Gerda Van Damme was born in 1964. She lives and works in Charleroi. Originating from Dendermonde where she followed evening classes in plastic arts and music, she studied Germanic Philology at KULeuven. Around 1990 she created and curated two "Salons of Naïvity". In 1990 she moved to Tourinnes-la-Grosse to continue living in Wallonia until now. She has been living in Charleroi since 2016.
After a long career in marketing communications, in 2017 she picked up her artistic activities again. Over the last years she has been attending several classes at the Académie des Beaux-Arts Alphonse Darville in Charleroi (painting, video, drawing). In 2020 she founded the artist collective GROSSES LACUNES - which she presides (with the support of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, Shopping Rives Gauche and the Comptoir des Ressources Creative in Charleroi). She also operates under the name of THE MUYBRIDGE COLLECTIVE, together with Guido Janssens.
Gerda Van Damme has organized and participated in exhibitions on multiple occasions. In 2022, she is the curator for a contemporary art festival, in partnership with the Festival de l'Eté Mosan, and with the support of the Féderation Wallonie-Bruxelles, "GRAND ECART".
Preferred themes in Gerda's work are death, mourning, nostalgia, the past, memory.
Some exhibitions I did over the last 2 years (full list on my website):
2022 La Cellule, Charleroi "The Way We Were", solo show.
2022 Dinant, Citadelle, group show - about 50000 visitors
2022 Orp-le-Grand, Église Saints-Martin-et-Adèle, group show.
2022 Faulx-Les Tombes, Abbaye Notre-Dame de Grandpré, group show.
2022 Château de Biesme, group show.
2022 Ferme du Sanglier, Hemptinne (Fernelmont), group show.
2022 Prieuré, Anseremme, group show.
2022 Église Saint-Joseph, Faulx-Les Tombes, group show.
2022 La Guinguette, Arquennes
2022 “The way we were, 1967 - 1974” – Solo show at La Cellule, Charleroi
2021 “A moitié vide | 1” – Solo show in "Centre Culturel Haute Sambre" in Thuin.
2021 “A moitié vide | 2” – Solo show in desacrated church “Notre Dame du Mont Carmel” in Thuin.
2021 “Scène de vie, scène de mort” – Solo show in La Cellule, Charleroi
2021 Envision Arts online – BLACK + WHITE IV: A Contemporary Collective (Honorable Mention)
Some grants & awards over the last 2 years (full list on my website) :
2022 Grant of the City of Charleroi for the artists collective Grosses Lacunes for the curation of La Cellule, contemporary art gallery in Charleroi
2021 Grant of the Province of Hainaut and the Eden (culturel centre) for the artists collective Grosses Lacunes
2021 Grant of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles for the curation of "Grand Ecart" (contemporary art festival in collaboration with the Festival de l'Eté Mosan)
2021 Envision Arts online – BLACK + WHITE IV: A Contemporary Collective (Honorable Mention)
2020 Grant of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles for the creation of the artists collective Grosses Lacunes
