VGC invests in artists’ studios in the Mary Magdalene Convent in Jette
Temporary accommodation for artists in the Mary Magdalene Convent.
Through Plan Atelier, the Flemish Community Commission VGC aims to contribute to more and better equipped workspaces for artists in the city. That is why the VGC is starting a collaboration with Toestand vzw to transform parts of the Magdalene Convent in Jette into studio space.
"Through Plan Atelier - or “studio plan” -, it is more important than ever to create space for artists, and we are focusing on the many talents that are flourishing in our city. “Brussels is one of the artistic hotspots in the world. It has international appeal and we are rightly proud of that. That is why we should not only focus on presentation, but also on workspace for artistic creators in this city. The convent’s space and location make it the ideal place,” said VGC college member for Culture Pascal Smet.
Since the summer of 2022, the non-profit organisation “Toestand” is in charge of the temporary use of the listed convent nearby Place du Miroir in Jette. Toestand will develop a socio-cultural dynamic here for at least two years. The convent consists of four floors (about 1600m²), a basement-labyrinth and a 3000m² garden. Neighbours, associations, artists and collectives have shown great demand to use the spaces.
The site has both individual and collective studios. Toestand encourages studio sharing to increase the interaction between the different groups at the Magdalene Convent. There are also larger spaces that are made available as meeting areas or as exhibition or performances rooms for art colleges, dance and theatre collectives.
However, the electricity network is outdated. To ensure everyone’s safety, the VGC is investing 30,000 euros to carry out the necessary works. Non-profit organisation FIX will undertake these works, after which the system will comply with the standards
Because of the site’s temporary nature, the aim is to recover large parts of the material later on to also use them for other projects of Toestand.
More information on Plan Atelier can be found at this webiste. Looking forward to discovering the Mary Magdalene Convent? The next guided tours will take place on 10 May - 2.30pm and 8 June - 10am.
Toestand favours activist artists or artists looking to develop a collective studio space. More information on mona@toestand.be.
Through Plan Atelier, we already managed to make some 150 workspaces available this term of office: Level Five (about 60 spaces), iMAL/MAX (about 20 spaces), Meyboom Artist-run Spaces (about 40 spaces) and Werkplaats Walter (about 30 spaces).
Damiaan De Jonge
