The fashion for spending time on a rooftop is spreading across Europe and Antwerp is no exception.

From 20 to 22 September, the city on the Schelde will host DAKkanfest. A play on the word ‘dak’ (roof) and the modal verb of open possibilities.

In addition to the usual rooftop bars, this weekend there will be the Hikihuone daksauna sauna, Makers Market at M HKA, a rooftop concert at PAKT or the Hoge Gronden route along the green roofs. The authorities of Antwerp are convinced that Roofs can soon become an eco and art space, a solution to the eternal problem of ‘where?’ in a densely populated city like ours.

Festival programme: www.dakkan.be

Today the art project on the Roof ‘Garden of Dreams’ opened at the MoMu Fashion Museum. Invited artists Nel Maertens and Harald Ligtvoetb (pictured) created Droomtuin from recycled materials based on children’s drawings. 150 children from nearby schools drew how they see their ‘dream garden’, the artists used flowers and insects from the children’s imaginations. Harald ran workshops with the children on how to make art installations out of recycled materials. Nel consulted the landscaping organisation Natuurpunt about which flowers to plant in September so that they will bloom in spring. The art project is to draw attention to the fact that our roof can become a flowering garden and mini vegetable garden.

I am a regular visitor to the Antwerp Fashion Museum, but thanks to ‘Droomtuin’, I visited its roof for the first time, with a marvellous view of the old town.