Attending all the flower events has a nice side benefit for me – I am discovering Belgium. There are apparently plenty of castles big and small hidden all over the countryside. This time it is the Ikebana International exhibition in  Wissekerke Castle near Antwerpen.

The castle is a very sweet, nicely designed building with beautifully landscaped surroundings. The park is a very pleasant place for having a walk or a pick nick.

As the weather is great we also have a part of the exhibition outside. Land art installations are spread all over the park and around the lake area. This way the whole range of ikebana art from the most traditional Ikenobo School arrangements to the modern large scale works of Sogetsu School are represented in the true spirit of the Ikebana International organisation.

Inside of the castle the organization of the exhibition is quite surprising and pleasant. I have perceived as a treasure hunt. Most of the arrangements are moderate size and therefore they fit very organically in different places in the castle rooms. This makes ikebana compositions look naturally integrated into the interior.

There were a couple of rooms, where I did not notice all the arrangements at once. Just before leaving the room I would suddenly see that there is yet another hidden treasure to be discovered.

My own work is outside. It is the first one that is greeting people entering the premises. It was such a pleasant environment to work!

The exhibition is open this long weekend including Monday, June 5.

You can see the the official pictures of the exhibition by following this link. If you have any issues accessing the album please let me know ekaterina@ikebanaweb.com. Here are some of my favorite arrangements collected on my treasure hunt:

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