Brussels Underground

Subculture

Because of its definition in contrast to mainstream, subculture is often badly considered as an 'under culture' but has never stopped fighting and fleeing consumerism. However, subculture's thoughts and styles have often been adopted by mass culture. The raise of an alternative culture comes from the meeting between a criticism of the social standard and people culturally original and weird ones... Subculture's motto is 'Do It Yourself' and it also rejects mass consumerism. An alternative culture may be at first confidential, but it may evolve and even step into the other side. Then, it is interpreted by the majority and this mass culture changes it for commercial purposes. That's how rock, punk, hippies, rap, hip-hop, electro and so many more have been finally assimilated by the system that was condemned at the beginning. Then, those elements become meaningless and are in keeping with the norms. However, a peculiar identity survives in each trend, and moreover some artists will never let their work being absorbed by the system and will always try to voting against the interests of capitalism.

Take a tour in Brussels and its alternative places

The alternative culture is as varied and diversified as the Brussels districts. Hip-hop, graffiti, electro, rap, extreme sports... In this file, you will find artists, alternative places and skateboard descriptions.

Free place Cellars, disused warehouses, stations, unsanitary buildings are so many places occupied by artists in search of freedom of speech. They take back public space and change it their way with fascinating, shocking or weird pieces, often dedicated to a restricted public. In Brussels, alternative culture occupies now a lot of places, a kind of response to the closed and usual circuits of art and performance.

Street art From 10 years, street art has been growing by leaps and bounds, filling now galleries and museums... Which makes some people shocked... While others hope this well-deserved success won't stop.

Sk8boarding Nowadays, skateboarding is far from the cliché of the blond Californian guy surfing with wind in his hair. No, the way people skateboard today has been born 50 years ago. Sometimes seen as a board with small wheels, skateboarding is also a way of life for some others.