There was once a palace called the Prinsenhof, with three hundred and fifty rooms and wide long fences and ramparts and gardens, surrounded by the outer ring wall. A fire a century and a half ago. Debris was cleared, put underground and new buildings were built with the old smoked bricks. Also a stately home for a pastor and church community with a large garden.
Later a disappeared garden, which housed a warehouse with large rolls of paper for newspapers (Papierhandel Timmermans now located in Deinze).
Later three indoor tennis courts and a squash room.
Just the flickering of fashion spectacles with young girls (Flair), a studio for an artist (Frank Liefooghe) and later still young people at ping-pong tables.
Since 1989, Arca has rented the space on Tinnenpotstraat as a storage place and rehearsal room. The search for suitable play areas and experimenting with productions on location had long been part of Jo Decaluwe's policy.
It soon became apparent that the building could handle more.
It is therefore not surprising that the large industrial building (2,600 m²) on Tinnenpotstraat has grown into a complex of small and medium-sized rooms.
With all kinds of recycled materials (theatre tribune from NTG Tolhuis, red plush seats from the Ghent Opera and Cinema Savoy, wooden chairs from the parish hall of Mariakerke and from the Brothers of Charity in Gentbrugge, prati cables from Theater 9 Brugge (now De Werf) and the like – but above all with a lot of effort and creativity – Tinnenpot was expanded into a theater complex with no fewer than 8 halls.
The recycled material and the improvised character of quite a few nooks and crannies determine the cozy and casual character of the house with the beauty of the dingy.
In 2001, Nederlands Toneel Gent and the Arca Theater merged, which had been led by Jo Decaluwe for decades.
Tin pot came to stand on its own two feet.
Heavy investments were made in safety and infrastructure. The roof was renewed, the building was brought in order in terms of fire safety (under the supervision of architect Mieke Gotelaere), the electricity was adapted to the new standards…
Source: Tinnenpot.be
Translated by Google •
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