We Love Brussels
  • Urban Life
    • Urban Jungle
    • Photo Stories
    • But Why?
    • Smart City
    • City Branding
    • Seniors
    • Real Estate
  • Culture & Creativity
    • New Economy
    • Local Makers & Shakers
    • Illustrations
    • Fashion City
  • Discover & Meet
    • Travel & Tourism news
    • Foodie guide
  • Event Diary
  • Europolitan Trends
Brussels Inspiration Bureau
Social Links
Instagram 56K Followers
Facebook 57K Followers
Twitter 10K Followers
  • Our Story
  • Partnerships & Collaborations
  • Contact
56K
57K
10K
We Love Brussels
We Love Brussels
  • Urban Life
    • Urban Jungle
    • Photo Stories
    • But Why?
    • Smart City
    • City Branding
    • Seniors
    • Real Estate
  • Culture & Creativity
    • New Economy
    • Local Makers & Shakers
    • Illustrations
    • Fashion City
  • Discover & Meet
    • Travel & Tourism news
    • Foodie guide
  • Event Diary
  • Europolitan Trends
  • Community news
  • Building the platform
  • Community of city admirers
  • Partnerships & Collaborations
  • Get in Touch
Become our contributor. Join the team!

Sign up for our newsletter

Get our periodical updates. Zero spam.

  • archi & urban heritage
  • culture & creativity
  • real estate
  • Urban Life

Cultural facilities and urban development: WIELS and the transformation of a working-class neighbourhood

  • Editorial Team
  • August 7, 2017
  • 3 minute read

The opening in 2007 of the first contemporary art centre in Brussels in a neighbourhood of the municipality of Forest, which is characterised by a former industrial urban fabric and socioeconomic insecurity, seems to have marked a new era. Located in a former brewery with temporary exhibits, artists’ residencies and mediation activities, WIELS can be seen from a distance: its impressive art deco architecture and the imposing titles of exhibits on the windows attract attention.

Like many other cities, Brussels focuses on culture as a basis for its attractiveness and the redevelopment of its former industrial neighbourhoods. The project for conversion of the former Citroën garage at Place de l’Yser into an international cultural centre is the most recent example of this. Is Brussels also affected by the Bilbao syndrome, a sort of worldwide quest for the biggest museum project? Must we focus on the creative sector as a last hope for urban spaces? Without necessarily entering into this debate, it seems useful to take a step back in order to understand the rationale and the social and spatial effects of urban development through culture.

In the 112th issue of Brussels Studies, Simon Debersaques, geographer at Université libre de Bruxelles, takes an in-depth look at the relationship between a cultural venue and its neighbourhood, with WIELS, the precursor, as a case study. After a summary of the abundant and recent literature on the subject, it recounts the history of these cultural facilities via the production rationale, the strategies of stakeholders and the social and spatial dynamics at work since it opened.

This careful observation shows that WIELS is a hybrid cultural venue whose relationship with the territory has evolved. As a showcase space during its initial phase, to become a community space during its first years of existence, WIELS is now a creative space. However, the social and spatial perspectives overlap: as a community space, it offers new social and artistic activities to inhabitants from the neighbourhood, while as a showcase, it has led to an improved image of this part of the city, seized by certain developers. This leads one to wonder about the tensions between the different perspectives and the social impact on the surrounding environment in the long term.

In the case of WIELS, the transformations at work seem to point to a scenario of gentrification of the neighbourhood. While the showcase and community rationales have put a spotlight on this working-class neighbourhood outside the centre, and at the same time have anchored the institution there, the creative rationale developed more recently has had the more structural effect of attracting well-to-do residents to the lower part of Forest, as well as new activities which do not always provide many jobs for the current residents.

Nevertheless, ten years after its opening, it still seems too early to determine whether, in terms of urban development, WIELS is nothing more than an outpost of gentrification in a working-class area outside the centre. However, one thing is certain for WIELS, as well as for what will emerge at Place de l’Yser: this is not (just) a museum.

Source:
Author: Debersaques, Simon, “Cultural facilities and urban development: WIELS contemporary art centre and the transformation of a working-class neighbourhood”, Brussels Studies [Online], General collection, No 112, 03 July 2017.
URL: https://brussels.revues.org/1531

Total
0
Shares
Like 0
Tweet 0
Share 0
Share 0
Like 0
Share 0
Editorial Team

WeLoveBrussels is a digital platform focusing on the city life, culture, creativity, events, amazing places, lifestyle, urban development trends and simple beauty around us.

You May Also Like
View Post
  • archi & urban heritage
  • Events diary

7th BANAD Brussels Art Nouveau and Deco Festival is back in Town!

  • Dorka Demeter
  • February 1, 2023
View Post
  • culture & creativity

Encounters in Flagey: Higgi and the young choristes of Flagey Academy

  • Editorial Team
  • January 31, 2023
View Post
  • culture & creativity
  • Events diary
  • fashion city

Art Nouveau in the Spotlight of the 68th BRAFA Art Fair

  • Dorka Demeter
  • January 29, 2023
Brussels Inspiration Bureau

Exploring the best of Brussels since 2014.

Discover more!
Our columnists & bloggers:
Aleksandra Rowicka
Addicted to cultural life of Brussels, fashion photography and dark…
Aris Setya
Indonesian living in Brussels. Passionate about photography. Love…
Boro Milovic
Boro is the founder and editor-in-chief of WeLoveBrussels. His interests…
Dorka Demeter
Dorka is a Hungarian expat living in Brussels for 10 years. Admirer of…
Emilia Valbum
Expat from Copenhagen living in Brussels. EU + global politics nerd on…
Fadi Dalati
A urologist by profession, and a photographer by passion. I try to…
Julia Zelle
Half-Italian, half-German girl who has just moved to Bruxelles.…
Karolina
Karolina is a blogger sharing stories on European cities, local…
kateinbrussels
I am Kate. I've lived in Brussels for 16 years and am still discovering…
Meredith @ellesbxl
Meredith Geldof is a Flemish girl who moved to Brussels and enjoys…
Tireless_Traveler
Nath is born and raised in Brussels but with a serious case of…
Download our free guide!
Incentives & events in Brussels:
Incentives & events in Brussels:
Missed our printed edition?
Press Club Brussels Europe
As seen in
25 most popular instagram accounts in Belgium

Views & opinions expressed across this website are solely that of the authors and contributors themselves and may not reflect the position of WeLoveBrussels. The editorial or publisher of WeLoveBrussels cannot be held responsible for expressed opinions or unintended errors and oversights if any.

Get our periodical updates. Zero spam.

Instagram 56K Followers
Facebook 57K Followers
Twitter 10K Followers
WeLoveBrussels
  • Our story & more
  • Get in Touch
  • Privacy Policy
  • Legal notice
Brussels Inspiration Bureau. Your guide to city life, culture, business, travel, Brussels events agenda & cultural diplomacy.

Input your search keywords and press Enter.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT