Rock the Canal! A history of cultural life in the canal area of Brussels

Since the end of the 1970s, the canal area in Brussels has been an innovative setting for avant-gardist artistic creation in the area of non-traditional music, contemporary dance, theatre research and multidisciplinary and digital performances. Cultural operators have found affordable real estate th...

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Main Author: Yves Rouyet
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Université libre de Bruxelles - ULB 2014-03-01
Series:Brussels Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journals.openedition.org/brussels/1213
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author Yves Rouyet
author_facet Yves Rouyet
author_sort Yves Rouyet
collection DOAJ
description Since the end of the 1970s, the canal area in Brussels has been an innovative setting for avant-gardist artistic creation in the area of non-traditional music, contemporary dance, theatre research and multidisciplinary and digital performances. Cultural operators have found affordable real estate there due to deindustrialisation and late and relatively slow residential gentrification. This article is aimed at identifying the key stages in the development of alternative culture in the canal area, within and especially outside recognised and subsidised institutions. It is based on the hypothesis that the artists and this unique area have had a mutual influence on each other. On the one hand, the area has enhanced artistic creation with its strong characteristics: urbanity, deindustrialisation and cosmopolitanism. On the other hand, the presence of cultural activities has attracted a public which has rarely been there, thus participating in the partial reconstruction of its image.
format Article
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institution Kabale University
issn 2031-0293
language English
publishDate 2014-03-01
publisher Université libre de Bruxelles - ULB
record_format Article
series Brussels Studies
spelling doaj-art-0e62453c2e3a4e29920a65f663656e392025-08-20T03:30:53ZengUniversité libre de Bruxelles - ULBBrussels Studies2031-02932014-03-0110.4000/brussels.1213Rock the Canal! A history of cultural life in the canal area of BrusselsYves RouyetSince the end of the 1970s, the canal area in Brussels has been an innovative setting for avant-gardist artistic creation in the area of non-traditional music, contemporary dance, theatre research and multidisciplinary and digital performances. Cultural operators have found affordable real estate there due to deindustrialisation and late and relatively slow residential gentrification. This article is aimed at identifying the key stages in the development of alternative culture in the canal area, within and especially outside recognised and subsidised institutions. It is based on the hypothesis that the artists and this unique area have had a mutual influence on each other. On the one hand, the area has enhanced artistic creation with its strong characteristics: urbanity, deindustrialisation and cosmopolitanism. On the other hand, the presence of cultural activities has attracted a public which has rarely been there, thus participating in the partial reconstruction of its image.http://journals.openedition.org/brussels/1213associative sectorhistoryculture
spellingShingle Yves Rouyet
Rock the Canal! A history of cultural life in the canal area of Brussels
Brussels Studies
associative sector
history
culture
title Rock the Canal! A history of cultural life in the canal area of Brussels
title_full Rock the Canal! A history of cultural life in the canal area of Brussels
title_fullStr Rock the Canal! A history of cultural life in the canal area of Brussels
title_full_unstemmed Rock the Canal! A history of cultural life in the canal area of Brussels
title_short Rock the Canal! A history of cultural life in the canal area of Brussels
title_sort rock the canal a history of cultural life in the canal area of brussels
topic associative sector
history
culture
url http://journals.openedition.org/brussels/1213
work_keys_str_mv AT yvesrouyet rockthecanalahistoryofculturallifeinthecanalareaofbrussels