The historic building on Wolstraat in Antwerp, which has housed artists for over half a century, is now for sale, but the artists inside the Ercola collective are fighting back with a crowdfunding campaign to buy it themselves.
The former Godshuis Somers — 17th-century complex located on 25-31 Wolstraat — has been at the centre of a long-running legal row between the artists' non-profit organisation, Ercola, and the City of Antwerp – which is seeking their eviction and sale of the building.
Last July, the court greenlit the sale of the building. The entire 25-31 complex will be sold at the public auction on 4 June.
To prevent the loss of creative space to private development, artists have launched a citizens' cooperative and a fundraising campaign to buy the property themself.
If the case falls through, 30 artists will have to seek alternative workshop spaces, while Wolstraat may lose the heart of the neighbourhood's artistic community.
Ercola residents' demonstration in Antwerp after a local court ruled in favour of eviction. Credit: Ercola
'Ercoland' project
Since 1972, Ercola has been embedded into life inside Antwerp's city centre, becoming an essential thread to the city's cultural fabric.
Still today, the Godshuis Somers space offers a workplace for artists and artisans, hosting performances, exhibitions and providing a meeting ground with about 5000 annual visitors.
Last week, the Ercola collective officially launched their campaign to save their precious artistic space in Antwerp's city centre. They have a target of raising about €1 million to fund the new cooperative, which they have called 'Ercoland'.
"Creators, neighbourhood initiatives, social projects and collective spaces are increasingly being pushed to the fringes," Ercola stated. With the collaborative efforts, artists hope to reclaim that space in the centre "for imagination, solidarity and shared use."
Public gathering on Wolstraat 31 for a music performance at Ercola. Credit: Ercola
The collective plans to purchase the building as the 'Ercoland' cooperative to keep the space dedicated to studios, social housing, community restaurant, public garden and spaces for art and socialising.
"We are buying Ercoland because a city needs places where something can still emerge that hasn’t been pre-calculated, marketed or smoothed over. It must become a place where artists, residents, neighbours and visitors continue to find one another," the collective wrote in a press statement.
To date, the 'Ercoland' cooperative has received €150,200 through shares and loans since the launch on 1 May.
Citizens' cooperative
What exactly is a cooperative? In simple terms, it is a legal entity in which people pool resources to meet common economic, social, and cultural needs, widely used in farming.
"The cooperative model is one of the ways to hold on to these spaces that are increasingly disappearing from cities, not only in Antwerp but in Europe," Jan Denoo, urbanist specialised in workers' cooperatives, who initiated the Ercoland project, told The Brussels Times.
In practice, "citizens buy a share and become co-owners of this cooperative, and in return, they have a democratic say in the cooperative on a one-person-one-vote basis," Denoo explained.
Street view of Ercola artists' public performance. Credit: Ercola
The new cooperative Ercoland, which wants to buy the property, aims to pull it off the commercial market and reclaim its role as an artistic harbour.
"The cooperative makes sure that even in 30 years, if Ercola NGO stops, as written in its legal statute, it'll find a new NGO that will rent the space with the same values in mind as providing space for creators, and provide social services," Denoo said.
Going forward, Ercoland hopes to raise €1 million in shares and €300,000 in loans. Anyone can become an investor either through a €50 solidarity share (no dividends) or a capital share, priced at €1,000 each with 2% dividends.
Both shares receive one vote in Ercoland. Belgian residents also benefit from a one-time 30% tax reduction on the investment.
The gathered funds help to take out a bank loan for the purchase of the site and its further renovation. The City of Antwerp's real estate company, which is running the sale, AG Vespa, asks for at least €1.6 million for the site.
What matters to win the bid
Bidders can submit the project proposal to AG Vespa before 4 June. Then, the jury, comprised of real estate and heritage officials from the City of Antwerp and AG Vespa, will assess the applications.
Factors such as the financial proposal (50%), the quality of the project proposal (30%), and the expertise and financial capacity of the candidate (20%), will be considered.
Credit: Vicente Torre / The Brussels Times
The jury will also take into account the extent to which "the proposal contributes to the liveliness of the environment, the historical and cultural function of the site, the strengthening of the economic framework, the public accessibility and the open nature of the site," according to a press release.
Importantly, whoever is chosen will take on the obligation to renovate the complex with respect for architectural heritage and protected monuments.
Ercola may use the building for workshops pending the finding of a buyer, but for no later than 11 July 2026.
More information about Ercoland can be found here.
