- gallery texts: NL - FR - EN
In 1913, the socialist cooperative, Vooruit, built a festival and arts centre in Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat, Ghent. With the motto "Art ennobles", this architectural masterpiece was intended as "an opera house for the worker". It had a cinema, library, theatre, cafe and restaurant and offered workers a veritable palace for diversion, cultivation and political debate. For several decades, the "Feestlokaal" was the cultural stronghold of the socialist movement in Ghent. In 1982, it was transformed into an independent socio-cultural centre that evolved into the Vooruit Arts Centre as we know it today.
One hundred years of existence deserves to be celebrated - not only in Vooruit but also STAM. A history exhibition sheds light on the building, its significance for Ghent and the many activities that have taken place there during the past century: theatre, film, concerts, debates, festive occasions and so much more. 100 years of Vooruit tells a story of encounters, culture and social engagement.
A production by STAM, UGent, Amsab Institute for Social History, The Province of East Flanders (in the framework of the Museum of Flemish Social Struggle project) and Vooruit
Curator: Dr Liesbet Nys (Institute for Public History, UGent)
There was a time when Ghent owned 5,000 hectares of agricultural land. Today that figure is 1,800 hectares, mostly outside the city boundaries. The city in the countryside. What is the story behind that land? Where does its future lie?
STAM turned ten last year... time for a make-over for the permanent exhibition! Since the end of 2020 you can stroll through the new Story of Ghent.
Feel free to touch! A fun children’s trail that leads through every room in the museum. Children become merchants, craftspeople, architects or city trippers and participate in city life. They sell cloth, make coats of arms, face façades and work out routes.
