Visiting the brand-new Radio Bart hosts

The KMSKA team has grown a little bigger. Youssri Mejdoubi, Ditmar Goes and Lesley De Ceulaer are joining Bart Van Peer as new hosts of Radio Bart. Like Bart, they are blind. From now on, you will find them in the mobile studio in one of the museum galleries. Anyone who wishes can take a seat next to them for a dialogue about a work of art. By engaging in conversation with someone who cannot see the work, you begin to look at it differently. 

Welcome, new colleagues! How did you end up at Radio Bart?

Youssri: I have a passion for podcasting. Through word of mouth, I heard about Radio Bart. The first meeting I had at KMSKA was immediately with the entire team of public mediators. I never left after that (laughs).

Ditmar: I studied Radio in Brussels and KMSKA contacted my school with the question whether anyone was interested in Radio Bart.

Lesley: I already knew Bart. The coach who also guides us in the Radio Bart trajectory, Janien Prummel, once gave me training to guide for ‘Art in the Dark’. At the time, people were guided through a dark space.

So you’ve already been involved in art for a while, Lesley?

Lesley: I have a deep love for art and culture. As chair of VEBES (Association of Blind and Visually Impaired Light and Love vzw), my greatest passion is ensuring that art and culture remain accessible to people who are blind.

Youssri and Ditmar, it’s striking that you both have such great radio voices. How did you learn this?

Youssri: I did a few years of theater, where I took diction lessons. But my A and O is still very Antwerp. I’m reminded of it whenever I record a commercial.

Ditmar: I don’t have a dialect because I moved around a lot. During my radio training, they worked out the last traces of dialect.

Bart, our original host, wasn’t born blind. What’s your story?

Ditmar: I was born blind. I used to see colors and shapes. Now I can only see light and dark.

Youssri: I once saw light and dark, which was useful when walking in the street. Since 2018, even that’s gone. I’ve never seen shapes or colors, so I don’t fully know what ‘blue’ means.

Do you have a favorite artwork or artist?

Youssri: Right now, I’d say Flying Man by Karel Appel. I find it interesting to talk with people about death. Everyone sees something different in it. It’s never the same. Never. That’s what I love about abstract art.

Ditmar: I like Keith Haring and Panamarenko. They both color outside the lines. I find the old masters technically impressive, but the modern masters are more about discovering themselves.

Lesley: At KMSKA, I adore two works. I’ve never seen them in real life, but when people describe them to me, I wish I could see them. That doesn’t happen often. The Pink Bows by Delvaux and Large Sun by Piene.

I hear that all three of you are more fans of modern art than of the old masters?

Yousri: I feel there’s more freedom in modern art. You always experience it differently.

Ditmar: With modern art, people are initially more hesitant to describe it. But then they realize they can only say what they see. With the old masters, you can interpret more of the story. There are clear figures. It’s a very different kind of description, which is nice.

Lesley: With modern art, people can be more imaginative and creative. Without taking anything away from Rubens and Memling (laughs).

Have you had any memorable conversations in the studio?

Ditmar: Many people say, “I’ve never thought so long about a work of art.”

Yousri: Someone once told me, “Because of you, I’ll never forget this artwork.” I think that’s really great. I try not to make the conversations too heavy. I keep it light. We’re not interviewers, and we’re not giving a test. I think people appreciate that. We don’t just look at the work—we really engage in conversation.

Lesley: When people tell me they’ll never forget a work because of me, I say, “I’ll never forget that comment you made earlier.” It’s such a beautiful exchange. Visitors no longer see you just as a blind person, but as a true conversation partner. Radio Bart isn’t patronizing. It broadens the perspective on being blind.