From galleries to non-profits, artist-run spaces to ephemeral pop-ups — each issue, we shine the spotlight on an art space that might otherwise escape your attention.
The Spot: 019
When I was a student at Bauhaus and first heard about Henry van de Velde, he was introduced as a pioneer — a person who blurred the boundaries between art, architecture, and design. His approach to the concept of the Gesamtkunstwerk fascinated me: a design that is not only aesthetically compelling but also permeates everyday life. Van de Velde was a visionary who prioritised functional beauty, but above all he created spaces that enabled new ways of thinking. It was precisely this philosophy that made me think of 019, the Ghent-based collective operating at the intersection of architecture, graphic design and art. As a nomadic platform, they have transformed buildings, redefined spaces and provided a home for experimentation and cross-pollination — ideas Van de Velde once championed. It felt both appropriate and inevitable when, earlier this year, the collective won the Henry van de Velde Award — one of the most prestigious design awards in the country — in the SPACES category in recognition of their impact.
In the middle of the Ghent docks, in the rugged embrace of a former welding factory, 019 emerges as a beacon in motion. In a landscape in transition, where urban developments follow one another at a rapid pace, it glows like a campfire along the inner ring road — a flame that draws in souls from the city and the art world. Here, life flows freely, from inside to outside and back again, in a continuous exchange of energy and ideas.
What began in 2013 as the nineteenth project of the artist collective Smoke & Dust has grown into a dynamic space where artistic and public encounters evolve. A place where collaboration is not a format but a shared foundation to be rediscovered again and again. 019 functions as a communicative architecture, a place that engages with public space — for example, through billboards infiltrating the streetscape or a 20-metre-high flagpole installed on the docks, both of which function as a mobile exhibition spaces. Notably, these are constantly redesigned by external artists, voices from outside that continually reshape the visual landscape. This keeps the collective in dialogue with an ever-changing network of creators and keeps 019 open to the world.
Over the past two years, the team has adopted a more abstract and site-specific approach. Whereas 019 previously transported projects from the building to various locations, the focus has now shifted towards opening up the building itself, integrating it more into the city. Currently, 019 resembles a closed bunker, but they are determined to change that. The neighbourhood is evolving rapidly: a new district is emerging, Xavier De Geyter Architects’ Melopee school has been completed, and the surrounding urban landscape is undergoing a profound transformation. In this context, the members of 019 decided that it was essential to radically rethink their building and home base. One of the first steps involves renewing the roof, an action that is both symbolic and practical. They aim to shed the obscurity of the past and return to their original ethos: an open space that attracts young people. Today, an active internship programme is in place, in close collaboration with Design Museum Ghent, fostering an ongoing exchange between generations and disciplines. Unbound by a single location, 019 extends beyond its own walls. Public space becomes a laboratory where temporary interventions activate the urban fabric and art engages in direct dialogue with the city.
Like Van de Velde, 019 does not see space as a neutral entity but as a powerful medium to bring art and society closer together. Their interventions embody a fluid scenography, a continuous movement of giving and taking, of occupying and releasing, of the temporary manifesting itself again and again. 019 is not a fixed concept but a game that is played over and over again. (Shervin/e Sheikh Rezaei)
