In 2024, BATS Antwerp are proud to be hosting the Festival for the eighth time.

 

We are extremely excited to have secured the use of the Zuiderpershuis complex, which features all we need for a festival: a theatre and dressing-room space, rooms for Fringe performance and a Green Room, as well as a bar and various courtyards for meetings and socialising. 

 

About the venue

 

The venue and its location in the heart of Antwerp all add to the attraction of FEATS 2024.

 

The Zuiderpershuis started out in 1883 as a hydraulic power station, providing the steam-based power for the range of cranes, locks, bridges and sluice gates that made up Antwerp’s docks, which  extended almost into the heart of the city. This industrial heritage was preserved during the complex’s remake after it closed in the 1970s. It is now both a thriving cultural powerhouse and a protected monument. 

 

The docks that were once outside the building were covered over long ago and are now home to a park and a lively collection of cafés, restaurants, galleries and shops, just a stone’s throw from the river Scheldt.

 

All in all it forms the perfect venue and backdrop to our festival, as a place for performance and exchange.