David Clarinval (MR), Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Employment, Economy and Agriculture in the new Belgian federal government, has recently threatened to dismantle the special artists’ employment status (‘statut d’artiste’). It’s not just a bureaucratic move but the tantrum of a Gen Xer who is disconnected from the new pace of innovation and the power of culture in the 21st-century economy.
In a moment where countries fight to attract talent and creativity, he chooses to alienate them. His short-sighted proposal won’t just hurt 8,000 artists — it will sabotage Belgium’s only real chance at catching up with the global wave of innovation.
There are many good reasons to oppose the new unemployment reform proposed by Clarinval and his party. First and foremost, we must say: art is not a luxury. It is the essence of humanity. It gives us meaning, joy, pleasure, and pushes society forward. But is has also an economic aspect which Clarinval as minister of employment and economy surely understands.
I moved to Belgium because of Brussels’s vivid artistic scene. My partner is a dancer and choreographer. For him, Brussels was a magnet — a beating heart of contemporary dance. We knew this was the place to be. Many of the world’s most influential choreographers started here, work here, train here, create here.
Cities with tech industries
Before Brussels, we lived in San Francisco, Tel Aviv, and Paris—all cities with booming tech industries that I took part in as a startup founder. But do you know what all those cities had before they became global tech capitals? A thriving, ambitious cultural scene. Art galleries. Theater collectives. Experimental music. Independent cinema. Design studios. Dance.
These cities became desirable for tech talent because they were already alive with culture. This is nothing new — it’s been this way since the days of the Renaissance: mixing arts, science, and technology is the magic recipe for innovation, and therefore, for a thriving, value-producing economy.
Brussels, and cities like Ghent and Antwerp, may not yet be San Francisco, Berlin, London, or Paris. But they have everything it takes to get there: talented inhabitants, world-class universities, a progressive spirit. And - what is now being put at risk by Clarinval’s proposal - they are still affordable, offering the most precious resource for innovation: space. Intellectual space. Physical space. Emotional space.
When I arrived in Brussels, I assumed the tech scene here would be as vibrant as the art scene. The ingredients were there. But no. After months of networking and exploring, it became clear: the startup scene in Brussels is nearly dead. It lacks the energy, the spark, the confidence that makes people bet everything on building something new.
Still, I didn’t give up. I stayed. I got married here. I’m building my home and my community. I consult startups every week, trying to push the industry forward. I’m not alone — others are pushing too. There have been glimmers of momentum, signs that something new might be stirring beneath the surface.
This is how it happens. Artists come first. They build the energy, the identity, the attractiveness. Then come the coders, the funders, the startups. You know why? Because people who bring value to the world enjoy life and culture. Berlin taught us that. Brooklyn taught us that. Even Lisbon knows it now.
Cost-benefit analysis
The "statut d’artiste" is not just a safety net for creatives. It is the seed of future prosperity. Clarinval wants to tear it up to save a few euros. In doing so, he will strangle the last, best chance Belgium has to be something other than an administrative backwater.
Let’s help the minister with some simple calculations. Let’s assume the worst-case scenario in which all 8,000 artists earn the legal maximum monthly allocation under the current legislation, around €1,900. If each received that amount for 12 months, the total would be roughly €180 million per year.
And that’s a highly unlikely scenario — most artists earn far less or alternate between employment and benefits. That is merely a rounding error in the Belgian federal budget, which exceeds €260 billion annually. It’s less than 0.1% of yearly spending — an almost invisible cost for sustaining a cultural ecosystem that fuels Belgium’s international appeal, social vitality, and future economic growth.
Brussels was on a promising path — emerging as a potential hub where creativity could spark innovation — until this government began floating ideas that threaten the very foundation that made that possible.
If the government succeeds in this “reform”, it won’t just plunge 8,000 artists into economic instability — it might be driving many of them out of Belgium entirely. The majority of all recipients of the allocation, around 65%, are living in Brussels. And when they leave, they’ll take with them the creative spark this country so desperately needs to thrive. Take away the artists, and Brussels loses its edge. What’s left is grey, rainy, and uninspired — and no one builds the future in places like that.
On Monday (31 March), we take to the streets — workers, founders, artists alike — to remind the Belgian government: Belgium’s future will not be dictated by timid bureaucrats choking on their own mediocrity. It is not yours to crush — it belongs to the bold, the curious, the rebellious minds who create. It belongs to artists, dreamers, and builders. We have a future to paint, so please don't interrupt.
