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🇧🇪 Belgium /Culture & Society

Herne art academy moves into former justice of the peace court: “All disciplines under one roof”

From VRT NWS · () Dutch

Translated from Dutch and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Outcome reported
  • Pajottegem’s art academy has moved its Herne branch into the former justice of the peace court after a two-year renovation.
  • The restored building now serves 350 students, 25 teachers and two administrative staff across music, drama, dance and visual arts.
  • Pajottegem spent 2.6 million euros on the renovation as part of a project to revitalize Herne’s village center.

A former justice of the peace court in Herne has begun a new life as an art academy. The building now houses music, drama, dance and visual arts under one roof.

The Pajottegem academy’s Herne branch has 350 students, 25 teachers and two administrative staff. Director Sarah Copriau said the academy had many good memories of its previous home, the deanery, but was very pleased with the new building.

We have 350 students, 25 teachers and two administrative staff. We have many good memories of our previous location, the deanery, but we are very happy with this new, beautiful building.

— Sarah CopriauThe academy director described the move and the new facility.

The renovation took two years. Workers fully restored the former courthouse while preserving its historic character, adding classrooms, a dance hall and an attic studio for visual arts. An extension was also built because the academy had run out of space.

The former justice of the peace court has been fully renovated, but its historic character has been preserved. A run-down courthouse has become a warm place.

— Sarah CopriauCopriau explained how the renovation transformed the building.

The academy moved most of its pianos and other large instruments from the deanery without problems. Bringing every discipline together is expected to create new opportunities for collaboration, Copriau said.

The academy rented the deanery for 17 years and hopes students can continue using its church for organ lessons and performances. The churchwardens’ plans for the deanery remain unclear. Pajottegem funded the 2.6 million-euro renovation as part of a wider effort to revive Herne’s village center.

That is a major added value. We expect some great collaborations to emerge from this.

— Sarah CopriauShe discussed the benefit of bringing all academy disciplines together.
About this summary

Originally published by VRT NWS in Dutch. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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