263 paintings by Antwerp artist adorn walls of Vilvoorde boutique hotel

The recently opened voco Brussels City North hotel in Vilvoorde aims to become an inspiring showcase for the future of the hospitality industry. Antwerp-based artist Julie Loeckx was commissioned to provide 263 paintings for the rooms, lobby, corridors, restaurant and bar of the four-star hotel.

In autumn 2023, the voco Brussels City North hotel opened in the north of the city, in Vilvoorde. Located next to the renowned international research centre Living Tomorrow, the ultra-modern four-star hotel focuses on innovation in hospitality and has the ambition to symbolise the future of the hospitality industry. 

In keeping with the brand's philosophy, voco Brussels City North, the first voco hotel in Belgium, aims to stand out from the crowd and offer guests a different, unique experience. For instance, all voco hotels - the counter today stands at 40 in 15 countries since its launch in 2018 - collaborate with local artists to create an inspiring place that makes a lasting impression on hotel guests. For this, the operators of the Vilvoord boutique hotel knocked on the door of Antwerp artist Julie Loeckx.

Since childhood, Julie Loeckx has been intrigued by design, style, colours, patterns, interiors and art. After her studies, she worked as an urban planner for over twenty years, including for the city of Antwerp, where she worked her way up to head of the department of designers and draftsmen of the public domain. She then moved to the commercial business world and started working in her husband's real estate development company, eventually ending up back in her first love: painting. 

"Between raising three children, I occasionally painted in my spare time. It has always been my outlet, my way to unwind. Until I found a watercolour box in the attic and started experimenting: since then I have been unstoppable. Among other things, the portraits I did of famous Flemish women received rave reviews," Loeckx says. She therefore decided in 2021 to go full steam ahead with a life as an artist. After several exhibitions in Knokke, Hasselt, Brussels and Madrid, she was even asked by a gallery in New York. This eventually led to the establishment of her own art studio in the centre of her hometown of 's-Gravenwezel.

Julie Loeckx's paintings are an explosion of colour and a multitude of emotions. An amalgam of styles, always with a recognisable signature. Colour, fashion and patterns are recurring themes. Recently, Loeckx was allowed to drop off a delivery of just under 300 works at the Living Tomorrow campus in Vilvoorde, where they now hang in the 92 rooms, the lobby, the corridors, the restaurant and the bar of the accompanying voco boutique hotel. "For me, this was a dream assignment," says Loeckx, who incidentally also delivered works for Van Der Valk Hotel Antwerp.

That the paintings capture and hold guests' attention is the least you can say. They add undeniable value to the experience at the hotel, where inspiring, innovating and pushing boundaries are key. "Of course I had to take into account the values of the voco hotels. Yet I didn't experience this as a hindrance, because they are completely in line with my own vision of art. I could indulge in colours, lines, patterns and emotions. I am very happy with the result and get many positive reactions from the hotel. Proof that my style is catching on."

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