštof Hošek (40) also claimed that the organisation had failed to settle an insurance claim for €3,600 of damage to his two scultpures.
An image showing damage to one of Hošek's artworks.
According to Verstraelen, all art was insured, and the organisation acknowledged the damage done during the expo, and told Hošek he "will be paid when we receive still outstanding funding".
'Damage in trust'
For German sculptor Jörg Plickat (70), whose statue was stranded in Brussels until last month, it is about more than just the money: "Now people feel betrayed and they will perhaps think twice before sponsoring a next project," he said.
Plickat also thinks the trust in public institutions is at stake: "It is the damage in trust in European institutions. And that nobody controlled this from the official side, that everybody was happy to have this project, and everybody was too optimistic," he added.
But this wasn't the first time the exhibition had issues, according to the venues’ Sales and Hospitality Manager, Jean Vandamme, from Tour&Taxis. The venue had to cover for the financial struggles of the first Sculptura in 2023: "We just gave [Äke] a lump sum to help him organise the event because we thought it was interesting," explained Vandamme.
Opening of Sculptura #2 at Gare Maritime.
However, the second edition proved to be different: “The event itself was a lot better, the dismantlement was still okay but then it went totally wrong,” said Vandamme, "[Äke] disappeared and I had artists on the phone telling me there was a huge problem and that he was not responding anymore."
Vandamme says he has struggled to get in contact with Verstraelen. "When artists call me I try to help them because it’s not easy for them too. It’s a bit of a sad story," he said.
On 1 September 2024, several artists received an apologetic email from Sculptura, seen by The Brussels Times. It described its attempts to "secure the funds needed to pay the outstanding bills." It also asked artists not to go public: "In light of these efforts, we kindly ask for your support in maintaining discretion and not going public with this matter. This will give us the best chance of finding a solution and honouring our commitments to you."
Crumbling festival
Despite the frustration, artists are still hesitant about taking legal action and incurring additional costs.
Sculptura's organisation told The Brussels Times it is still "actively pursuing sustainable solutions" and has "taken extra steps to attract new funding sources."
But whether the funding is obtained or not, amid all the organisation's issues, Tour&Taxis' Jean Vandamme, says the festival's future at Gare Maritime has come to an end: "There won't be a Sculptura #3."
