Vivre Autrement
The exhibition explores ways of living that do not conform to dominant housing models such as the privately owned apartment and the single-family house. In the last two centuries, domestic space has been separated from the workspace, designed to fit primarily the nuclear family, sold, bought, and rented like a commodity. These factors have erased the variety of ways of inhabiting and building homes that had existed before modernity. Paradoxical as it may seem, our contemporary houses are far more conventional and restrictive compared to what dwellings used to be in the past. Moreover, after the demise of the wel- fare state – a rare inversion of tendency that partially decommodified housing – domestic space is driven by profit rather than the benefit of its inhabitants.
Against this scenario, the exhibition presents twelve portraits of contem- porary forms of domesticity in Brussels, supplemented by sixteen exa- mples of housing projects, from the past and present. Both portraits and projects explore ways of living that are non-conventional by current standards, presenting them through four main themes: (i) gender eman- cipation, (ii) the interweaving of living and working, (iii) alternative ownership structures, (iv) reuse and retrofitting of existing buildings.
Each portrait - ethnographic or historical - illustrates imperfect modes of living, often far from ideal situations; and yet, they demonstrate a multitude of potentialities for reinventing housing as something radically different from its mainstream understanding, beyond conventional models. While the exhibition does not offer definitive solutions to the current housing crisis, it aims to broaden our imagination of what domestic space is, or could become.
Curated by ︎︎︎Citytools + ︎︎︎Dogma x ︎︎︎urban.brussels
Graphic design by ︎︎︎Studio Le Roy Cleeremans
At Halles Saint-Gery, Brussels (BE)
16 May - Sep 29, 2024
