Rizon Parein founder and driving force behind the Us by Night Festival is a 3D designer and illustrator who has come a long way from taking his talent and passion for graffiti from the streets of Belgium to the forefront of the world of design and advertising. With an extensive portfolio that includes the famous neon poster design for the film Drive starring Ryan Gosling, the artwork behind numerous global Nike campaigns, Jay Z’s BMIA music festival, playful ads for Toyota, Mercedes, Google, Facebook, Heineken, Samsonite, Nespresso as well as editorials for Vogue Japan, Fast Company, Fortune, Huffington post, etc… it seems as though there is no major company that Parein hasn’t worked with. Since 2013 Rizon Parein is working mainly with Nike Global Brand Design Portland.

This year we teamed up with Playgrounds for a wicked collaboration. This 10-year-old Dutch organization created a community of the best and brightest of contemporary animators, vfx artists, game developers, sound & graphic designers. Director Leon van Rooij curated a program with extraordinary filmmakers and visual artists, like Marsmallow Leaser Feast and Aaron Duffy. 

Leon van Rooij studied animation at the Academy of Fine Arts in Tilburg. He has worked as an art director, animator and VJ on commercials, projections and special events for several studios. He is the founder of Playgrounds – International Digital Arts Festival and a former curator at the STRP Biennial in Eindhoven. He also advises institutions and organisations on post-digital culture, jurymember at Het Gouden Kalf ( Dutch Film Festival) and he teaches animation and interaction design at the bachelor and postgraduate departments of AKV|St.Joost in Breda the Netherlands

Alice van den Abeele (Born in Brussels in 1975) and her partner Raphael (Born in Brussels in 1973) opened together Alice Gallery in 2005, which has meanwhile become a cultural institution in the heart of Brussels city center. The exhibition space brings both Belgian and international artists, with the aim of breaking the codes of traditional galleries and exploring new universes, be it skateboard, graffiti, tattoos or cinema.

They are two of the four founders of MIMA (Millennium Iconoclast Museum of Art), which opened in the Molenbeek neighborhood in Brussels on April 15 2016. It is committed to a culture that breaks down barriers and reaches out to a broad audience, reflecting the world of today and paving the way for the world of tomorrow.

Ben Van Alboom is a man of many talents, though after shifting his attention between his work as a freelance journalist for dS Weekblad, Knack Focus, Studio Brussel and Klara, his photo gallery A&Gallery, and his ‘babies’ Red Bull Elektropedia and Belgium: The Vinyl Frontier, he’s now focussing all of that attention to running the Cult. department at Belgian newspaper De Morgen.

Alle Dagen Honger (Hungry Every Day) is a culinary project agency deriving from the edacious minds of Barbara Serulus, Johanna Goyvaerts & Mayken Craenen. They investigate the diverse questions on food through various projects and events, making their broad audience think about the food that ends up on their plates. You might know Alle Dagen Honger from their book ‘De Helden van het Echte Eten’ or their food festival ‘Krachtvoer’. And they write down stories about their favorite craftsmen and women and trusty recepies in the culinary inserts of newspapers and magazines such as ‘De Standaard Magazine’ and ‘Weekend Knack’.