Gone West award Ypres 2016 International Blacksmithing Event a €25,000 grant

What is GoneWest?

west-vlaanderen-logoAN ARTISTIC COMMEMORATION
The English expression ‘to go west’ refers to dying, but through the Great War, the expression acquired a more explicit meaning. The Allied forces, occupying the Western Front, literally brought their dead and wounded to the west. Moreover, the war also moved from east to west throughout Belgium as a result of the German invasion in 1914. Therefore ‘GoneWest’ was chosen as the name for the artistic commemoration of the Great War in the province of West Flanders which will be starting in the autumn of 2014.

Why does GoneWest support the project?

The advisory commission judges the project as positive and original: it involves a less known art discipline. Moreover the participative element is a plus point: the artist blacksmiths give workshops for the children and youngsters. Moreover the end product (the Cenotaph) is sustainable and lasting. To conclude the sustainability is ensured: the Cenotaph gets its permanent location on the 11th of November 2016 next to the German Military Cemetery in Langemark-Poelkapelle.