Project Initiation

This website was created as a result of the pilot project centered around the oeuvre of artist Roland Van den Berghe. In 2017, his archive ended up on the street due to unforeseen circumstances and was subsequently picked up by Brussels waste collection services. Dorothée van den Berghe, Roland’s daughter, immediately took action together with her husband, Jan Vancaillie. They succeeded in rescuing most of the archival materials on-site. Thanks to the help of Frank Castelyns, who assisted in selecting the archive contents, and Willem Elias, who helped find temporary storage, the archive was eventually housed in the art center Destelheide.

Dorothée van den Berghe later came into contact with CKV (Centre for Artists' Archives Flanders), where Nele Luyts and Jan Stuyck conducted an archival assessment and supported the application for a subsidy from the Flemish Government for pilot projects concerning artists' legacies. In 2024, the subsidy application was approved, officially launching the project.

Photo of Dorothée van den Berghe with the state of the archive at the Brussels waste collection service, 2019. Photographer: Jan Vancaillie.

Photo of Jan Vancaillie with the state of the archive at the Brussels waste collection service, 2019. Photographer: Dorothée van den Berghe.

Project Development

The project was supported by Dorothée van den Berghe for coordination, Jan Vancaillie for digitization and image processing, and Flo Bots as research coordinator. Subsequently, Zeina Al-Qahwaji initiated the development of a website to make the project accessible to the public. The project began with the professional digitization of no fewer than 26 of the artist’s sketchbooks.

During the archival review, six art projects with valuable preserved materials came to the forefront. After thorough investigation, it quickly became evident that other projects should not be omitted, leading to an expansion of the scope to eight projects. Throughout the research phase, an extensive timeline was created, along with a compiled bibliography. Additionally, it was deemed essential to speak with individuals closely involved with Roland Van den Berghe. We contacted Frank Castelyns, Gabriël Van den Brink, and Willem Elias, and consulted the secondary archive of Roland Van den Berghe, managed by Toni Geirlandt.

Photo of Nele Luyts (CKV) at the archive in temporary storage in Destelheide, 2025. Photographer: Dorothée van den Berghe.

Photo of Flo Bots at the archive in temporary storage in Destelheide, 2025. Photographer: Dorothée van den Berghe.

Future Outlook

The project ran from September 2024 through June 2025. The results are presented on this website. In addition to the eight featured projects, many other fascinating materials could serve as a foundation for further participatory research projects. We are open to collaborations and offer the possibility to facilitate internships on this topic. If you are interested, please don’t hesitate to reach out via the “Contact Us” page.

If you are interested in the work of Roland Van den Berghe, be sure to visit the website www.rolandvandenberghe.nl. This website focuses on the recent work of Roland Van den Berghe.

Copyrights

All images, documents and texts on this website are protected by copyright. The rights belong to Roland Van den Berghe, unless otherwise stated.

The material is made available solely for informative, educational and non-commercial purposes in the context of unlocking the artistic archive of Roland Van den Berghe. Reproduction, distribution or other reuse of the material is only permitted with the prior written permission of the rights holders.

For questions or requests to use the archive material, please contact: Send your inquiry on the contact us page.

If you believe that your rights are being violated by publications on this site, please contact us, We will then take immediate action.

Photo of Zeina Al-Qahwaji, designer of the website, during the image selection process, 2025. Photographer: Dorothée van den Berghe.

Foto tijdens het herverpakken van het archief, 2025. Fotograaf Dorothée van den Berghe.