Which conditions determine today’s cultural production and how do we facilitate it? How can art invigorate our institutions, what are their problem areas and where does their potential lie? What can the artist contribute to urban transformation and societal transition – phenomena not unfamiliar to the city of Aalst?

Netwerk, under the leadership of its new artistic directors Els Silvrants-Barclay and Pieternel Vermoortel, is taking these questions as a point of departure in a process of transition that will lead in to a new mission, programme structure and internal organisation in 2017.

A definitive plan and accompanying programme will be announced by September 2017.

Current mission statement

Netwerk / center for contemporary art aims to make the latest developments in the art world visible and accessible to the widest possible audience.

The center is developing a practise focusing on the visual arts, contextualized and placed in a national and international context. Netwerk is located in Aalst, a town with 80,000 residents, which is located within a cluster of large and medium-sized cities. The region benefits from a high concentration of thriving art scenes and a constant influx of artistic talent.

The center delivers a solid program of exhibitions, lectures, workshops, screenings, concerts and residencies. Collaborations with international curators and organizations provide a sustainable development of Netwerk’s practice in Europe and beyond. Through this method of working Netwerk has become part of a web of artists and ideas.

The center has a spacious, renovated industrial building with a flexible infrastructure: an ideal environment for artists to experiment and perfect for visitors to experience and contemplate art.