For a Brave
New Brussels

For A Brave New Brussels explored the future of our cities in times of increasing digital pervasiveness. Contemporary cities are magnets that attract people, resources, ideas, opportunities and knowledge. Today, 50% of the world’s population already lives in cities, and this percentage will rise to 70% by 2050. Technology has long been seen as a solution to the societal challenges posed by increasing migration and urbanisation. The “Smart Cities” discourse and the application of new digital technologies in urban spaces has been praised worldwide for its ability to increase citizens’ well-being, but engagement has mostly been limited to a technocratic focus on energy systems, mobility and the efficiency of buildings. The Smart Cities concept appears as a global spell. However, various experiments worldwide have already demonstrated a variety of difficulties and have overlooked in particular psychological, philosophical, ethical, social and political issues related to digital developments affecting our future cities.
The exhibition invited 11 artists from the city of Brussels (Belgium) to reflect on what is a desirable “intelligent” city in times of digital pervasiveness. Through the work of the selected artists, the exhibition aimed to present critical and creative visions that lead to the conceptualization of more humane and original cities in times of technological revolution. Their visions could be at the basis of the emergence of new paradigms and certainly have the competence to involve and inspire a large participation of policy makers, businesses, citizens and activists in the search for brave new cities where we all feel at home.