How 30CC lets new audiences co-create the programming

It’s not every day that a cultural house makes headlines with ticket sales. Yet that’s exactly what happened when 30CC Leuven launched its new season: in just three hours, 34,577 tickets were sold — an absolute record.

An impressive feat, but the real story goes beyond targeted marketing and smooth ticketing. The strength of 30CC lies in a deeper shift: moving away from rigid, supply-driven programming toward a model built on meeting, engagement, and shared ownership.

Starting from those you haven’t reached yet‍

The architect of this approach is Veerle Van Schoelant, artistic coordinator at 30CC. A few years ago, she introduced a radically different model in which 30CC doesn’t just compile the program, but also co-creates shows and events with groups from the city and beyond. These range from young makers to community centers, students, or people with shared interests — often audiences who had never set foot in a cultural center.

General coordinator An-Marie Lambrechts echoes the same philosophy: “Your programming is your public engagement.” New programs bring in new supporters, who in turn become part of the wider audience through fresh encounters. This way, the reach of the cultural house grows organically — though it requires time and effort.

In short: 30CC makes sure the audience is part of the process from the very beginning. VeelbeLEUVEND and CIRKLABO are striking examples of this. VeelbeLEUVEND works with young people connected to Leuven — whether they were born or raised there, studied at SLAC, LUCA Lemmens or KU Leuven (musicology), or collaborate in chamber music ensembles with Leuven-based peers. CIRKLABO, on the other hand, grew out of Leuven’s thriving circus scene: the circus school, the festival, and professional artists.

It’s the slowest, most tiring, most demanding way of programming. But it’s also the only way to make your house a home for those who aren’t here yet.
-- An-Marie Lambrechts
--- General Coordinator, 30CC

Cultural particle accelerators‍

To bring that vision to life, 30CC has given programmers a specific task: the cultural particle accelerators. Their mission is to actively open new doors to audiences that have not yet been reached. One focuses on young people, another on social target groups. They receive both a budget and a mandate to experiment, build connections, and create new programming.

The organization is already well on its way to reaching its goal of developing 30% of its program in this way. It requires intensive collaboration, logistics, and tailoring. But it leads to something that rarely succeeds in traditional public service: an audience that feels involved from day one.

The power of the third space‍

Alongside this alternative programming model, another concept lies at the heart of 30CC’s vision: the third space. As Lambrechts explains: “It’s not your home, it’s not your workplace, but a third place where you can simply be — without having to consume.”

That space can take many forms: a square, a park, a library, or even something unexpected like a laundromat. They are places that invite encounters, where people feel at ease and can make the space their own. Increasingly, cultural venues are stepping into this role as well, becoming accessible social meeting places in addition to their artistic function. Such spaces can spark accidental encounters with the cultural house, often serving as a first step toward a performance or concert.

For 30CC, third spaces are not an afterthought. They are embedded in projects like the Olevodroom, a temporary arena on the site of the future performing arts venue in Brusselsestraat. Young people come there spontaneously to skate or hang out, but 30CC also organizes its own activities there. Abroad, Lambrechts looks at places like CENT-QUATRE PARIS for inspiration, where open spaces and high culture blend seamlessly.

The new hall planned in Leuven will be such a hybrid place: “A public place that is also a cultural venue and a meeting space. Where you can both attend a major concert and casually meet other parents while your kids do their homework.”

Encounter as an audience strategy

The idea of meeting runs like a common thread through 30CC’s work. Sometimes this happens informally, sometimes it is deliberately facilitated. A good example is the collaboration with Shift, a digital youth center that provides vulnerable young people with access to technology and media.

“You often see them here in the hallway with VR glasses. Sometimes you have no idea what they’re doing, but they’re present, being creative in our building.” From such moments, conversations and cross-pollination with artists emerge.

These encounters reach people who would otherwise never step into a cultural house. And that is where the key to innovation lies: lowering the threshold by weaving culture into what already matters to people, and then connecting them with new experiences.

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The long breath‍

No one at 30CC pretends this is easy. It takes time, patience, and constant adjustment. Not every experiment is a success. “Sometimes things fall apart or people lose interest,” says Lambrechts. But that’s part of the process. The alternative — sticking to an offer that only appeals to the existing audience — will eventually lead to a shrinking, aging crowd.

The success of the record-breaking start shows that both strategies — classic sales and the new relational approach — can coexist and strengthen each other. Loyal culture enthusiasts were eager to buy tickets en masse. At the same time, step by step, a broader group of visitors is growing through meetings, projects, and collaborations.

Lessons for the sector‍

What can other cultural houses take away from this?

The example of 30CC shows that culture is not created only on stage, but also in the ways you bring people together. To remain relevant in a rapidly changing society, cultural houses must stay open to new forms of encounter and imagination — even for those who are not present today. As Lambrechts puts it: “Otherwise, you’re building temples of the past, not the future.”