Date and time: 16 March 13:30 tour of Arsenal site, 14:00 discussion. 

Location: Brusselsesteenweg 602, 9050 Gentbrugge 

Organiser: Tot in de stad! 

As part of: LUCA school of arts; master seminar Art, market & commons and KASK & Conservatorium; Nomadic school of Arts 

“I was interested in the way that the shaping of the image of artists and other middle class workers might be implicated in the narrative of the new tech city.” American artist and activist Martha Rosler speaks of the creative class as a new precariat of underpaid creative flex workers in big cities. As such, she is not alone in talking about the exploitation of forms of creative and intellectual labour by urban elites for the upgrading of urban real estate. 

In Ghent, too, there has been much talk of temporary infill by the cultural sector in recent years, while meanwhile fierce protests rage against the sale of public properties and land by the City of Ghent. The sites of Arsenaal, 019, het Pand, Piloot/ Tondelier, Stadsatelier and De Koer not only speak to the rich intertwining of heritage and culture in the city, but also offer interesting and challenging practical contexts to discuss questions about the role of artists in urban development and gentrification. 

With students from Art, market & commons (LUCA school of arts) and Nomadic School of Arts (KASK & Conservatorium), we want to provide an educational and informative context on the pitfalls and opportunities of temporary infill by artists, based on some of the experiences of Tot in de Stad! (including PILOOT vzw, Campus Atelier, Stadsatelier VIERNULVIER, Cultuurplatform Arsenaal).    

For LUCA students, this is a lesson within Sarah Késenne’s master seminar, for KASK & Conservatorium students this is a one-time and extracurricular activity which they can take part in without any obligation (to be registered with coordinator Nomadic School of Arts, Aike Roodenburg).  

Rosler’s text read in the seminar can be accessed here:   

https://www.e-flux.com/journal/33/68311/the-artistic-mode-of-revolution-from-gentrification-to-occupation/  

Discussion partners: Danielle Van Zuijlen (Piloot vzw, Kunsthal Gent), Tim Bryon (Smoke & Dust/019), Leontien Allemeersch and Michiel De Baets (de Koer), Emile De Schryver and Aike Roodenburg (Cultuurplatform Arsenaal, Nomadic School of Arts) and Marieke De Munck (Stadsatelier VIERNULVIER). 

(c) Giada Cicchetti