On 10 May, the Ultimas – the Flemish Government’s Culture Awards – were presented once again. Winners were announced across thirteen diverse categories, including the almost impossibly broad category of ‘Architecture and Applied Arts’. The Horst Arts & Music Festival proved to be the ideal winner, ticking all the boxes with conviction.

Horst Arts & Music is an arts and music festival in which architecture, as well as design, urban planning and even fashion, play a significant role. Since its inception in 2014, this festival has demonstrated an innovative conceptual approach that is strongly rooted in bringing together, fostering collaboration and merging different disciplines. For each edition, external curators are brought in to compile the music programme, develop the exhibition and put together the series of debates. Young architects are commissioned to design the dance and debate venues, with the emphasis always on temporary use, the reuse of materials and circularity. Workshops are held in collaboration with architecture students to produce these venues.