This meander through the art and culture in Liège during the 1980s, all in all resembling a most exhaustive exploration of their most significant expressions, ends by going back to a landmark moment of Walloon consciousness raising: the ‘Manifesto for Walloon Culture’ of September 15, 1983, a text whose main thrust was that ‘Wallonia attaining its personality as a people and its political maturity will not happen unless a cultural project goes hand in hand with the economic project.’ It was signed by the film maker Jean-Jacques Andrien, the poet and singer Julos Beaucarne, the Professor of philosophy and journalist José Fontaine, the playwright Jean Louvet, the Professor of economics Michel Quiévit and the Professor of literature Jacques Dubois; when it was launched 80 artists and intellectuals signed it in their turn. Moreover, as an extra proof of dynamism, the journal Carré Magazine – launched in 1982 but which only had four issues – invited the Liège cultural world to invest emotionally in the city.

Music

As the grand finale to this journey across the 1980s, the 2012 Art&fact offers a retrospective look at the forms of Liège music, musicians and musical institutions. It is not surprising that this involves jazz, operas, symphonic music, contemporary music, etc. Names such as Jean-Pol Schroeder, Henri Pousseur, Pierre Bartholomée, Georges-Elie Octors, Philippe Boesmans, Raymond Rossius, Steve Houben, Garett List, Fabrizio Cassol and so many others who, in their various respective areas of activity, defended loud and clear the musical art in a city historically reputed for it. And finally institutions – first and foremost the Liège Philharmonic Orchestra (OPL) and the Walloon Royal Opera (ORW) – which, faced at regular intervals with financial difficulties, nevertheless strive to maintain a quality programme.  

Julie Bawin, a Doctor of History of Art and a teacher-researcher at the University of Liège, and Jean-Patrick Duchesne, Professor of the history of the art of the modern era and Director of Art&fact, have together assumed the academic management of the 2012 delivery of the journal Art&fact, called Les années 1980 à Liège. Art et culture. Elegantly illustrated and with great attention paid to the finishing touches, this publication presented in the form of a genuine work has benefited from a great number of authors who, each in their own way, have given an account of the artistic and literary richness of the decade under consideration. As for Marie-Sophie Degard, also an art historian, she has been the lynchpin of the organising and scheduling of the ensemble of texts brought together in this volume.  
 
Let us also point out, as a summary, that this exceptional issue of the journal presents two works which are being released on the occasion of its publication: the first is by Jacques Lizène and bears the name Art syncrétique 1964 (sculpture génétique 1971) en remake en 1984 (colour printing – 60 numbered and signed copies); the second is by Laetitia Lefèvre and is called Monte-Carlo (clay, white cold finish enamel – 40 copies). It also, in the moving words of Daniel Droixhe, evokes the memory of the great Liège art historian, Jacques Stiennon, an Emeritus Professor at the University of Liège, who died on May 5, 2012.