Café Éphémère
A café éphémère is a coming together in a public space of people concerned about the city.
Bunker Souple provoked a whole range of interesting debates about the city and new artistic practices. At the same time, Brussels did not need another back room discussion group, but required action and activity on public space, accessible to all and with a festive rather than an intellectual character. From there came the idea of choosing a meeting place, taking drinks there, and start a debate. Hence a temporary pub, or café éphémère.
The first café éphémère took place on the Port des Halles in Brussels, where the social centre was under threat of being evicted, and where the issue was squatting. Another café éphémère occupied the headquarters of Brussels2000, the institute charged with organizing the Capital of Culture of the year 2000, and interrogated about urban initiatives in the formal cultural institutions.
As with the whole of Bunker Souple, the café éphémère formula is available to anyone, and anybody can take the initiative to create a new café éphémère.
Ongoing projects:
L-Atlas
Precare
Generalized Empowerment
Krax
Micronomics
Cartografie
Bouillot
Publications:
Bunker Souple Repertorium 1998 & 2000: available at Citymine(d) offices.
Generalized Empowerment. Uneven Development and Urban Interventions, 2006. Download here.
MapRAC. Plannen voor het RijksAdministratief Centrum. La Cité Administrative de l'Etat en cartes & en question, 2004: available at Citymine(d) offices.
Micronomics scanning: DVD online soon.
Networkbook for Urban P/Arts. 42 initiatives capturing London's Public Space, 2004: available at Citymin(e)d offices.
Towards. Cartes Subjectives d'interventions Urbaines à Bruxelles // Subjectieve Kaarten van Stedelijke Internventies in Brussel: available at Citymine(d) offices.