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Brussels' pop-up lesbian bar 'overwhelming success'

11:23 02/07/2018

A pop-up lesbian bar in downtown Brussels which has closed after just two months was an "overwhelming success" and hopes to return in some other form.

Mothers & Daughters had occupied a long-empty Greek restaurant on the Quai aux Briques next to Sainte-Catherine metro station since 3 May. The closing party was on Saturday night.

"We knew there was a need for this kind of place," said Jessica Gysel, one of the volunteers behind the initiative. "The success was overwhelming. What was particularly striking was how mixed the public was - from young women in their 20s to 60-somethings."

Mothers & Daughters had been organising pop-up events in Beursschouwburg for the past year. The collective want to continue the project, but there are no concrete plans yet.

"This was an experment, to see if it was feasible. Now we know that it is," Gysel added. "It has become something bigger than we had expected."

The queer arts magazine Girls Like Us was one of the names behind the bar, which was financed through public donations. The bar acted as a community space, organising workshops, discussions and exhibitions.