Doel Festival boasts 5 unique stages, all named after the street they’re in or their iconic environment, a vibrant courtyard, multiple curated seating areas and an on site exhibition, as well as some peculiar structures which characterise the village.

Haven

Our largest stage in terms of surface. Located in an open area, we’ll be installing a big roof with a dedicated light plan which references one of the old gas stations still present in the village. The name Haven comes from the Havenweg, the street it’s placed at. It also means harbour in Dutch, and what is a gas station but a harbour for cars, a stage but a haven for dancing.

Pastorij

Lineup Pastorij

The Pastorij stage is one long street, with a monumental installation as the booth placed at the end of it. Here, the metal plated facades of the abandoned houses are the main actors, some of which will be replicated as an ephemeral slice of cloth, hung high behind the booth. Beams of light will give away which house, as they flicker from front to back, simultaneously with their respective slice.

Hooghuis

Lineup Hooghuis

Characterised by a 180 degree deejay booth and surround sound, the Hooghuis stage will feel inside and out, as we’ll install a roof which nearly touches the facades of the houses. Envision an inside out club where the walls have boarded up windows, overgrown with ivy, and behind you trees are growing over from a fenced off garden.

Garage Box

Lineup Garage Box

Two rows of graffiti clad, overgrown garage boxes are this stage’s setting. You enter through one of two alleyways, taking you into a back garden which opens up into the Gragage Box stage. The booth is placed at the end and trees and bushes rise from behind the garages. Simple lighting is added, you won’t find a more intimate stage than this one.

Bungalow

Lineup Bungalow

A subtle stage design placed at the end of a small road walled off by two rows of old retirement bungalows, located at the South end of the festival. We’ll reinvigorate the, still present but not functioning, old street lanterns and add door lights to each home while blasting thick smoke clouds throughout, creating a truly dystopian atmosphere.

Seating areas

The village of Doel has many nooks and crannies, empty parcels in between abandoned houses still standing, unused space which is left with no function. Each year we fill up that space by inviting artists with functional art objects to put together dedicated seating area’s, places in the lands between, where you can take a break, have conversations and do some people watching.

Exhibition

Exhibition program

Starting from 2023, Doel Festival offers not only a sonorous experience, but also a visual one. The festival will research and reflect on the past and future of Doel village through curated exhibitions and in situ art installations. This years exhibition is titled Specters of the Future, curated by Zoé Van den Boogaerde, and features artists Antoinette d’Ansembourg, Benoît Christiaens, Emma Cogné, Leo Luccioni, :mentalKLINIK and Prosper Legault.

Monuments

Next to being home to numerous sites of heritage, Doel houses some peculiar structures that weren’t always there. We call them Doel Festival’s Monuments. We can clearly distinguish four permanent installations: the Ortelius Ship, the Bird Apartment, the Totems and an undefined Wooden Structure. Discover these monuments as you walk through the streets of Doel, during, before or after the festival.

The Court

The Court is a bustling space, which we envision as a market place, and will be the first thing you see upon entering the festival. This is where you’ll find different food trucks, special drinks, vintage clothing, but also lockers, toilets, a shop for nicotine, and who knows what else. Come find out.