Four Flags is a temporary project to support artists during this period of isolation and to promote art in the public space. Four Flags aims to show physical art at a moment when the art experience is limited and mainly virtual. Many exhibitions are frozen like sleeping beauties in their institutional cocoon. When viewers can’t enter, the art comes outside. Four Flags locks out what is locked in.

Four Flags is an initiative of Julia Mullié and Nick Terra from Amsterdam. The idea arose when they enjoyed the sun on the windowsill of their house in Amsterdam and were looking at the flag holders on their facade. They decided to invite 30 artists to create a flag. Each flag is produced as an edition of 4 (+1 AP) and sold at € 150 (excluding shipping costs). The entire proceeds go to the artist.

Four Flags was launched on April 30th in Netwerk Aalst with a flags by Das Institut (Kerstin Brätsch & Adele Röder). From April 30 till mid-July new flags every week. New flags and names are released each Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning on the Instagram page @fourflags2020. As a surprise effect, the participating artists are only announced when their flag is launched.

Four Flags is coming to Belgium

The Belgian collector Siska Bulkens bought the full set of 30 flags with the intention to support the initial project and extending it through a travelling exhibition around a selection of Belgian non-profits. In collaboration with curator Louis-Philippe Van Eeckhoutte, she will be lending the flags in the coming weeks to a series of non-profits in Belgium. The flags are currently on display and will be dynamically changed weekly at Netwerk Aalst, Aalst; Be-Part, Waregem; Kunsthal, Ghent; AAIR, Antwerp; CIAP, Genk; KIOSK, Ghent; La Loge, Brussels and CC Strombeek, Grimbergen. In this way, we hope to bring the art experience back to its essence, close the gap with the digital art experience, excite art lovers and keep non-profits in the attention. The collaboration between the initiators, the artists, the non-profits, the curators and collectors also materializes a sense of collectivity for now and the future.

Follow Four Flags on Instagram: @fourflags2020.