Landbouwbelang Forever

JUNE 19 & 20 In @landbouwbelang Biesenwal 3 6211AD Maastricht 19:00 - 03:00 on both nights Pay what you want | recommendation 5-15 € Infos @meetme.inthe.middle

Photo's: @meaghancoolen

LBB STATEMENT Recently, we have seen media reports stating that the municipality and Landbouwbelang are currently in negotiations regarding a potential relocation to the Bessems building. This is incorrect. Landbouwbelang withdrew from these discussions in February. The reason for this decision was that the municipality was unwilling to grant permission for organizing events in the proposed new location. From the outset of the meetings, it became clear that the guiding principle was “no parties/events.” As this function is essential to our activities, we decided to terminate the negotiations. The municipality further indicated that no more than 60 people would be allowed in the main hall of the Bessems building, citing fire safety regulations. To be clear, we’re talking about a space of 950 m²! We repeatedly requested clarification on what adjustments would be required to accommodate a capacity of 200 to 300+ visitors. However, we never received a concrete answer. Due to this lack of clarity and the imposed limitations, we were compelled to withdraw from the working group. Additionally, in 2025, during the lead-up to the formation of this working group, we were explicitly informed that organizing events in the new building would be possible. This was one of several verbal commitments made to us during the initial phase. In practice, this proved not to be the case. By comparison, in our current concert hall we are able to host between 100 and 500 visitors, despite the fact that this space is smaller than the hall at the Bessems building. That a larger space would be limited to only 60 visitors is, in our view, disproportionate. In effect, the only elements that would be relocated from the current site to the new building are the Doorgeefwinkel, one studio, and some storage units. This means no more markets, no theatre, no concerts, no “parties,” and ultimately, no Landbouwbelang. Therefore, when the municipality refers in the press to facilitating cultural free spaces, it should be understood that this does not refer to Landbouwbelang.

[Nederlandse vertaling in de reacties] 🇬🇧 🚨 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗠𝗮𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵𝘁 Last Friday, during our Food Giveaway, a group of young Dutch men (approximately 20-25 years old) entered the premises of Landbouwbelang and attempted to access the concert hall. When this failed and they appeared to leave, one of them picked up a fire extinguisher at the Foodbank entrance, activated it, and forcefully threw it into the hallway. 🎥 The individuals are clearly visible in the video footage. The damage is significant: • A fire extinguisher destroyed • A storage cabinet heavily damaged • A valuable painting ruined • Harmful foam spread in a public area and onto our equipment ⚠️ This is not an isolated incident. This is the THIRD time this has happened. ❗ 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗺. A 7.8 kg metal object was thrown blindly into a shared space. This could have caused serious injury. The same individuals have repeatedly attempted to unlawfully enter the Landbouwbelang premises over the past years, despite being denied access. There have also been multiple reports of racist and aggressive behaviour by this group, including verbal intimidation of volunteers and visitors, and the use of extremist expressions such as “Heil Hitler”. Foodbank Maastricht is an open and inclusive initiative. We support people of all backgrounds, ages, and identities. We bring the community together. Our space must be safe for everyone - volunteers and visitors alike. 🙏 There is no place for violence, intimidation, xenophobia, or racism in our society. 🏛️ Our foundation EcoSocial Lab is actively working towards a safer future for our activities and is currently exploring a new long-term location at the Koepelkerk. This step is essential to ensure a secure environment. We call on the Municipality of Maastricht to actively support this process. 👉 Do you recognize anyone in the video? Please contact us. 👉 Help us make this visible. Share this message. 💚 Together we ensure a safe and respectful environment for everyone. #FoodbankMaastricht #Maastricht #Safety #NoToRacism #StopVandalism

SP Maastricht makes a promise to LBB: 1. We will continue resisting the relocation of LBB until there is a suitable alternative for all initiatives and people involved. 2. We stand by this stance, and will never change it. 3. We will stand side by side with LBB and be the voice of LBB in the Council. On March 18th you can vote, vote SP #LandBouwBelang #LBB @lbb__forever @foodbankmaastricht

[EN] Despite all the talk about the end of Landbouwbelang, we are organizing more events than ever before. The active core group of LBB and all its volunteers will continue to dedicate themselves to the community until the very last moment. Thank you all for your support, and be sure to come visit us. Some claim that we operate without structure, in a ruleless environment. Despite these claims, we continue to be amazed by the quality of our organizational process and the high standard of all these events (Not including our sanitary facilities ;). Attracting external artists, makers, thinkers, and organizers plays a crucial role in this. The real art lies in bringing the right people together. When you manage to do that, you’ll see that the group, in this case, LBB, will continue to grow, even in so-called “difficult times.” [NL] Ondanks dat er veel wordt gesproken over het einde van Landbouwbelang, organiseren wij meer evenementen dan ooit tevoren. De actieve core group van het LBB en al haar vrijwilligers zullen zich tot het laatste moment blijven inzetten voor de gemeenschap. Bedankt voor al jullie support en kom vooral op bezoek. Men beweert dat wij functioneren met een gebrek aan structuur, in een regelloze omgeving. Ondanks deze beweringen blijven wij ons verbazen over de kwaliteit van het organisatieproces en de hoge standaard van al deze evenementen (exclusief onze sanitaire voorzieningen ;). Het aantrekken van externe kunstenaars, makers, denkers en organisatoren speelt hierbij een cruciale rol. De kunst zit hem in het samenbrengen van de juiste mensen. Als je daarin slaagt, zul je zien dat de groep, in dit geval LBB, zal blijven groeien, zelfs in zogenaamde ‘moeilijke tijden’. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

[NL] Gisteren heeft de gemeenteraad vergaderd. Wat opviel, was dat de wethouder van Cultuur mondeling heeft toegezegd dat het voormalige Bessemsgebouw (1500 m²) de komende vijf jaar beschikbaar zal worden gesteld voor cultuur, en dus ook voor Rafelranden. Daarnaast werd gesproken over het beschikbaar stellen van het voormalige Mandrilpand voor de cultuursector. Als derde kwam de Timmerfabriek Zuid ter sprake. Dit zijn dus drie locaties die de raad wil openstellen voor cultuur en/of Rafelranden. Het voormalige Mondi-terrein zou overigens door de wethouder ongeschikt zijn bevonden om daar vrijplaatsen te vestigen. De besluitvorming hierover is met een maand uitgesteld, zodat partijen zich kunnen inlezen en beraden op het voorstel. Ondanks dat de wethouder niet expliciet over het Landbouwbelang heeft gesproken, is dit een stap in de goede richting. Wij hopen natuurlijk dat wij als organisatie worden meegenomen in de nieuwe afspraken die de raad volgende maand gaat bekrachtigen. Wordt vervolgd. [EN] Yesterday, the municipal council held a meeting. What stood out was that the alderman for Culture made an verbal commitment that the former Bessems building (1,500 m²) will be made available for culture, and thus also for Rafelranden, for the coming five years. In addition, there was discussion about making the former Mandril building available for the cultural sector. Thirdly, the Timmerfabriek Zuid was brought up. These are therefore three locations that the council intends to open up for culture and/or Rafelranden. The former Mondi site has reportedly been deemed unsuitable by the alderman for establishing free spaces there. The decision-making on this matter has been postponed by a month, so that the parties involved can read into and consider the proposal. Although the alderman did not explicitly mention Landbouwbelang, this is a step in the right direction. Naturally, we hope that our organization will be included in the new agreements that the council will endorse next month. To be continued.

As many of you have already read, and hopefully even more of you experienced in person, Saturday was finally the day: the very first official street parade in Maastricht! What a day it was, wow. The parade was organized by several local initiatives and organizations, united under the name Cultuur Infestation. We were incredibly proud to be part of it. It was a journey full of goosebump moments as we moved through the city’s streets. Where one street ended, the next became the stage for the parade. Streets, roundabouts, parks, squares, bridges, nothing was spared. And there was certainly no complaining about the weather: it was scorching hot on the asphalt and cobblestones, but thankfully the organizers handed out water to anyone who hadn’t brought their own. As we’ve seen before in Utrecht  and Amsterdam, a street parade is a celebration for everyone. Hundreds of people walked with us, and many spontaneously joined when they saw the parade passing by. People leaned out of their windows and quickly filmed what was happening in the otherwise quiet Maastricht. “Pure chaos,” said some drivers who had to sit in their cars a bit longer because of the parade. Oh well, who drives in this kind of heat anyway? Low-traffic Maastricht, right? At the start of the parade, there was a strong message about the Cinema Palace. Rowan, who works in the Wyck neighborhood and is in close contact with other local entrepreneurs, said the following: “We want to build a connection with our customers. They’re the ones we want to serve, not the tourists who buy a loaf of bread today and are gone tomorrow.” Familiar faces from Maastricht’s subculture were also present at the parade, some with banners, others with a microphone in hand. Artist Marielle Yogi took every opportunity to speak out, giving the crowd the mental boost they needed again and again. Borut Vovsek from the Foodbank also took the stage to highlight the importance of the Maastricht foodbank. The parade ended next to the Mandril, a powerful example of what the protest was all about: disappearing free spaces being replaced by profit-driven projects. At least now the Mandril knows that it has not been forgotten!

SATURDAY 4pm Protest/Rave for LBB, the B and Maastricht Subculture!!! 7 Soundsystem’s, Speeches and Rage: • 16:00 Stadspark canons • 18.40 LBB • 19.30 end Gashouder • After Op blote voeten festival in LBB and jam session in the B Maastricht’s affordable culture is under threat. Collectives pushed out, Landbouwbelang and The B face eviction. The Gemeente called the exterminators, but we won’t go quietly! Come dressed, colourful and prepared to dance in the rain! We demand affordable spaces for accessible and inclusive alternative culture. Join us on May 31st for a protest parade that’s also a celebration of resistance, community, and creativity. Subculture is our ecosystem, and we won’t let it die. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ Protest/Rave voor LBB, The B en de Maastrichtse Subcultuur! • 16:00 Start bij Stadspark (kanonnen) • 18:40 LBB • 19:30 Einde bij de Gashouder De betaalbare cultuur van Maastricht staat onder druk. Vrijplaatsen zoals Landbouwbelang en The B dreigen ontruimd te worden. De gemeente wil opruimen, maar wij gaan niet stilletjes weg. We eisen betaalbare ruimte voor toegankelijke, inclusieve alternatieve cultuur. Sluit je op 31 mei aan bij onze protestparade: een viering van verzet, creativiteit en community. Subcultuur is ons ecosysteem — en we laten het niet sterven!

Artwork made by @fxlzzz Bouwbord "Deze stad is uitverkocht" Height: 422 cm Width: 200 cm Description: The arrival of this AAA location comes with a downside. Landbouwbelang will have to make way for luxury apartments and will permanently disappear from Maastricht. The cultural creators who have dedicated nearly 25 years to the city's cultural and social development are not being offered an alternative location. And thus, creative minds are no longer given the freedom to develop without financial barriers. Additionally, Landbouwbelang actively contributes to a sustainable future for everyone. Sustainability is a core principle here, with initiatives that have both ecological and social impact. For example, each year, an estimated 52,000 kilos of food is donated to those in need or to combat food waste. 'From the ashes of Landbouwbelang, three colossal pyramids will rise. Monuments of luxury, built for the elite, while the rest merely watch as their city is sold off'.

(Free) culture needs space! Banner drop LBB. For decades now the LBB and B provided that space for generations of artist, bands and collectives. Now the municipality wants to shut us down. But we won’t go quietly. We are the crawling, buzzing resentless life, the heart and soul of Maastricht subculture. That’s why we join the @cultuur_infestation on the 31st!!! Let’s make noise, dance and celebrate our free spaces! Swarm the streets, take back the city!

Our speech @ Rave voor de Rafelranden! If you missed out, here it is.