Cultural & creative industries in Brussels

In the last decade, the cultural and creative sector has been a central topic on the agenda of researchers and policymakers alike. Some argue that the sector has responded exceptionally well to the changing economic reality. Others are more critical and point to the potential harmful social, economic and political consequences of such an urban development model.

Brussels is a particularly interesting case study in this regard, because the ‘superdiverse’ city seems to have become a centre of attraction for international artists and ‘creative’ people, while also being characterized by a divided landscape of cultural, institutional and policy actors that is almost impossible to navigate. Nevertheless, local policymakers do not hesitate to publicly promote the importance of a flourishing cultural and creative sector for Brussels, but at the same time, relatively little is known about the sector and about the changes it brings forth in the cultural field and elsewhere.

This book brings together different cases studies that document how the Brussels cultural and creative sector relates to the demographic and political diversity of the city. We hope that this book reflects the diversity of the cultural and creative sector of Brussels today and contribute to the enrichment of the political cultural imaginary for Brussels.