How it started

The Landbouwbelang is an old grain distribution and storage factory, also called the ´grainsilo´. It´s located next to the river Maas and opposite the Bassin. Many years the factory has been empty until the art academy and other cultural organisations start to organise expositions and parties. After a few years this suddenly stopt and the factory was empty again for a lot of years.

In april 2002 a group of artists and students squated the Landbouwbelang. They start using the building for working and living. In the first place the Landbouwbelang was squated from the belief  that buildings should not be empty but they should be used. Besides that it´s really difficult to find an affordable space to live and work. The prices are very high and there is a big waitinglist. But the are still a lot of buildings empty and unused.

From 2002 a lot  changed in the Landbouwbelang to make it possible to live. There was a lot of tidying up and cleaning and rooms had to be build. The shared kitchen raised on the ground floor and the stoves to make it warm in the winter where installed.

Everybody who lives in the LBB wants to live in a community where everybody is involved and lives together. Besides using the LBB for themselfs they also give other peolple the opportunity to use it by giving people working spaces and organising cultural events wich are open and free for everybody.

Artist build their studio where they work hard. And they created a public space with a stage and bar where a lot of events can take place, as: concerts, theater, exhibitions, discussions etc.

At this point the Landbouwbelang became a cultural Freezone in the center of Maastricht. A place where a lot of different activities take place and where possibillities are for everybody! People can develop theirself in a way that is not possible anywhere else. And because a lot of diciplines work together and next to each other there are always new things to create! In a word; A place that always is dynamic an alife!!!