Brussel, 5th February 2021

Letter to Mrs Sophie Wilmès, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Foreign Trade and the Federal Cultural Institutions

Dear Minister,

Openness, involvement, citizenship, and democracy represent an ounce of the many values defended by the BOZAR institution through its artistic and cultural programme, its partnerships, and in its relationship with its audience. These values should motivate a sustainable, inclusive, and fully civic vision that we, members of BOZAR staff, embody and defend in our work.

Not only BOZAR represents a great place of the richness of Belgian heritage, but we want this institution to be a space for freedom and one that is at the service of all cultures, and all identities that come across in Brussels, Belgium and Europe.

We wish to salute the call for applicants that you have launched to renew the composition of the Board of Directors, by willingly opening it to representatives of civil society and cultural actors. We hope that this initiative will enable this organ to be formed by a group of diverse members, and in a transparent way.

We call for your attention to apply the same approach for the next general direction’s mandate. It is imperative to widen the hierarchical management of BOZAR to more democracy and to the staff’s, as well as cultural partners’ and citizens’ consultation. The success of the social and cultural mission of BOZAR depends on it.

In concrete terms, and in the framework of the new procedure for the nomination of the general direction, we ask that the following elements be considered¹:

Mandate of the “general director”:

The selection of candidates should consider indispensable humane qualities so that an internal BOZAR culture and atmosphere can be developed with its staff, artists, partners, and audiences. The description of the mandate should insist on the importance of personal ethics, kindness, goodwill, inclusion and safeguard of the staff’s wellbeing and the irrevocability of equal treatment of all.

We ask that the terms “general director’s mandate” as mentioned in the law², be interpreted as a mandate of a general direction. This to encourage the application of duos or trios that would surely offer complementary expertise, of which:

• An artistic vision, to develop a sharp and engaging programme, in close collaboration with the artistic departments

• A strategic and diplomatic vision, supported by administrative and financial skills

Writing of the Call for Application:

We call for:

• An inclusive text, in its syntax, content and distribution;

• That the skills and humane qualities required may lead to opening the call to diverse applicants.

Selection Procedure of the Applications:

We ask that the procedure be transparent, participatory, and inclusive.

This by:

• Creating a selection committee composed of representatives of the staff, of the renewed board of direction and civil society. The composition of this committee should be communicated publicly;

• In a first stage: that the applications be anonymous in order to proceed to a first selection on the basis of the project proposed;

• In a second stage: verifying – via recommendations – the humane qualities of the person and his/her skills in interpersonal relations;

• Supporting the applications revealing qualities in collaborative and horizontal management.

The new direction will be welcomed by a skilled team, which has, these past years, worked with great energy and involvement on the missions and visions of the organization. There have been fascinating discussions on ethics, decolonization, anchoring BOZAR in the urban landscape, our European role, and our transversal thinking. The latter have become more and more relevant in this context of sanitary, social, and economic crisis.

We give you our entire trust, dear Minister, to name a future head of BOZAR that will enable us to consider the future with a new lease of life and answer our institution’s ambition of being a true motor in today’s societal transformation.

1. We wish to remind here that the wellbeing of staff is a sensitive element which namely leads to a motion of no confidence carried out by the unions in 2018 against the General Director and Director of Operations.

2. This refers to article 12 of the Law of 7^th May 1999 on the creation of the Centre for Fine Arts under the form of a limited company under public law with a social purpose.