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The Convent art space is a new non-profit space for contemporary art in Ghent, Belgium. With a focus on international contemporary art, Convent aims to complement the programs of the already existing spaces in the city. Through about four accessible exhibitions annually, Convent aspires to show recent developments in international contemporary art to a wide–ranging audience.

The current exhibition space in the Tennisbaanstraat 74 is located next to the courtyard of an old convent school that was designed by the Ghent architect Roger Warie (1901, Ghent–1991, Oudenaarde). He was the father of the conceptual artist Jean Warie, better known as Jean Schwind (1935, Ghent–1985, Grasse). The former school is currently also used as an office building.

From February 8th until March 31st, the Convent presents Always Bite the Hand That Feeds You, a solo exhibition by Spanish artist Eli Cortiñas (°1979, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria), who lives and works in Berlin. Central in the exhibition is the 3 channel video The Most Given of Givens (2016), in which Cortiñas explores the racist myth of the Tarzan film-saga and the representation of the African continent from a western perspective. Also her video Paraiso Animal (2015) will be on view, in which the artist wears a bear mask in an urban environment, representing an animal that has been deprived of its original habitat.

On the occasion of this exhibition, Convent organises a lecture performance by Eli Cortiñas on March 7, 2019, in collaboration with KASK-lectures. The lecture is free to attend and starts at 8 pm in Cirque (Campus Bijloke). You can find more information here.