Peter de Caluwe and Els De Bodt join LOV2030
Peter de Caluwe, former general and artistic director of De Munt/La Monnaie, will become general director. Els De Bodt, currently general and artistic director of hetpaleis, will become artistic director. They will join Evi Gillard, operational director. In April, it will be announced who will be responsible for communications, marketing and partnerships, and the management team of LOV2030 – Leuven & Beyond European Capital of Culture 2030 will be complete.
As a cultural manager, Peter de Caluwe has decades of experience within the Belgian and international arts sector. Els De Bodt led hetpaleis for more than 10 years, sharpening both its international ambitions and its focus on new urban projects.
In 2030, Leuven, together with the East Brabant region, will be Belgium’s European Capital of Culture, under the banner of LOV2030 – Leuven & Beyond. Based on the central concept of HumanNature, LOV2030 aims to build a more just, sustainable and resilient society through imagination and creativity.
Curators Lore Baeyens and Stijn Devillé, together with Sarah Bekambo, and the LOV team ensured that Leuven secured the title with their widely acclaimed bid book. “We are incredibly grateful to Lore, Stijn and the whole team for their fantastic work, which led to us winning the title last year. The bid book forms the solid foundation upon which LOV2030 is now building towards 2030. We would like to retain as much of this expertise as possible and are currently discussing further collaborations,” says Alderman for Culture Bert Cornillie.
From bid book to implementation
Following the award, the programme will be implemented across the city and region. For this new phase, the City of Leuven advertised vacancies for a new management team, as outlined in the bid book. A five-member jury comprising two representatives from the city, two external experts and a professional from a recruitment agency conducted an extensive selection process, which led to the selection of Peter de Caluwe and Els De Bodt as the most suitable candidates, each chosen from a pool of more than 25 applicants per category.
De Caluwe will now take the helm at LOV2030, supported by artistic director Els De Bodt and operational director Evi Gillard, who previously also played a key role in the bid book. The selection of a director of marketing, communications and partnerships will follow in the coming weeks.
With this management team, LOV2030 is opting for top-level European management expertise whilst ensuring continuity between the competition and implementation phases. Alongside Evi Gillard, eight other members of the existing LOV2030 team will continue to contribute their expertise to Leuven European Capital of Culture 2030 in the coming years.
"We were looking for driven and experienced leaders with vision. With Peter de Caluwe and Els De Bodt on the team, we are strengthening LOV2030 for the next, crucial phase. We look forward to a very close, inspiring and constructive collaboration between LOV2030, the city of Leuven and partners — from Leuven and the region right up to the European level. Only through strong ties with all stakeholders involved can we make 2030 an exceptional celebratory year with a lasting legacy,” said Bert Cornillie.
Contact
email hidden; JavaScript is required, alderman for culture, events, part-time arts education and personnel for the City of Leuven
email hidden; JavaScript is required, director of culture for the City of Leuven
Peter de Caluwe on LOV2030
“I am deeply honoured to be part of this exceptional project. After a long career in the international opera world, I have consciously chosen a new phase in which culture can have a transformative effect not only artistically but also socially. I see LOV2030 as a laboratory for the future: a place where, at the intersection of education, culture and well-being, we can develop new forms of collaboration, participation and community building. Starting from the local fabric, we are building a city and regional project from the ground up that is simultaneously firmly anchored in a broader European context.
The HumanNature perspective offers a powerful framework for exploring how culture can contribute to living together in harmony. LOV2030, the national European Capital of Culture with a unifying and inclusive mission, coincides with fifty years of communities and two hundred years of Belgium, which underlines the importance of dialogue and cooperation across community and language boundaries.
The ambition is for LOV2030 to mark the beginning of a sustainable and inclusive model of cultural participation that will continue to have an impact beyond 2030. I would like to expressly thank the authors of the bid book and all the teams who made this project possible for their exceptional dedication and for securing this important title. I look forward to working with the LOV2030 team and, together with all partners, continuing to build a project that demonstrates what a European Capital of Culture can be today: a driving force for connection where culture, education and well-being together lay the foundations for a society based on solidarity.”
Els De Bodt on LOV2030
“I am very much looking forward to working with Peter and the LOV2030 team to further develop the artistic programme from the bid book and translate it into concrete projects that will have a lasting impact on Leuven and the region. We live in turbulent and uncertain times that call for a powerful, unifying statement. The title of European Capital of Culture can help to create a new sense of connection and strengthen social cohesion.
LOV2030 is fully committed to inclusivity and the active involvement of a diverse audience, both locally, regionally and internationally. We are entering into cross-sectoral and sustainable partnerships with local and European partners that will have an impact well beyond 2030.
It is a privilege to be able to help shape the further international profile of ‘my’ city, and I too would like to thank the directors and the LOV2030 team for the extraordinary work they have done over the past few years.”