The Most

Director & Chief Curator of MoMu – Fashion Museum Antwerp, Kaat Debo, joins Dominique Nzeyimana for a sit-down.

Kaat Debo is one of the foremost guardians and champions of Belgian fashion as well as a noted author whose staple publications shed new light on greats like Martin Margiela, Olivier Theyskens & Walter Van Beirendonck. On this episode, Kaat retells her journey from academia to getting that first foot in the door as a curator. Peer behind the seams of MoMu as Kaat remembers the museum's beginnings, shares what makes an exhibition magical and outlines the inclusion work to be done.

You'll also hear Kaat Debo's choice memories of working with designer legends like Walter Van Beirendonck, Dries Van Noten and Stephen Jones and the importance of trust to build an exhibition. She also shares how she is pondering the future of sustainability at MoMu and what it could mean to be a true hub for fashion culture.

Kaat and Dominique also discuss what is to be expected from the grand reopening of the renovated MoMu and its accompanying exhibitions & events this September. More info on the official reopening programme 'Fashion 2.021 Antwerp – Fashion/Conscious'.

Follow MoMu - Fashion Museum Antwerp here.

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Quinsy Gario, the Award-winning performance poet, writer, visual artist & activist visits Dominique Nzeyimana. Quinsy's most famous art project took on the racist figure of Zwarte Piet or 'Black Pete' bringing about a fundamental shift in the Lowlands.

But Quinsy and Dominique have a lot more to talk about of course: like amazing Sint-Maarten memories, debate team battles and the cliché reason that got him into poetry.

Quinsy also talks academia, the art of archiving and his recent performances at Beursschouwburg.

All with that brilliant laugh peppered in between.

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The title of graphic designer doesn't really do justice to the entire world of high-voltage kick and verve that Paul Boudens brings with him – both professionally and as a human being.

For one, his work has become entirely synonymous with Belgian fashion. He's also internationally prized as one of the must-hire artisans propelling the visual language of art, theatre and dance forward. You immediately recognise a Paul Boudens-original when you see it as his work has this yet unmatched kinetic energy, containing a multitude of layers with a standout hand-crafted finish.

From his early-day bombshell Jurgi Persoons and Walter Van Beirendonck artwork, his forever resonating work as the co-founder of (N°) A Magazine to his book designs for Yohji Yamamoto, Myung-il Song or MoMu Fashion Museum Antwerp, there's no denying the Paul Boudens signature.

A former military kid, Paul spent a few years flailing around Antwerp as a self-described "80s Kim Kardashian", when a chance encounter sent him on the path of graphic design and illustration

After an initial introduction to Walter Van Beirendonck that got him working on his 'Fashion is Dead' newspaper, Paul was asked to design prints for the Antwerp Six-member's collections, which later on meant living through and thriving during Walter's iconic W.&L.T. days. Thirty years later, the two are still working together.

Paul talks to Dominique about navigating the inception, growth and eventual loss of (N°) A Magazine, how he tries to embody the multitude of personalities of his clients without losing his own way. The two also discuss how much blood is needed to design a 90s Jurgi Persoons invitation and what it was like to have Jun Takahashi's UNDERCOVER team biking through your Versailles-sized flat.

On this new episode: Melat Gebeyaw Nigussie, Artistic and General Director of Brussels multidisciplinary arts centre, Beursschouwburg, sits down at the loft.

Melat, who is also a writer, speaker and activist is the Ethiopian-Belgian champion for true intersectionality, shifting the way artists and the general population perceive public cultural spaces.

Hear Melat in conversation with Dominique Nzeyimana, sharing her story of growing up in Leuven and the expectations being a child of the diaspora brings along to discovering Black critical theory and how that opened a whole new world of thought.

She also lays out how she checks her own blind spots & privilege, what transparency towards creatives and artists looks like for her and she indulges Dominique with some fond memories of the inspiring global art scenes she encountered on some of her trips.

Over the past decade, the work of visual artist, graphic novelist and art professor Brecht Vandenbroucke has graced the virtual and paper pages of The New York Times, Variety, Le Monde, Humo, Adult Swim, Wired, Têtu and many more. Fashion quickly came calling too as he has created shirt prints for Prada and collaborated with Walter Van Beirendonck, Diesel and Lacoste. As a cultural reflector and narrator, Brecht mirrors every little detail and perversion of our existence through hand-painted comic strips and fills them with candour and pop iconography. His signature style is unfettered by any medium, standing out on a giant painting as well as a skateboard deck. After the impact of his 2013 debut visual album 'White cube', Brecht has just released his second graphic novel 'Shady', a self-defined transitional book that delves into morality and our inability at self-reflection. On this episode of The Most, Brecht lays out his story from early farm life to running a precocious publishing house as a kid. He also opens up about having to mature quickly as a teen, why he took a break from pop culture once and how reading Joseph Campbell connected the dots for him to parse out cultural narratives. He talks dealing with the tension between chaos and order, holistic world views and the challenge behind weaving the 'Shady' storyline. Hear how the acclaimed artist works to figure out his own art, future ambitions and the importance of humility and self-improvement. Follow Brecht here. Buy 'Shady' online via Bries Publishing here. You can visit the expo 'Assembled Stories' featuring the work of Brecht Vandenbroucke and Sarah Pschorn from May 15 till June 20 2021 at Galerie 10a.

Brecht Vandenbroucke's work is part of the permanent collection of the MiMa museum in Brussels.

This week's guest on The Most is the magnetically talented actor, award-winning playwright, theatre director and singer Sachli Gholamalizad.

Sachli and Dominique don't hold back as they discuss the artist's path from post-revolution Iran to Belgium, first realising she had a talent as a kid in poetry class, all through creating the award-winning first iteration of her theatrical trilogy.

The fearlessly dedicated Sachli delves into her love-hate bond with acting, moving past the gatekeepers, portraying the complexities of people of colour and how much respect for and space to create with young diasporic talent is due.

Sachli also details how she built on the skills she learned when studying method acting with Jack Waltzer in Paris and why she's playing "hard-to-get". Tune in for a sitdown about the growth to be found in taking a step back, the importance of listening to the future generation, self-discovery, language, creating during COVID, checking your own westernised POV and artistic representation.

Dan Thawley, Editor in Chief of A Magazine Curated By, in conversation with your host Dominique Nzeyimana.

Also well-regarded as a creative director, curator and contributor to Vogue, Arena HOMME+, Interview Magazine, i-D, GQ, AnOther Magazine and more, Dan Thawley has taken on the industry from every angle, including retail work and modelling, making him one of those rare, truly holistic editors.

Hear Dan retrace his journey from first tapping into his creativity as an indie rock theatre kid in Sydney to plunging headfirst into the fashion industry as a model as well as working in high-end stores learning about the passion, craft and production processes behind his favourite designer garments. Dan details his personal growth throughout different periods of his curiosity as he took the leap to London right as a recession hit and ended up steering the communication and editorial part of one of Antwerp's most fabled concept stores of the late 00s - to eventually taking on fashion bible 'A Magazine Curated By', first brought to life as N°A Magazine by Walter Van Beirendonck, Paul Boudens and Dirk Van Saene for the historic 'MODE2001: Landed/Geland' city fashion project.

Learn how 'A Magazine Curated By' clicks together, why the mythic 2004 Maison Martin Margiela issue was recently re-printed and how Dan and his team collaborate with the industry's most interesting names like Giambattista Valli, Kim Jones and Simone Rocha, navigating the surprises and contrasts encountered along the way.

Clare Rojas, whose artistic iterations first came into broad view alongside the 'Mission School' movement coming out of San Francisco, an association culminating into the 'Beautiful Losers' documentary, exhibition tour and book, is internationally known as a highly accomplished and prolific fine artist with works acquired by the MoMA and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Although revered for possessing an uncanny talent for fairytale-like story-telling sometimes carrying a darker twist, which she also channels into songwriting, the artist proved early on incapable of sticking to one medium or style, which only made her output that more intriguing. Checking in from the Bay Area and on the verge of opening a new solo exhibition at the esteemed Jessica Silverman Gallery in San Francisco, Clare talks to Dominique about snakes and flies, growing up in Colombus, Ohio as a Peruvian-American kid, attending high profile art schools as a scholarship kid, The Cure, writing and producing her fifth album 'Grocery Store Flowers', the quest for great gallery representation, spending her working and waking hours between compulsive painting and obsessive songwriting and shedding her musical alter ego Peggy Honeywell .

Follow Clare Rojas here

Buy 'Grocery Store Flowers' on vinyl here

See Clare Rojas at Jessica Silverman Gallery here

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Master turntablist, internationally acclaimed producer, OG of Belgian hip-hop & all-round stellar human DJ Grazzhoppa has joined Dominique Nzeyimana for a future classic conversation. This legend of the razor-sharp cut and globally favoured DJ has worked with the most respected names in the industry in a decades-spanning career. Hear Grazz throw it back to the early days, from being jolted into action by the iconic 'Beat Street' movie to rolling into music, graffiti and breakin' and the origin story of his legendary Rhyme Cut Core crew, which he founded with a young TLP. Grazz recounts being crowned European DMC champion and third worldwide to becoming the super-chameleon artist he is today, creating and elevating as he channels his gift for bands and artists from De Puta Madre to Blade, Benny The Butcher, Zap Mama, Reggie Washington, Jamil Honesty, Jay Royale, Aka Moon and Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker's Rosas and detailing the work he crafts together with his wife Monique Harcum as the should-be-Grammy-nominated duo Mo & Grazz.