Grace Ndiritu, The Last Days of Ancient Sunlight, Permanent public art commission, Schouwburg Kortrijk, Belgium

"We are living in a time of great challenges, but also of great possibilities. Art can help us reconnect with one another and with the world around us." Grace Ndiritu

In 2023 Grace Ndiritu won a prestigious art competition to be selected by the City of Kortrijk for her first public art commission. After three years in development, Ndiritu's ambitious new permanent art project The Last Days of Ancient Sunlight is now on display at Schouwburg Kortrijk. The project focuses on ecology, spirituality and the healing of institutional spaces in which Ndiritu's holistic approach to architecture, programming, and education mutually reinforce each other. These artworks include multiple neons, window vinyls from paintings, curtains and flags; as well as collaborating with WIT Architecten on the interior design for the entire site, including both the public and workers areas.

This continues Ndiritu's methodology of seeing "architecture as a type of spiritual technology". This concept allows the possibility of using 'healing' as a type of institutional critique to create holistic spaces for the well being of the staff and the public. For Schouwburg Kortrijk in particular Ndiritu wanted to create a type of 'cultural spa' for the public, as a place for people to slow down and feel at home. But also woven into her thinking was the key idea of the theatre being a democratic place. This is expressed through Ndiritu's insistence that the workers area should be as beautiful, high quality and ambitious in its design and its artworks as the public facing areas.

For the grand reopening, Grace Ndiritu is also launching a series of long term initiatives which she has designed specifically for the City theatre.

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