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As directors of art institutions with an international horizon and a specific commitment to the Benelux/Rhineland area, we want to express our surprise and sadness at the deeply problematic situation in which the Brussels contemporary art centre Wiels finds itself. Wiels is one of our partner institutions and a key venue for the public presentation of contemporary art.

Wiels is an exceptional example of how an organization can rapidly find an esteemed place within the global art world through brave and thoughtful exhibitions and an ambitious, inclusive approach to its various publics. Working at high speed, it has generated a broad public support from very different social groups extending from business sponsors to grass roots organizations and from artists to youngsters of Moroccan descent in the streets of its Forest/Vorst vicinity. We credit this success not only to general good management and artistic directorship of the institution, but also to an intelligent response to the urgencies of the situation that has successfully overcome its limited financial and administrative possibilities.

A European city of the size of Brussels, even were it not the European capital, must be expected to have a venue which presents recent developments on the international art scene with precision, as well as addressing the local art scene and engaging with its immediate location. For years, while Brussels has had reliable institutions that successfully produce accessible and representative art exhibitions, it lacked a more challenging venue until Wiels was founded in 2007.

Such a lack was all the more surprising given the fact that Brussels has both a strong artistic tradition but and a thriving international artists’ community. Indeed Brussels has become, after Berlin, the place in Europe in which young artists increasingly gather to live and work. Therefore, in cultural-political terms, a publicly funded place like Wiels would seem to be a basic necessity in order for the city to thrive. The fact that we even have to make such an obvious statement to politicians and press is, in all honesty, rather astonishing. Contemporary art has consistently proved over the last 50 years or more that its’ success is a key measure of a city’s well being and the creative potential of its citizens.

We see Brussels as the symbolic capital of the vast urban area of Benelux/Rhineland. As such it is is also a crucial city for Europe’s economic and cultural dynamism. When we then hear that the need for Wiels is nevertheless not fully endorsed by all those who are political responsible, we simply do not understand. This is even more inexplicable given that Wiels has explicitly developed as a bicultural organization that seeks to address both language communities in Brussels and work with both political administrations that presently hold cultural responsibility for the city and region. We were already aware of the fact that Wiels has to operate with subsidies that are lower than we consider viable for such an organization, but this has been accepted as a consequence of the particular local situation. We were recently also informed that the impressive and professional renovation of this landmark building is actually an investment into a building owned by the Brussels region and thus of direct public benefit. Yet now we hear that the awarding of the finances earmarked to cover the remaining costs of this renovation is suddenly uncertain.

Whatever the reasoning behind this change and even if it is technically justified, we understand this development as a political deficiency in the city’s governance. We believe that our democratic authorities and their civil servants at different levels have certain moral and practical responsibilities for such institutions and should search for a solution between themselves whilst offering a guarantee to the management that the renovation of this publicly owned building will be paid for by public money as previously indicated. The political system in such a city must allow the management the opportunity to concentrate on its core task of continuing to develop Wiels as an internationally celebrated and respected institute within the contemporary art scene that is also in touch with its local neighborhood. To intervene in this process, or simply block it through administrative demands, is to abandon the basic codes of cultural politics that have developed in Europe since 1945. As we know, in times of economic crisis, investments in infrastructure are a vital tool to overcome recession and investment in places as crucial to a city as Wiels ought to be given the highest priority.

Bart De Baere, M HKA, Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp;
Ann Demeester, Stichting De Appel, Amsterdam;
Charles Esche, Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven;
Robert Fleck, Kunst- und Austellungshalle, Bonn;
Anselm Franke, Extra City – Kunsthal Antwerpen;
Maria Hlavajova, BAK – Basis voor Actuele Kunst, Utrecht;
Kasper König & Katia Baudin-Reneau, Museum Ludwig, Cologne;
Enrico Lunghi, Mudam, Luxemburg;
Vanessa Joan Müller, Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf;
Pierre-Olivier Rollin, BPS 22, Charleroi;
Nicolaus Schafhausen, Witte de With – Center for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam

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