Spa for Spirits is a traveling meeting place that questions conventional notions of human well-being.
Since 2021, performers Leonie Buysse and Lili Vanderstraeten have led Spa for Spirits—a wellness center inhabited by otherworldly creatures. Together with artists and experts from various artistic and life domains, they create interactive installations and performances, where individual art practices interweave through collective play, exploration, and wonder.
Participants are invited to step beyond the ordinary and embrace new ways of seeing, thinking, and being by rediscovering everyday activities, loosening them from their monotonous rusty patterns. The peculiar rituals that emerge from this process aim to ground participants in their bodies, reawaken the senses, and grow a more conscious engagement with their surroundings.
By occupying semi-public spaces, we disrupt and queer them from their usual identity and function: a transformative process that engages an unexpected mix of participants—local residents, curious passersby, and communities. Through these collective artistic, sensory-rich, and often non-verbal explorations, the otherworldly hosts of Spa for Spirits strive to reconnect humanity with its fundamental needs.
In collaboration with: Henny Baeken (body-oriented therapy advisor), Renske Maria Van Dam and Francesco Apostoli (architects), Nora Vanderstraeten (graphic design and documentation), Alice Dooreman (documentation), drag queen collective House of Lux - Theo Bonne and Daan Dekeyser (performers, makeup and look development), Luna De Mey (performer & chef), Oscar Pichard (sound artwork), Sybren Janssens (scenography), Wim Pelgrims (sound artwork), Anton Cla (video work), Aidan Abnet (costumes), Noam Youngrak Son (graphic designer), Mats Van Droogenbroeck (dramaturg), Antonio Triolo / Nino Kooks (chef), Heike Langsdorf (mentorship), Jonas Baeke (dramaturg, writer and performer), Wouter Bouchez and Julie Rodeyns - Through Art We Care.
With support from: 404 (residencies and presentations), GC Nekkersdal (in the GAG cabin), Buda (residency), De School Van Gaasbeek (residency), Nightshift / Gouvernement (presentation during GIF festival), Kyoto University of the Arts (AGxKansai conference), De Grote Post (residency), Broei (residency and open studios), Brussels Gallery Weekend (presentation during Generation Brussels), Theater De Nieuwe Vorst (during Murf/Murw festival), Pleasure Island (residency), Campo Nieuwpoort (during A Shot at Love), De Koer (residencies and presentations), Fomu (with Melanie Bonajo during workshop), Radical House (residencies, sharings and mentorship), MSK Ghent (during Pride and Paintings by House of Lux), Dr. Guislain Museum (with Lucinda Ra for Psycho Jazz), A Two Dogs Company (during Extractions).
With financial support from: the Flemish Community Commission, Alleskan, the City of Ghent, and Flanders State of the Arts.