It’s 7 AM in Ghent. Viernulvier is caught in that magical moment of transition. The last passionate ravers stumble out, while students, surrounded by empty coffee cups, pack away their laptops after an all-nighter in the café. Sliding past them, the morning cleaning crew arrives, nodding hello to the theatre techs who are already rigging lights for tonight's contemporary dance performance. Upstairs, the resident artists settle into their studios, ready to begin creating.
This is Viernulvier in all its brilliance – a former socialist palace in Belgium reimagined as one of Europe’s most active cultural centres. It’s a beacon of innovation, celebrated for its deep engagement not only with the arts but also with technology.
But this didn’t happen by chance – it came through years of experience and a clear vision for what technology could achieve in the cultural sector. At the heart of this is Karel Lievens, the Digital Operations Specialist at Viernulvier. His mission? To use technology to make Viernulvier not just larger but smarter in how it supports the diverse forms of arts and culture practised within its walls. I caught up with him to learn how digital transformation enables this cultural powerhouse to thrive.
Powering a culture factory with technology
Karel’s journey to Viernulvier has been filled with twists and turns through the cultural sector. Starting as a teenage volunteer slinging drinks behind concert bars, he studied history before exploring various roles in the cultural sector. He then started producing pop concerts, working in arts marketing and eventually joined Peppered (now part of CultureSuite) during its Belgian launch—Karel has witnessed the cultural sector from nearly every angle.
So what makes Viernulvier special? “Viernulvier is like a cultural ecosystem,” he explains. “On paper, we’re just an arts centre that happens to be in an oversized building. But in reality you can think of us as a culture factory – but the good kind. This building only rests for a couple hours each day. The rest of the time? It's alive with thousands of stories all happening at once under one roof."
As we walk through the building, Karel points out the endless possibilities unfolding in every corner. “Right now, there’s a contemporary dance rehearsal happening on the top floor, while a rock band is setting up in another room. Tonight, we’ll have a theatre production in one hall and an underground rave in another. Upstairs, artists are working in their residency spaces, and a new brand is being launched in one of the rental halls.”
What truly makes Karel proud is the venue’s social mission. “We’re part of a network where people living in the street can come in for coffee, no questions asked. Students can come and use our electricity and Wi-Fi without needing to buy anything. Our doors are truly open to everyone – from families coming in for a plate of spaghetti to sophisticated art patrons attending a premiere.”
Digital solutions for real-world challenges
I asked Karel about his favourite aspect of culture at Viernulvier. “It’s the behind-the-scenes world,” he says. “There’s an entire unseen ecosystem at work to make everything run smoothly. While audiences enjoy the performances out front, an intricate choreography of catering, cleaning, and repairs constantly folds backstage to keep the culture flowing seamlessly.”
This is where his role becomes crucial. As the venue’s digital specialist, he’s spent the last two years ensuring that all these moving parts run smoothly through integrated technology solutions.
“I’ve basically brought Peppered with me everywhere I’ve worked,” he laughs. “Sometimes I’d arrive at a venue and think ‘Oh dear, what kind of system is this?’ when I saw websites taking 12 seconds to load. With Peppered, I always feel confident.”
When he joined Viernulvier and found that Peppered was already in place, it felt like coming home, though there was still work to be done. “When I started my job here, things were still chaotic and unclear for both staff and visitors,” Karel recalls. He made it his mission to support the 92 staff members managing everything from building operations to hospitality, ensuring that technology enhances their efficiency and creates a seamless experience for visitors.
“The café is a perfect example of how we transformed our daily operations,” Karel explains. “When I first arrived, I found Klaas, one of our café managers, struggling with an incredibly manual process. He was responsible for staff planning, which meant keeping track of everything – receptions, catering needs, artist meals, you name it.
“Every single day, he’d open a new tab in Google Sheets and manually type out the entire staff timetable. He’d have to hunt through various systems to find event details, search for staff phone numbers, and cross-reference catering requirements for artists. It was basically a full-time job just managing the information.”
Karel shakes his head at the memory. “Imagine doing that day after day – creating a new spreadsheet tab each morning, copying over all the staff details, checking multiple systems just to figure out what’s happening in the building. It was the definition of inefficiency.”
The solution Karel opted for is a holistic approach to technology, where every stakeholder – from suppliers to staff to visitors – is integrated with the venue’s systems. “There’s always this mess in the middle that nobody tackles,” Karel notes. “Together, with the people working for Viernulvier, I wanted to connect all our systems – HR, staff planning, booking, ticketing, event planning – in a way that actually works for people on the floor.”
A human-centered approach to technology
Karel’s philosophy centres on what he calls “conversational design” – the idea that users shouldn’t need to understand technical language to work with technology. “The system must speak the language of the people, from finding their way on websites to understanding buttons. That’s what I advocate for.”
This approach has transformed daily operations at Viernulvier. Now, when café staff start their day, they can instantly access their timetable and all necessary contact information through an integrated system – including a complete dark mode for those dimly lit café environments. When a door breaks or a toilet gets blocked, the system automatically generates a task list for building management.
The integration extends to public-facing operations as well. Through Peppered, Karel has been able to create a seamless digital experience for visitors, regardless of whether events are organised by Viernulvier or external partners.
“Visitors don’t care about organisational structures – they just want to dance or watch a performance. We needed to make these distinctions invisible to them while maintaining clear internal organisation.”
For Karel, his time at Viernulvier has crystallised a simple truth about the cultural sector. “We’re all in the same boat,” he reflects, looking out over the bustling café. “Whether you’re running a small theatre showcasing local talent or managing a grand hall with full orchestras – we’re all pulling on the same rope.” The scale may be different, but the heart of what we do is the same.
“Sometimes colleagues in the cultural sector get stuck on the cost aspect of technology. But what we’ve created here at Viernulvier shows that when you have the right tools and mindset, you can create something truly special – a place that serves everyone in your community, that adapts to changing needs, that brings culture to life in all its forms. Having CultureSuite’s support makes all the difference – they understand what we’re trying to achieve here and help make it possible.”
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