VIERNULVIER

Viernulvier is a central platform in a dense network of artists and organisations from a variety of sectors, informed and inspired by a turbulent world and an ever-evolving world of the arts. Maintaining a contemporary vision with respect to the future, Viernulvier seeks to facilitate greater cross-pollination between the arts and the local and global communities. They serve both as a welcoming meeting place and as a lab for development, production, presentation, participation, and reflection. The centre continues to build on its proud history of innovation and social engagement. This mission rests on six main pillars: support, experiment, connect, engage, reflect and celebrate.

• Support
  To offer support to local, national and international artists and (artistic, social, educational, etc) organisations, while focusing on innovation and cultural diversity, both on and beyond the stages of our multifaceted and inspiring monument.
  
• Experiment
  To be a platform for experiment, creation and transition, with a view to creating a varied, low-threshold artistic programme.
• Connect
  To connect artists, organisations, audiences and society, with our monument playing a key role thanks to its central location within the city and the region. In this way we create an inspiring place where our operations converge with those of many other players in and outside the city. We are an open house, where all are welcome.
• Engage
  To invest actively in facilitating engagement within the arts, our own organization and society at large, with the aim of creating a fairer, more sustainable and diverse society. This includes a far-reaching equal opportunities policy, in our programming as well as in our audiences and our internal operation, with extra focus on vulnerable groups in society.
• Reflect
  To offer a free space for different opinions, worldviews and choices. To invest in knowledge sharing, expansion and (self-)reflection.
• Celebrate
  To make time for optimism, collegiality and generosity. To be a place where there can be a celebration – a place to be proud of.

Viernulvier, an official Belgian Arts Institution since 2017, follows these six guiding principles in holding its shared position as the beating heart of the arts neighborhood in Ghent, together with the nearby Minard Schouwburg, Ghent’s city library De Krook and Capitole. 350,000 visitors pass through our doors each year for performance art, music, literature, theatre, debate and so much more. The Viernulvier Café, located in an impressive centenary monument, functions as an important meeting place in the city.

What makes the organisation unique?

They have grown from a grassroots bottom-up organisation into one of the 7 Flemish Arts Institutes with a lot of expertise in a lot of different domains.