Frie Leysen

Frie Leysen
Frie Leysen (2012)
Born	(1950-02-19)19 February 1950[1] Hasselt, Belgium
Died	22 September 2020(2020-09-22) (aged 70)
Occupation	Festival director

Frie Leysen (19 February 1950 – 22 September 2020) was a Belgian festival director. She was director of the art centre deSingel, Antwerp, from 1980 until 1991. In 1994, she co-founded the Kunstenfestivaldesarts in Brussels.

Early life and education

Frie Leysen was born in Hasselt on 19 February 1950[1] as the daughter of Bert Leysen, the first programming director of the NIR,[2] and the twin sister of actor Johan Leysen.[3] She studied Medieval Art History at the University of Leuven.[4]

Career

Leysen was the first director of art centre deSingel in Antwerp, from 1980 to 1991.[5]

Together with Guido Minne she founded the Kunstenfestivaldesarts in Brussels in 1994.[6] The first edition of the festival took place in May 1994. Under her direction the festival became an internationally-acclaimed major event for Belgian and international performing artists.[7]

In 2007 she organised Meeting Points 5, a multidisciplinary festival taking place in nine different Arabic cities (Amman, Damascus, Beirut, Ramallah, Cairo, Alexandria, El Minia, Tunis, and Rabat), as well as in Brussels and Berlin.[8]

She curated the Theater der Welt in 2010, was an artistic director at Berliner Festspiele in 2010-12, and was the artistic director of the Wiener Festwochen in 2013–14.

She curated the performing arts program of Homeworks 7 in Beirut in 2015.

Death

After a period of illness, Leysen died on 22 September 2020 aged 70.[2]

Awards

• 1991: Arkprijs van het Vrije Woord (Ark Prize of Free Speech)[5]
• 2003: Flemish Community Award for general cultural contributions[5]
• 2014: Honorary doctorate from the Free University of Brussels[5]
• 2014: Erasmus Prize[9]
• 2018: Co-recipient of the Bernadette Abraté Award, given by the French-speaking theatre critics in Brussels, with Christophe Slagmuylder, for their work at the Kunstenfestivaldesarts[10]
• 2019: European Festivals Association (EFFE) lifetime achievement award, to acknowledge her commitment to artists and her actions for artists' creative freedom[11]

References

1. "Frie Leysen". Munzinger (in German). Retrieved 22 September 2020.
2. "Cultuuricoon Frie Leysen overleden". Knack.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 September 2020.
3. "Margot Vanderstraeten interviewt: Johan Leysen". Margot Vanderstraeten (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2 October 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
4. "Erasmusprijs 2014". Dutch Heights. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
5. "Festivaldirecteur en curator Frie Leysen (70) overleden". Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 September 2020.
6. "History | Kunstenfestivaldesarts". KFDA. Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
7. Slagmuylder, Christophe (29 February 2008). "Presenter Interview: The Kunsten Festival des Arts, making Brussels a center generating new trends in contemporary art". Performing Arts Network Japan (Interview). Interviewed by Soma, Chiaki. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
8. "Meeting Points 5". Bidoun. 1 April 2008. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
9. "Former Laureates". Praemium Erasmianum Foundation. Archived from the original on 8 October 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
10. "Persbericht | Prijs van de Kritiek Theater - Dans - Circus 17/18". rabbko.be. Retrieved 22 September 2020.^[permanent dead link‍]
11. "EFFE Awards 2019-2020 Frie Leysen and Dieter Kosslick to receive lifetime achievement awards | Europe for festivals, Festivals for Europe". European Festivals Association. Retrieved 22 September 2020.

External links

• Media related to Frie Leysen at Wikimedia Commons