The Local and Cultural Turn in Social Policies in Belgium

Over the past three decades, social policies in Belgium have increasingly been reoriented towards the local level, under the influence of the European Union as well as Belgian regional and federal authorities. Proximity, which is now a key principle in social work, has developed alongside a dense network of local actors and policy instruments, such as Public Centres for Social Welfare (centres publics d’action sociale), Social Cohesion Plans (plans de cohésion sociale), and Social Integration Services (services d’intégration sociale). At the same time, this local shift has been accompanied by a cultural turn in social policies. Activities such as théâtre-action aimed at rebuilding “self-confidence,” citizen creative workshops intended to “restore social ties,” and the involvement of artist-mediators in working-class neighbourhoods illustrate how artistic initiatives - rooted in emancipatory and participatory cultural traditions - have become embedded in local social action. In this context, the objectives of place-based cultural and social initiatives call for closer examination. Several analytical perspectives can be identified. On the one hand, this paper examines the dynamics of neighbourhood securitisation and the containment of conflictual expressions. The use of artistic projects in proximity-based social action appears to contribute to the re-legitimation of power: art participates in the shaping of a “responsible” citizenship and helps render governable populations often described as being “distant from public issues”. On the other hand, within the framework of the active welfare state, artistic practices are increasingly mobilised in local social activation programmes. The forms of “self-work” encouraged through artistic participation seem to align with broader policy goals of individual responsibilisation. In other words, this paper examines the local turn in public social action, with particular attention to its cultural dimension. While the local and artistic turn in economic policies has received considerable scholarly attention (notably through the concept of the creative city), its extension to social policies remains underexplored. This paper presents preliminary findings from a case study conducted in Liège, a post-industrial city in Wallonia (French-speaking Belgium). It is based on a qualitative research design combining grey literature analysis, field observations, and semi-structured interviews with policymakers, administrative officials, and cultural actors.