3 MAY 2024
WE WAKE THE CITY
4 TALKS: Letters to the City
A city can only really come alive when not everything is fixed. With We wake the City, De Republiek and Architecture Atelier Dertien12 stimulate the imagination as part of the Bruges Triennial with a special edition of Letters to the City and an urban expedition.
With 8.3 million visitors, Bruges had a peak year in 2023. An average of 27,000 tourists walk through our streets every day, in a heritage city with ‘only’ 20,000 inhabitants in its core. For some, this situation is untenable, for others it can never be enough. Yet another couldn't care less.
How did they do it in that ‘golden age’, when Bruges had 60,000 inhabitants? Were our buildings more freely accessible and so there was more space in the city? Or is it down to us? Were we more hospitable and more open to ‘the other’?
Four letter writers explore the power of tourism as a positive lever in broadening our view of our own city. But also talk about how we can make our city better or smarter. Places where we look out for each other, instead of looking away. We will undoubtedly (re)discover untapped opportunities that give oxygen to hospitality in our city! And could we possibly make some changes ourselves? 'Hospitality' as a spatial and mental issue.
Photos: Femke den Hollander
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Dalilla Hermans
As a journalist, writer, theatre maker, podcast host and columnist at De Standaard, Dalilla Hemans is always looking for dialogue between people, regardless of their origins. As project coordinator Bruges 2030, Dalilla works with her team on the candidacy of Bruges as Cultural Capital in 2030 with the dream of a lively and innovative Bruges where tourists and residents are allies.
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![Sammy Roelant]()
Sammy Roelant
Sammy Roelant studied philosophy and has a broad background in hospitality, politics and education, as an artistic photographer and active member of BEEN and Pelliculot. Above all, Sammy is an alert citizen who uses his sharp pen for Climaxi and writes about climate policy and social justice. His love for Bruges' city centre, where he grew up and lives, makes him reflect on tourism and the meaning of hospitality.
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![Gideon Boie]()
Gideon Boie
Architect-philosopher Gideon Boie, co-founder of the BAVO collective and visiting professor of architectural criticism at KU Leuven, advocates transforming Bruges' historic station hall into a “city foyer” as part of Triennial Bruges 2024 with the theme “Spaces of Possibility”, in order to explore the city's potential and create a welcoming space for tourists and locals alike.
PARTNERS
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De Republiek
De Republiek is a meeting place and a community of city makers in Bruges. With our mix of doers, thinkers, makers and entrepreneurs, we are there for everyone living and working in our city. We rebel in a positive way from a historic building with unique Grand Café in the heart of the city.
www.republiekbrugge.be -
Architectuuratelier Dertien12
Everyone you cross in our studio, lives and works with the same motivation. We dream and build a positive society. Meaningful architecture is our lever for that. We want to bring people together, make them stronger, care for them, surprise them and inspire them. Let them flourish, fail and pick themselves up again.
Visit the website