Brussels in English

La Maison des Arts in Schaerbeek is a truly hidden, hidden Brussels gem.A short dark alley  takes you just steps from dusty Chaussée de Haecht and suddenly you are in a bucolic scene, a two hundred year old manor house with a lovely garden.. The manor house is celebrating its bicentenary with two shows (Au jardin & Habiter la Maison) featuring sixteen artists. In addition to the shows there is ...

Home to citizens of over 184 countries, Brussels is replete with expats creating a deep cosmopolitan aspect to life here. We spoke with Alexandra Templeton, who has been in Brussels for 7 years, about her expat journey. http://www.allytfit.com

Almost 100 years ago, prolific Belgian architect Joseph Diongre designed a modernist masterpiece, a house known as the Withuis for its white façade. He designed everything from the architecture to the furniture and even the garden . The same family occupied the house for 91 years and the new owner has had the house completely restored. Until November 22 the public will be able to see it both in...

If you like art and nature and want to take advantage of the lovely autumn weather this is the perfect day long getaway. Butor is a new biennial outdoor art event taking place in the village of Molenbaix near Tournai. A twenty acre property with spectacular views is the location for over two dozen artworks from as many artists that examine or question the relationships between art and nature. A...

The annual comic book festival is one of the most popular events in Brussels so the announcement that it would not be held this year was very bad news. For many years in the Royal Park and then in the Gare Maritime at Tour & Taxis the festival drew people from far and wide, but now it was off the schedule. Stepping in to save the day, Didier Wauters, Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs for the Ci...

It's the ninth edition of the Brussels International Film Festival (BRIFF) and team member Julie Van Houtte tells us about the wide-reaching, incredibly diverse, eclectic roster of films that will be screened over ten days for your pleasure. Through 12 September. http://briff.be/en/

Are you an artist who would appreciate exposure of your work to thousands of people at no expense to you or them? If so, Carte de Visite is for you. Every  year, the City of Brussels takes over the sleek, modernist Vanderborght  building downtown and turns it into a showcase for Brussels-based artists. If you would like to participate, go to their website and fill out the form. It's in French o...

 From 24 to 28 June Various Voices, the European festival of LGBTQI+ choirs, will take place in Brussels. Over 350 concerts are scheduled over five days in various landmark venues. Organizer Walid Aissaoui gives us an overview of the very full program. https://various-voices.be/

 One of Brussels' brightest jewels, the Van Buuren Museum and Gardens, is hosting a show that is a dialogue between the works of Anto  Carte and Gustave van de Woestyne, two celebrated Belgian XXth century artists who barely knew each other but whose works reflect each other's at various levels; spiritually and physically. Curator Manon Magotteaux gives us her insight on this felicitous synergy...

The Halles Saint-Géry was built in 1881 as a meat and egg market. Over the years it has served a number of purposes, mostly cultural. Now it is going back to its roots as a food market but with cultural events such as the Brussels Jazz Weekend. Project Leader Lucile de Calan shares the details with us https://en.hallessaintgery.be/event/le-marche-saint-gery-2/

It's the 200th anniversary of legendary Belgian crystal and glassworks Val Saint- Lambert and there are events in various cities. In Brussels Design Museum is putting on a small but gorgeous exhibition focussed on the mid 20th century. Museum Director Arnaud Bozzini discusses what made the company so special. designmuseum.brussels/en/

The Musée d'Ixelles has been closed for close to ten years, denying us the pleasure of seeing its superlative collection of Belgian art. Recently the museum held an information day to give us the latest news. Museum Director and Conservator Claire Leblanc spoke with us about the important changes that have been made during this closed period and gives us hope since she announced that the museum...

Post Colonial?, the current temporary exhibition at the House of European History is an illuminating look into the centrality of colonialism in European history, how it has over five centuries shaped lives and how it continues to have an impact and a global legacy right up until the present day. The centuries-old issues are made to feel immediate to the visitor by personal stories of colonized ...

Designing Childhood, a current show at Design Museum Brussels retraces the evolution of furniture for children through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, a history that will surprise you. Museum Director Arnaud Bozzini unveils the story for us. https://designmuseum.brussels/en/ Photo courtesy of Magis

It Never SSST, the Belgian pavilion at the Venice Art Biennale is particularly vibrant this year as it features live performances for the first time. Miet Warlop, this year's exhibiting artist transforms the Belgian pavilion into a charged arena where language, music and collective disorientation collide. We speak with pavilion curator Caroline Dumalin. For those who can't make it to Venice fro...

Bozar's exhibition Picture Perfect: Beauty Through a Contemporary Lens takes on the increasingly hot button issue of the specificity of beauty. What is beauty and who decides? Is there room for different ideals? How are some people pressured into undergoing certain procedures and how are some people changing the norms? Curator Christel Tsilibaris leads us through this thorny landscape. https://...

"I am here - je suis là - ik ben hier" is a free trilingual exhibition at Espace Vanderborght exploring self-representation from traditional portraits to selfies. Organized by the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), it features interactive installations examining identity, media, and social media culture. Art Historian Margaux Van Uytvanck tells us what to expect. Free. Through 30 May

In this podcast Writers Festival of Belgium’s Alia Papageorgiou talks to Dave Keating a long time journalist in Brussels, usually covering EU US relations as a newscaster, he talks through how his levels of anger and passion towards the new status quo between the two continents birthed his book ‘The Owned Continent, How to free Europe from American military, economic, and cultural dependence. E...

There's a new food hall in an ex parking structure in the Saint-Boniface neighborhood in Ixelles. It's called RATZ and features cuisines from West Asia to East Asia. Food impresario Thierry Goor describes what he has created. ratzfoodmarket.com (http://ratzfoodmarket.com/)

The Brussels Short Film Festival (BSFF) is back with a 29th edition brimming with films to watch and events to enjoy. Corentin Deblire, festival co-coordinator outlines the action for us. 22 April to 2 May bsff.be (http://bsff.be/)

When is a lift not just a lift? When it connects the Mont des Arts with the rooftop of the Belgian Royal Library and its unique view of the city. Library Director Sara Lammens gives us the details. https://www.kbr.be/en/

The Bozar is presenting Bellezza e Bruttezza (Beauty and Ugliness), a look at how artists of the Renaissance in Italy and the Southern Nelherlands represented those extremes. Zoë Gray, Director of Exhibitions at Bozar, tells us how the show was realized and how they managed to assemble a very rich display of major works from institutions far and wide. www.bozar.be (http://www.bozar.be/)

Staff at Visit.brussels protested near the city's parliament against budget cuts. The agency, which promotes Brussels worldwide, must save €5.7 million this year. More than 1,700 people have signed a petition against the cuts. Benjamin Vella, head of visitor services at Visit.brussels explains what is at stake.

 Ho Tzu Nyen, internationally renowned artist from Singapore, is presenting his first exhibition in Belgium at BOZAR. It's a new work entitled P for Power and is accompanied by two large-scale installations, T for Time and Time Pieces. The artist tells us of his inspirations which include his childhood concept of Brussels, created by his discovery of Tintin and Snowy, figures that embody curios...

Some short clips from the many interviews we recorded around Brussels in the aftermath of the 22 March 2016 terror attacks. Listen to the interviews in full: - Kate Havrlik (https://audioboom.com/posts/4353490-brussels-attacks-a-british-expat-s-view) | Richard Harris at the Bourse (https://audioboom.com/posts/4354902-easter-sunday-at-the-brusselsattacks-memorial) | Ex-ambassador James Cain (htt...

Here in the capital of Belgium, land of chocolate, there are 150 chocolatiers hard at work. The weekend of the 28th and 29th of March, Entreprendre-Bruselles is inaugurating Brussels Gourmand with a chocolate route that will take people to ten of the top chocolate creators in the city for on the spot tastings. This is completely free but reservations (at localguide.brussels) are mandatory so th...

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the complete restoration of the Atomium three new digital art (lights and sound) installations were inaugurated recently. One of them is especially noteworthy since it illuminates the structure on the outside.  Antoine Menalda of Dirty Monitor, the creators of the spectacle, tells us what we can expect. www.atomium.be (http://www.atomium.be/)

The 10th edition of BANAD (the Brussels Art Nouveau Art Deco Festival) has assembled 64 architectural wonders for the visitor's delight. Co-Facilitator Willem Maes gives us the details. https://www.banad.brussels/en/ Photo: © EB - Sophie Voituron

The Belgian Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA) just announced the latest winners of the Cultural Heritage Challenge: The Renaissance Pavilion in Mons and the façade scraffiti of the Art Nouveau Maison Dorée in Charleroi. Communications and Development Director Robrecht Janssen explains the very important work that  KIK-IRPA performs. https://www.kikirpa.be/en

The Cinematek has been digitally restoring its enormous film collection for the last ten years. They still have a long way to go but in the meantime they are now making the fruit of their labour available to the general public. Collection and Digilab coordinator Bruno Mestagh gives us the details. cinematek.be (http://cinematek.be/)

It's the 45th edition of ANIMA, Belgium's venerable but always new, always fresh, animation festival. New co-director Nicolas Moins tells us what's in store for us this year. https://animafestival.be/en

Bright Brussels, one of Brussels' most enchanting festivals is back with a very special 10th edition. Visit Brussels coordinator Jeroen Roppe tells us what's new and not to be missed this year. https://www.visit.brussels/en/visitors/agenda/bright-festival Photo: Visit.brussels/Eric Danhier

Brussels  photographer Philippe Braquenier has a current show at Galerie Contretype entitled Earth Not a Globe in which he uses his talents as a photographer to jab at various "truths" the Flat Earthers espouse. In the process of which he has produced some very beautiful images. As well as photos there are installations and videos. He tells us how he picked this subject. www.contretype.org (htt...

Blockbuster Art Fair BRAFA is here with its 71st edition. We spoke with Secretary General Tobias Desmet about what to expect this year. www.brafa.art

Seminal Belgian new music group Ictus is moving into Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker's  seminal Belgian contemporary dance troupe PARTS' newly expanded building and they are celebrating with an opening festival the first week in February. Ictus Director Tom Pauwels and Ictus Artistic Coordinator Jean-Luc Plouvier spoke with us about the move and celebration. https://www.ictus.be/ Photo: Christophe U...

The Brussels Art Guide comes out every two years and it's jam-packed with everything you need to know about museums, galleries, private spaces, foundations, non-profit spaces, artist-run spaces, art bookshops, anything that has to do with art, even all the art schools in the city. Journalist Sarah Schug who wrote this year's edition tells us what to expect. info@neca.be (mailto:info@neca.be)

Neuhaus is well known for being among the top chocolatiers of Belgium but they also have the distinction of having invented the praline, bite-sized sweets coated in chocolate, and the balotin, the elegant box that carries them. They have just published a richly illustrated book on the history of chocolate and the company. Co-author Charlotte Huens spoke with us at the launch. https://www.neuhau...

At a recent Brussels Expertise Labels (BEL) awards evening at Autoworld, Cubex co-owner Xavier De Breucker explained what it's all about. https://brussels-expertise-labels.be/

Through a new display, the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium focus on gender-related stereotypes. The show, titled Art X Gender questions how images and artworks reinforce or challenge such representations. From the 16th to the 20th century, from Lucas Cranach to Roger Raveel, including works by Khnopff, Pierre Bonnard and Jane Graverol among many others, nearly 30 works are exhibited for t...

Share & Fun is a new place in Brussels where everyone is welcome to have fun in a wide variety of ways, including eating, drinking, dancing and lots of ways of playing. Creator Jérôme Desombres explains his concept. https://www.shareandfun.com/en/

What do comics and furniture design have to do with one another? Design Museum Brussels' director Arnaud Bozzini explains the museum's fun new exhibition Design and Comics: Living in a Box. designmuseum.brussels/en/

The 2026 edition of the Brussels Cultural Guide Hot List 100 is out and publisher Guy de Bellefroid tells us what's new in the coming year.

Belgian entertainer Kevin Van Doorslaer, actor, writer and director, has performing in his DNA as a fifth generation carny. He has a new movie out that is picking up awards on the festival circuit. He also founded the Acting Studio Brussels. He speaks with us about all of it including the importance of family. www.actingstudiobrussels.com (http://www.actingstudiobrussels.com/)

From September 11 to December 21, the A Foundation hosts the exhibition What's the Word? Johannesburg! Curated by Emilie Demon, it presents the work of nine young South African photographers about the multifaceted city of Johannesburg. We spoke with Curator Emilie Demon about her aims in putting on this exhibition. https://fondationastichting.com/en/ Photo: Afronova Gallery-Alice Mann-Siphithem...

Visitors to the Royal Museums of Fine Art of Belgium (RMFAB) can now discover a new permanent space dedicated to modern and contemporary art. The hangings will change twice a year and will bring into dialogue pieces from the collection. To inaugurate the concept, the new gallery welcomes the canvases of Belgian painter Georges Meurant (1948–2023) and the creations of Bonolo Kavula (1992), young...

Augusta presents Ethereal blend, an exhibition celebrating the work of artist Roxane Lahidji with sea salt. The show features a selection of her latest creations and iconic pieces to highlight the special nature of her work. She creates furniture and objects in an innovative material she has developed from sea salt. The show at sustainable design gallery Augusta in the heart of the Sablon is on...

Belgian photographer and founder of the Festival Balkan Trafik, Nicolas Wieërs spent four years in Moldova documenting the lives and tattoos of ex Soviet era criminals now living on the street. The show, entitled Surrounded by Criminals, comprises 140 photographs as well as videos and painted portraits and is spread across central Brussels in six atypical locations including the ground floor of...

Explore.Brussels has taken its two biennial festivals (Neo-Classic and Eclectic architecture) and merged them to create the annual ANTE Festival which covers all the styles and movements in Brussels architecture from 1780 to 1920 that led to Art Nouveau and Art Deco. There are 25 locations to visit, 23 guided tours.and numerous activities. Greta Horgen, chargée de mission for Explore.Brussels, ...

The Maison Hannon is the Art Nouveau setting for Echoes of Dreams, a detailed exhibition of the art of the Belgian Symbolist movement. Luna Spruyt, assistant curator, tells us of the multifaceted reach of the movement and what we can expect to see. https://maisonhannon.be/en © Photo: J. Geleyns

The Comic Art Museum is presenting Visionary Comics Hidden gems from the Van Passen collection. Curators Maaheen Ahmed and Hugo Frey have pulled together a cross section of some of the most vibrant, surrealist, often science fiction tinted, breath-taking visionary comic book panels from the extensive Van Passen collection. They tell us how the show came about. A companion book The Visionary Art...