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

Notes de la rédaction

This is the press release related to the article from Yves Rouyet, published on March 31, 2014

What do William Burroughs, Joy Division, Echo and the Bunnymen, Human League, Eurythmics, Philippe Decouflé, Pierre Droulers, Michael Nyman, Michèle Anne de Mey, Blur, Suede, Supergrass, Rage against the Machine, Therapy?, The Gossip, Manu Katché, John Scofield, Philippe Catherine, Fred Wesley, Nigel Kennedy, Dick Annegarn, Sandra Zidani, Sam Touzani, Noir Désir, Björk, Robert Plant, Nick Cave, Oasis, Radiohead, Placebo, les Foo Fighters, Portishead, Texas, Tom Waits and U2 have in common? These artists have all performed in Brussels, often at the beginning of their careers, in cultural venues near the canal. This is revealed in an original inventory of places dedicated to the performing arts in this area since the mid 1970s.

Yves Rouyet – geographer, head of the territorial development department at ADT and teacher in the Faculty of Architecture at Université Libre de Bruxelles – very quickly got hooked on this project, which was intended to be an account based on personal memories. Issue number 75 of Brussels Studies presents a vast inventory of venues and events. It makes use of a wide variety of sources, which validate each other mutually: personal memories, operators' reports, cultural agendas, critiques, newspaper articles, institution websites, posters, flyers, concert tickets and field visits.

Beyond the anecdotes, an analysis of this historical material shows that the cultural operators in the canal area benefited from a favourable context in several ways in order to develop and persist. Firstly, deindustrialisation had made exceptional sites available at affordable prices. Secondly, the will on behalf of the Flemish Community to support Flemish cultural initiatives in Brussels initiated an interesting game of musical chairs. In the course of renovations and temporary spaces which became permanent, cultural venues increased in number and were institutionalised. Finally, the real estate situation along the canal allowed artistic activities to develop without pressure from property speculation and competition from other functions.

While today the area surrounding the canal has become a Mecca for cultural life in Brussels known to all (for example Couleur Café at Tour & Taxis), the time of affordable post-industrial spaces is past. The video illustration of the article, which takes us to many of the places mentioned, shows for example how the first site of Magasin 4 has been transformed into luxury housing. From now on, where will the new alternative cultural spaces – inevitably with meagre resources – emerge in Brussels? While the event Molenbeek, capitale culturelle de la Communauté française en 2014 brings recognition to the Brussels “waterfront”, it perhaps marks the end of an era as well.

References
Rouyet, Yves, “Rock the Canal! A history of cultural life in the canal area of Brussels”, Brussels Studies [Online], General collection, No 75, 31 March 2014. URL: https://journals.openedition.org/brussels/1213
Contact
Benjamin Wayens, Senior Editor: bwayens[at]brusselsstudies.be

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