Straatvizier

Often first impressions of a neighborhood fade before the city has had a chance to show its true character or highlight its strengths. However, when one is open and allows the imagination to speak, these spaces and images mingle in one's mind and create one's own perspective. I incorporated these truths into an engaging poem about a contrasting neighborhood.

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The Brabantdam, centrally located in Ghent (BE), is a lost district that needs more interest. Due to the presence of prostitution in the side streets in combination with night stores, Brabantdam is attracted mainly in the evening by a crowd that creates numerous nuisances. The atmosphere of the street is an assemblage of some new, hip stores and neglected, vacant properties, creating a grim ambience that is often perceived as unsafe. The neighborhood now seems to belong to "nobody" and "undefined."

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Promoting neighborhood cohesion and strengthening social safety are essential to revitalize such neighborhoods. By almost literally connecting residents and buildings in this light installation, we can create a solid community that is simultaneously open to visitors. This strongly present artwork, which plays with the material during the day and illuminates the lines of text in the poem at night, makes visitors reflect on the neighborhood's distinct character.