Magenta is the rainbow house of Gent, on the Kammerstraat in the Sint-Jacobs quarter. It runs as a self-organisation by and for queer people in the city, under the legal name RBG.Gent.
It took over the work of Casa Rosa, which had held the building since 2000 and wound down its own operations when its funding ended. The address did not change. The city and a group of LGBTQI+ organisations agreed a new arrangement to keep the house running, and the new team opened the doors in May 2026.
The Open Salons are the way in for anyone who does not already belong to one of the associations. Someone from the team or a volunteer meets you, there are tables to sit at and drinks at fair prices, and the wifi, sockets, toilets and changing rooms are there to be used. The building is wheelchair accessible. The house also works as a first point for information and as somewhere to be listened to.
What it does beyond that is hold the queer groups and initiatives of Gent together, and that counts for more here than it would elsewhere. The city's gay cafes closed one after another, so a good deal of queer Gent now runs on organisations, one-off parties and festivals rather than on places that are open every week.
The people in this picture are AI-generated.
