Brussels Art Institute saved by Flemish Community

The Brussels Art Institute (BAI) in Anderlecht, run by Flemish artist Jan De Cock, has been pulled back from the brink of closure by the Flemish Community Commission (VGC), which manages Flemish affairs in Brussels.

Students from the Sint-Lukas arts secondary school in Schaerbeek are currently being taught in the BAI while their school is being renovated. VGC has agreed to pay €250,000 to Sint-Lukas, which will allow it to pay De Cock a market rent.

Sint-Lukas closed for renovation in 2014 for three years. De Cock offered them the use of his studio, a former paper factory, and two adjacent buildings. They would pay only for heating and electricity – €75,000 a year.

De Cock was, meanwhile, counting on Flemish subsidies for the BAI, but when they did not come through, he was forced to put the buildings and the associated artworks up for sale to pay off sizeable loans.

It has also been reported that Sint-Lukas’ renovation deadline will probably be extended until 2018. The VGC grant will allow them to continue studying at the BAI until then.

“It’s a clear solution,” the school’s chair told Bruzz media. “De Cock had a great deal of work carried out to make the building suitable for us: classrooms, sanitary installations, a cafeteria. Now that he’s having problems of his own, it’s only right that we should pay a market rent on top of our energy bills. We asked for a rent subsidy because our own means are going entirely to the renovation works.”

For now, De Cock is keeping the buildings on the market. The quarter million grant, he said, is not enough to keep the BAI functioning while carrying out urgent repairs.

Photo courtesy immoweb/BAI