Debate: developing the semi-public sphere

All across Europe, cities are facing major challenges with regard to mobility, diversity, and human contact. Affordable space is becoming scarcer, social tensions are increasing and places where people can spontaneously meet are disappearing. The COVID-19 pandemic and the increased digitalization of our social interchange have added to these challenges.

In the European project UNLOCK THE CITY!, artists, researchers and urban planners are joining forces to revitalize the city through culture and creativity. ARIA / University of Antwerp and Toneelhuis invite you to come to the Bourla on Friday, 9 May for an international debate on the importance of semi-public spaces – those vulnerable zones between the private and public spheres – and the crucial role that culture can play in them.

Theatres, concert halls, festivals and other creative semi-public or ‘in between’ spaces serve as crucial meeting places in a city. They bring together people of varying backgrounds and worldviews, across generations, who are interested in the same experience. This common focus is precisely what enables individuals to share emotions and perspectives, despite their mutual differences. Semi-public spaces are the adhesive of the urban fabric and the foundation of civil society, places where urban intimacy and connectedness emerge.

But these spaces are under pressure, first because of the COVID-19 measures and now because of far-reaching regulations and the increasing commercialization of the city. As part of UNLOCK THE CITY! we are exploring how cultural initiatives and artistic interventions like Seefhoek Series and Honderd can revitalize and sustain semi-public spaces.

In this debate we will consider questions such as:

How can cultural projects protect and strengthen these vulnerable spaces?
Can art sufficiently withstand pressure from real estate developers and European regulations?
What role can cities play in safeguarding these places for meeting and exchange?

PROGRAMME

3 PM - Keynote Statement: No life in the city without the semi-public sphere
Pascal Gielen – author and professor of sociology of culture and politics at the Antwerp Research Institute for the Arts (ARIA) at the University of Antwerp – reflects on the challenges faced by semi-public spaces and considers the potential role of cultural projects in Antwerp’s Seefhoek and Deurne-Noord districts.

3:30 to 5 PM – Panel debate
An international discussion about the future of semi-public urban space, featuring artists, cultural practitioners, urban policymakers and academics. Moderator: Joris Vergeyle, cultural journalist and radio maker for VRT, broadcaster for the Flemish community.

Members of the panel:
Patrick Janssens – Alderman for Housing and Urban Development, City of Antwerp
Francesc Casadesús – Deputy Director of Teatre Lliure in Barcelona
Antonio Longo – Professor of Urban Planning, Polytechnic University of Milan
Charissa Parassiadis aka Slongs – performer, rapper, actress in Honderd
Thomas Verstraeten – artist and co-artistic director of Toneelhuis