The book Moresnet (2016) by Philip Dröge is already in its latest edition, the fourth country at the Vaalserberg is still very much alive. The fantastical, 19th-century stories do trigger the imagination, but what do the current inhabitants of this little former-microstate think? In his photo series Silent Canary, artist Filippo Ciriani shows that nothing is what it seems.
Moresnet Lost Historian Philip Dröge is author of popular history books. The Financieele Dagblad wrote that 'he has a fine nose for fun and oftentimes useful trivia', with which he can capture even the most excentric histories in his non-fiction works. The book Moresnet, rise and fall of a forgotten, neighbouring country attained the shortlist of the Libris History Award. His newest book, Mother City, about three centuries of Batavia-Jakarta, was published in 2021.
Moresnet Regained Photographer Filippo Ciriani hails from the Alps. An inhabitant of The Hague, nowadays, he was homesick after the feeling of waking up-hill and therefore travelled down to Vaalserberg. On top of the highest hill of the Netherlands, he found out about the many curious stories of the fourth country at the Three Country Point, which intrigued and inspired him into making the photo series Silent Canary. The work, in which the Neutral Moresnet of today (the Belgian town of Kelmis) is portrayed, will be bundled in a book, launched at Bureau Europa.
Date Wednesday 10 november 2021, 17.30 - 19.00 uur
Location Bureau Europa
Language Dutch and English
Entrance €3,00; order a ticket online
NB you are required to show your COVID QR-code