THE VAARTKOM

‘Under Construction’

TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGING Ah yes, Bob, time never stop does it? It didn’t take much time to figure out this particular

song should be the soundtrack for the Vaartkom, one of Leuven’s most important areas in history and –perhaps even more important - in the future.

One might call it Leuven’s lost soul which used to be a very active industrial area even before the town became famous for its university and - of course - its students.

One might call it Leuven’s future with a great potential forbrand new and creative projects in this site which is for most of the part still ‘under construction’.

We call it one of Leuven’s most exciting cultural sites that will sparkle like a diamond when this hidden treasure will be explored to its fullest.

Buckle up and enjoy our cultural trip down memory lane, our tour to the present and our prophecies for the future that will entice all your senses!

‘Do you know where your kids are at 6

A.M.?’

ALORS ON DANSE!

CLUB SILO

‘CLUB SILO IS A SYNONYM FOR ONE OF BELGIUM’SBEST ALTERNATIVE MUSIC SCENES’

YESTERDAYClub SILO has been the absolute hotspot for alternative electronic music the last 20 years. The club was called frequently one of the best clubs in Belgium and was without a doubt the favorite club of techno, electro and dub-step lovers. Starting in the early nineties as an underground club it grew out to be a well-known techno club presenting leading deejays as Laurent Garnier, Sven Väth and the Belgian deejay Peter Novak.

TODAYToo much noise nuisance forced the club to close its doors in April 2011. The investments the renters of the club had to make were simply unfeasible, especially because the building is protected heritage. Nowadays the building is empty, waiting for a new renter. However, SILO still exists in a certain way so don’t put your dancing shoes too far away! Every once in a while they pop up in a city with of course the music, party people and deejays that made them famous.

TOMORROWWhat will happen in the future with the former headquarter of the club is still unknown. Voices are whispering the building would become an exclusive hotel, but then again, the locals think hotels will become the new destination of almost every old building in the Vaartkom.

HUNGARIA

‘HUNGARIA IS ONE OF LEUVEN’S MOST POPULAR HOTSPOTS.’

YESTERDAYHungaria is since a small decennium the latest hotspot at the Vaartkom for the cool youngsters who used to be students a couple of years ago in town. Located in an old industrial building as well, the bar/club/restaurant is without a doubt one of a kind.

TODAYThe bar and restaurant are with their endlessly high ceilings and authentic retro- with-a-modern-touch interior the meeting place for the Leuven locals who are trying to escape from the overload of students in the city centre. Nowadays the bar is best known for their ‘jazz 4 food’ concept, which offers customers the chance to enjoy some live jazz music while they are having diner. Every weekend the end of the week gets celebrated with various deejay sets. However, do not expect to find an exuberant dancing crowd over there, Hungaria is all about relaxing with the right music and having a nice chitchat after a day of work.

TOMORROWSince Hungaria might call itself a great success we don’t expect there to be too many changes. Let’s hope the bar and restaurant will remain authentic, even if the surrounding area will become more touristic.

‘Ceci n’est pas une

industrie’

SUR L’ART & LA CULTURE

OPEK‘IN THE MIDDLE OF THE VAARTKOM DISCTRICT YOU CAN FIND OPEK. OPEK IS SHORT FOR ‘OPENBAAR ENTREPOT VOOR DE KUNSTEN’.

YESTERDAYThe Entrepot is officialy in use since 1956. It’s a protected building designed by Victor Broos. It’s a construction of reinforced concrete that gives the possiblity to develop in the future. . The Entrepot was in the past a warehouse with offices. Everything is built rudimental and only the offices are provided with heating. The building has two striking elements: the tower and the facade. The facade is higher than the ground level and has a nice view over the disctrict. Here is also the café of the Entrepot located. The entrance of the Entrepot is on the ground level and is the space where in the past railcars entered the building. TODAYSeven professional cultural organisations are located in this building. They are the following organisations: Braakland/ZheBilding en fABULEUS, arteducative organisation Artforum vzw, Mooss and WiSPER, Lemmens institution and 30CC. This centre is a meeting place for young and old where they can watch art but also make art themselves. This big building is rebuilt to a big art and cultural labyrinth.

TOMORROWThey want to grow in the future and keep working with the different cultural institutions.

ART FORUM

‘ART FORUM IS A LITTLE

ORGANISATION IN THE VZW TPAKT.’

YESTERDAYThe organisation vzw TPAKT moved in 2010 from the ‘Molens van Orshoven’ to the Entrepot in Leuven. They moved to this place to be in the centre of ‘Vlaams-Brabant’. The Entrepot is a perfect place to show cultural wealth and to grow in the future as an art organisation.

TODAYThe Art Forum is an art organisation for kids and adolescents and young artist. The Art Forum is active everywhere in Flanders and organise workshops, courses and artistic projects. They are active in a lot of art disciplines like theatre, dance, music, movies, etc.

TOMORROW

The organisation wants to keep work with kids and adolescents and grow as a cultural organisation that gives the oppurtunity for youngster to be creative.

STELLA ARTOIS

‘IF BELGIUM IS THE BEER CAPITAL OF THE WORLD, LEUVEN IS THE

BEER CAPITAL OF BELGIUM. ‘

YESTERDAY If Belgium is the beer capital of the world, Leuven is the beer capital of Belgium. If you

have any doubt come to check the size of the Stella Artois brewery: almost every building in the neighbourhood is a satellite of it. It's so big you won't have troubles recognizing it, but if you're short-sighted and you've forgot your glasses at home, you can still reach Vaartkom with your eyes closed following the hop smell: you can't go wrong and it will lead you straight to the brewery 'De Hoorn', it has been found like this since 1366!

TODAYIf you don't want to just look at beer and sniff it, you have great options for tasting it. Guided tours of the brewery are available with special brewing sessions for students.

TOMORROWThe oldest part of the brewery, called 'De Hoorn', is about to experience its most dramatic transformation. Since all production has been moved to the factories on the other side of Artoisplein, this building has been chosen as the headquarter for the new cultural life of the neighbourhood. Don't worry you'll still be able to taste beers, but the space will be shared by exhibitions, offices of cultural associations and ateliers. It's been also made clear that the historical building won't be damaged, just restored and integrated with contemporary architecture, to create a more 'inspiring' environment.

De MOLENS

‘In this former industry building many

exhibitions and cultural initiatives have flourished in its empty spaces’.

YESTERDAY Even though this building has seen decades of milling and roaring engines, it has been

declared a monument in 2002. Since then many exhibitions and cultural initiatives have flourished in its empty spaces, with organizations such as Artforum, Braakland / Zhebilding, fAbuleus and others realizing projects inside the Molens.

TODAYIf you're wondering what's the hanging silver spaceman about, it's a leftover from the last exhibition, 'Set Off', that took place at the Molens. Next to it you can still see until november the 5th 2012 the yellow crane-like installation by the artists Gijs Van Vaerenbergh, which refers to Sol LeWitt's work 'incomplete open cubes'.

TOMORROWYou can be sure there will be still plenty of exhibitions to be seen in this unique location, at least until the brand new De Hoorn won't be built.

BAH!

‘THE BELGIAN

ART HOUSE IS AN POP-UP

EXPOSITIONIN COLLABORTION

WITH BELGIAN ARTISTS’

YESTERDAY Belgian Art House is a cultural association with headquarters in Leuven, trying to

acknowledge the talents working in the Belgian artistic scene through the organization of pop-up exhibitions. The last one took place in November 2011, with works of well known artists like Luc Tuymans being showed, and emerging ones like Dirk Janssens.

TODAYSubscribe to their newsletter or keep an eye on their website to learn about their activities.

TOMORROWLike last year their next exhibition will be in November. The list of participating artists is still unknown, but it's clear that it's going to be at Vaartkom. It will definitely be worth a visit!

VOLKSCAFÉ ‘DEN HOORN’

‘LITERALLY CAFÉ OF THE PEOPLE, IT HAS TRADITIONALLY BEEN THE GATHERING PLACE FOR THE WORKING CLASS LIVING IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD.’

YESTERDAY If you like hanging around with elders, you have an interest in sociology or you simply

love beer you should definitely try the 'volkscafe' experience. Literally café of the people, it has traditionally been the gathering place for the working class living in the neighbourhood. But don't get fooled by the name 'café' as it has nothing of the bohemian cultural hotspots you would think of in Vienna or Paris.

TODAYNot as much working class oriented as it used to be, it now hosts the elder population of the neighbourhood, who spend their whole day there, from opening to closing time. You should never worry you might end up in an empty volkscafé, nor you should expect to have private conversations, as it is a place surviving on interaction. If you still want to enjoy the experience but you're not much of a talker, just pull out some playing cards: it's a call few would resist!

TOMORROWLet's face it, there is probably no tomorrow for volkscafés. Their limited amount of customers and cheap prices aren't usually enough to protect them from new urban 'reconfiguration' projects. So if you want to visit one or write your thesis about them you should hurry!