Cinema on wheels seeks funding ahead of summer launch

Imagine an itinerant cinema composed of a three-wheeled bicycle, a sound system and a big screen that will bring the movies to you regardless of where you are, be it a café terrace, a neighbourhood party, a festival, a schoolyard, under the stars or even at home.

Brussels artist Laurent Jourquin’s wild idea is called Cycle &toile (a double play on words joining cycle, star, canvas and the phonetic use of the ampersand in French) and it’s an invitation to meet others, to make discoveries, to simply enjoy being together, and to share culture and art as a way of bonding socially. It’s an original idea that couldn’t be more timely after the separating effects of the pandemic.

The vehicle is a multimedia electric bicycle carrier equipped with a metal armature comprising a 1.3-by-2.3 metre flat screen, an ultra-short-focal video projector, an amplifier, two speakers, a rechargeable battery and an electricity converter.

"This project promotes art and public space use, and is addressed to everyone,” Jourquin said. “For it to exist everyone needs to be together. This is the reason why I prefer to launch an online fundraiser via crowdfunding rather than requesting public funding exclusively."

Cycle &toile is hoping to encounter very diverse audiences and offer them a wide variety of films including classics, art films and documentaries. Its aim is to demystify cultural events by bringing the cinema to people where they live.

Collaborations with the V2Vingt collective, Kanal, BOZAR, Argos, Islep, Cinematek and Cinemas Vendome and Galeries among others will also take place during the run of the project from August 2021 through July 2022.

A crowdfunding campaign has been put in place on the Growfunding platform to support the development of the project. The fundraising goal is €10,000. The fundraising will end on 31 July.