The Big Conversation on our city

Sometimes our city seems torn by a bitter mix of standstill and sudden change. Construction sites and government formations never seem to end, while cultural venues are being very suddenly closed down. While policies push people into displacement, the amount of vacant square meters stays the same.

But that’s not the whole picture. In other corners positive change is growing everyday, slowly but surely getting stronger. From tenant mobilisations to architectural feminism, or from imagining a public bath house to really building a pool for your neighbours. Who gets to dream up the future of the city? And who puts it into practice? Who are the true (project) developers of our neighborhoods?

We are asking 13 opinion makers to share their experiences and visions during a Big Conversation. Let’s get a good look at some of the (under)currents shaping urban spaces today, and develop strategies for the future of our city.

To make sure everyone gets a chance to have their say, discussion groups are limited to 15 people per table. A big communal table will be kept at the heart of the space to enjoy some food and exchange thoughts with other participants.

Get into conversation with

Tasneem Nagi – KU Leuven
about everyday homing practices of displaced people (EN)

Niels Coppens – Free54
about reclaiming public space through imagination (NL, EN, FR)

Pepijn Kennis – Fair Ground Brussels
about how to develop the city for people, not for profit (NL, EN FR)

Astrid Van Steen and/or Jozef Wouters – Decoratelier
about hands-on community participation in temporary projects, and what developers might learn from it (NL, EN FR)

Bie Vancraeynest – Toestand
about how it would be if De Beurs/La Bourse became a bath house (NL, EN, FR)

Tim Cassiers – Bral
about city activism in the past and the present (NL, EN)

Johnny Leya – Traumnovelle
about coloniality and the city (NL, EN)

Filip Momikj and Mohammad Hammash – Stripping Architecture
about gentrification today and the intimate relation between public authorities and private developers (EN, FR, NL)

Khushboo Balwani and Ellen Anthoni – BrusselAvenir
about the role of futures fiction in shaping the city, played out through a citizen council in 2048 (EN, NL, FR)

Apolline Vranken – L'architecture qui dégenre
about the feminist city and how to degender public spaces (EN, FR)

Céline Drieskens – VUB
about claiming housing justice and tenant mobilisations (NL, EN)

Madhumita Nandi – Oyoun
about the shifting politics of urban belonging, visibility and representation (EN, NL)

Saïd El Louizi – Zone Neutre, La Voix des Sans-Papiers
about uniting many different voices in order to make them heard as one (FR)

14:00 (DOORS)
14:30 WELCOME & INTRO by Mae de Monchy & Latifah Abdou
15:00-15:50 CONVERSATION ROUND #1 w/ Tasneem Nagi, Pepijn Kennis, Bie Vancraeynest, Tim Cassiers, Johnny Leya, Filip Momikj & Mohammed Hammash, Khushboo Balwani & Ellen Anthoni, Céline Drieskens, Saïd El Louizi
15:50-16:20 BREAK/DRINKS/FINGERFOOD by Cassonade
16:20-17:10 CONVERSATION ROUND #2 w/ Tasneem Nagi, Niels Coppens, Astrid Van Steen & Jozef Wouters, Johnny Leya, Madhumita Nandi, Khushboo Balwani & Ellen Anthoni, Apolline Vranken, Céline Drieskens
17:10-17:45 ARTISTIC INTERVENTION by Kubra Avci & Zaïneb Hamdi
17:45-18:35 CONVERSATION ROUND #3 w/ Niels Coppens, Pepijn Kennis, Astrid Van Steen & Jozef Wouters, Bie Vancraeynest, Tim Cassiers, Madhumita Nandi, Filip Momikj & Mohammad Hammash, Apolline Vranken, Saïd El Louizi
18:35-19:00 PLENARY CLOSING by Kubra Avci & Zaïneb Hamdi, Mae de Monchy & Latifah Abdou
19:00 (END)

Looped screenings
Brussels, its people, and their neighbourhoods
find out more >>

Artistic interventions
by poets Kubra Avci (NL) and Zaïneb Hamdi (FR)

Moderation
by Mae de Monchy – VUB, Urban Planning and Design (NL, EN, FR)
and Latifah Abdou – VUB, WeDecolonize (NL, EN)

Reporting
by Heleen Debeuckelaere

Finger food
by Cassonade