conclusion

What is the role of GA as an open art house, in the face of a changing migration context in Brussels?

The role of Globe Aroma can be dissected into the objectives, goals and practices of the organization as an open art house on the one hand, and the diverse, heterogeneous, individual and sometimes collective objectives and desires inherent to and upheld by the different participants that bring the space that is Globe Aroma to life on the other hand. To better distinguish both realms we hereafter refer to them as external family - that is Globe Aroma in its capacity as an organization - and internal family - that is Globe Aroma as an embodiment of the artists, visitors and participants that use this space.

The perspectives of both the external and the internal family exhibit several similarities and differences, especially in relation to the police raids on the 9^th of February. In a more general sense, both manifestations of the Globe Aroma Family try to uphold a sense of continuity. While the external family seeks to ensure smooth daily operations, the participants are keen to continue their artistic work, engage in networking - in short to move on. At the same time the traumatic event from February 9th in turn continues to cast its shadow on these efforts. However, the spatial entity of Globe Aroma - in its capacity as a space for artistic expression, cooperation, solidarity, interpersonal dialogue and individual expression - constitutes a perfect example of Clammer’s (2015) notion of development as a holistic practice separated from the hegemonic view of looking at it through a technical or economical lens.

We have identified five different roles that Globe Aroma as a space plays within the wider context of changing attitudes towards migration in Belgium. First, we identified Globe Aroma as a space for dissent - a notion that we derived mostly from personal recounts and perspectives rather than visible manifestations conveyed through the respective artwork. The availability of “freedom of speech” within this space thus becomes interwoven with the expression of dissent. In this sense Globe Aroma perfectly aligns with our conceptualization of development as enhancing the “effective freedom of the people to pursue what they have reason to value” (WCCD 1996, p. 14).

Secondly, we identified Globe Aroma as a space for inspiration and creativity, where we argued that the creative process of making art is a central objective for the organizations promoting Globe Aroma as open art house. By organizing workshops, projects and artistic events, those organizations introduce and strengthen processes of collaboration, the forming and advancements of friendship, and teamwork for participants - some of which have never engaged in any creative activity.

Thirdly, the quality of Globe Aroma as a space for family and solidarity is important. Emerging as one of the core concepts of both the external and internal family of Globe Aroma, both realms arrange themselves around terms such as togetherness, oneness, friendship, family and network. We found this atmosphere to feature a strong notion of resilience in both realms - where individuals and organizations alike come together to engage with each other on the basis of mutual respect and equality.

Fourthly, the notion of Globe Aroma as a safe haven was emphasized by both the external and internal family in spite of the counter evidence in the form of the police raid. However, as most of the newcomer-artists all continue underlining the hypocrisy of the Belgian political system and the negative emotions they connote with the Brussels police force, the demand for places like Globe Aroma as a safe haven - or a place ‘in between’ - remains strong and necessary.

Lastly, Globe Aroma was often mentioned in the context of networking. From the perspective of the participants, networking is closely related to the family element of Globe Aroma by creating and maintaining friendships and artistic relations. But from the perspective of the direction of Globe Aroma, networking takes on a different role as they actively try to connect the arthouse-scene to the wider cultural context of Brussels. They even try to engage with social issues, as they set up projects to include more women in the Globe Aroma space.

In sum, the role of Globe Aroma is diverse, multi-sided and multi-interpretable. The perspective of the organization can be different from the perspective of the participants. Even among the participants, the role of Globe Aroma as a space for creativity, dissent, networking, solidarity or as a safe haven can have different meanings. Reality is more complex than it seems-- a seemingly heterogenous cognition we came to explore by the example of the Globe Aroma family.

While Globe Aroma positions itself as a proponent of the external family of migrant and under privileged communities, they consciously limit their respective reach and service within the realm of the internal family. However, with an increasingly volatile political environment, the relevance and value of such ‘in between’ spaces that provide for creative and artistic expression creates an incredible amount of levels of meaning-making. With this research, we have only scratched the surface of a research field that certainly merits more attention, just like the issues of transnationalism, globalization, identity, belonging, technology and super diversity within the context of space ‘in between’.

However, while these are our conclusion at a certain point in time this is not the end of the process. Building on these conclusions we created a concept for an art project that, if implemented, will enhance exercises of resilience at Globe Aroma. In addition, we pondered about further relevant factors, the limits of these research efforts and fields of interests that arose from it – and are in need of further reflection. Hence keep following the arrow.