INTERNATIONAL PHOTO BIENNIAL OSTEND
With venues from the formidable Fort Napoleon to the seafront Venetian Galleries, photography lovers are invited to discover contemporary and conceptual works in various indoor and outdoor locations throughout the coastal Flemish town of Ostend.
The second edition of the International Photo Biennial includes surprising works by more than 30 photographers from Belgium and abroad. Connections to other art forms is the theme of this year’s event, which features “a trail along surrealism, realism, chiaroscuro, cartoon, installation art, colours, still life, details and, above all, room for personal interpretation.”
Curator Stephane Verheye chose the theme of ‘(IN)FLUENCE’ to emphasise the affinity of photography with other visual arts, choosing the location for the photographs where a symbiosis should emerge between the work and its surroundings. Whether displayed indoors or outdoors, each photographic work will reflect that theme in a unique, contemporary and idiosyncratic way.
September 16 until November 12
Opening days and hours vary by location
€15 to €26 admission
BRUSSELS DESIGN SEPTEMBER
Design evolves continually and Brussels Design September evolves with it. This year’s festival features over 100 design events and more than 300 designers. Aimed at promoting interaction between Belgian and international artists and creators with amateurs and connoisseurs in the field of design, it promotes both dialogue and curiosity. The varied programme includes events and workshops both in large institutions and intimate galleries.
From the return of wool as ushered in by An Gills and Nabil Aniss via the Al Khat (an object based on the lost history of the Haïk from present-day Morocco) to an organic study of the depiction of depression from Naomi Waku and Marijke Jans, there are links to be drawn between the past, the present and the future.
From September 12 until September 30
Dates, times, locations and admission prices vary by event
BUBBLE PLANET
If you’re on social media, chances are you’ve already seen colourful, surreal-like photos of the world-famous Bubble Planet exhibition as it makes its tour around the globe. Brussels is currently hosting the unusual travelling museum. Bubble Planet will transform some of the industrial warehouses at Tour & Taxi into spaces as alien as the name promises.
Visitors will discover rooms full of soap bubbles, balloons, glowing lights and all sorts of awe-inspiring orbs that do more than make for an enviable Instagram photo – they invoke childlike wonder and reignite the spark of playfulness that still burns inside adults, no matter how old. With VR experiences and interactive games designed to stimulate the senses, no matter how many videos you’ve scrolled past, Bubble Planet remains an otherworldly destination that has to be seen to be believed.
Until January 19, 2024
Monday to Thursday from 10am to 7pm, Friday from 10am to 7pm, Saturday from 9am to 8pm, Sunday from 9am to 7pm
Maison de la Poste, 1000 Brussels
€11 to €14 admission
FACTS
The biggest fan fest in Belgium, taking place twice a year at the massive Flanders Expo, this is the autumn edition of the event, bringing together model makers, toy collectors, comic book artists, movie stars and thousands of fans dressed as their favourite characters.
FACTS stands for Fantasy, Animation, Comics, Toys and Sci-Fi, a term intended to cover a broad sweep of fandom, and for geeks and freaks, it is a fantasy heaven. They have still to release the full line-up of stars but have already confirmed Green Arrow’s Stephen Amell, Harry Potter’s Mark Williams and Buffy: The Vampire Slayer’s Charisma Carpenter.
Maaltekouter 1, 9051 Ghent
From October 21 to 22
€17 to €39 admission, VIP €107 to €179
TINTIN, THE IMMERSIVE ADVENTURE
Belgium's most famous comic strip character will be getting a not-so-traditional museum experience in a new immersive exhibition from Culturespaces and Tintinimaginatio that caused a sensation in Paris last year. Over a projection surface of nearly 1,600m², digital renderings of the iconic Tintin and his adventures invite visitors to plunge into the unique world of the brave young Belgian reporter and his faithful dog, Snowy.
The 35-minute experience is a tribute to what has become a core part of pop culture for nearly a century, from the first edition of Tintin in the Land of the Soviets in 1929 to the most recent releases. The creative and fictional universe from one of the greatest comic strip authors of the 20th century is on full display and with a full cast, including Captain Haddock, the Thompson twins, Professor Calculus and many others.
From September 27 until January 7, 2024
Every day from 10am to 6pm and until 8 pm from Thursday to Saturday
Avenue du Port 86c, 1000 Brussels
€12 to €15 admission
RATTUS
While the rat is oft maligned, few other rodents have played such a pivotal – and yes, at times incredibly helpful – role in human history. This exhibition seeks to reclaim the name which has itself become a pejorative in so many languages. Rattus norvegicus is the proper title for the species that goes by so many other monikers: brown rat, city rat, sewer rat… And while the rat is certainly less likely to be sewn as a stuffie for children to cuddle, it’s not unexpected to come face-to-face with one in person.
Like many city-dwellers, the unique Riolen Museum, or Sewer Museum, would certainly know. Their exhibition dispels some prejudices and stereotypes about the impressively adaptable rat while taking visitors on a light-hearted journey in the footsteps of this misunderstood mammal, who is neither wild nor tame. Fitting that the Riolen Museum takes on the task of a reputation repair, as the sewers not only keep rats fed but also safe from those who’d seek to do them harm.
September 15 until June 16, 2024
Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm
Porte d’Anderlecht, 1000 Brussels
€10 admission, free for Brussels residents
THE EYES OF THE FOREST
Two brothers from Maharashtra, India are bringing a glimpse of their ancestral homeland to Brussels through a special collection of paintings that capture the sensitivity of Warli works. Derived from ‘Warla’, meaning ‘piece of land’ or ‘field’, the territory of the Warli tribe to which Mayur and Tushar Vayeda belong once stretched from the northern outskirts of Mumbai to the Gujarat border.
While its language is unwritten, Mayur and Tushar communicate through these works no less effectively the stories of their culture as passed down to them by their elders. Committed to canvas are ideas, history, and above all: questions. How does one straddle the line between tradition and the current state of humanity’s relationship with nature?
As the sons of an ancient tribe characterised in part by an animalistic belief system, but also two men with advanced degrees obtained in the metropolis of Mumbai, this is a paradox with which the brothers are well-acquainted. They’ve returned to their roots to create this extraordinary collection of one-of-a-kind works.
September 7 to October 21, 2023
Wednesday to Friday from 2pm to 6pm, Saturdays from 11am to 6pm
27 rue saint-georges, 1050 Brussels
Free admission
QUINQUAGESIMUM
Credit: Fabrice Scheider
Quinquagesimum is Latin for fiftieth anniversary and this unique exhibition celebrates exactly that, honouring Albert Baronian’s 50 years as one of Brussels’ most successful and renowned gallery owners.
Baronian’s first gallery opened in 1973 as an international sensation, becoming permanently entwined in the legacy of Brussels itself as a cosmopolitan city and the capital of Europe. He expanded that reputation as president of the Galleries’ Association, taking the Brussels Art Fair beyond Belgium and bestowing upon it the worldly flair it still holds today.
More than a curator, Baronian sees the long-term development of each artist’s career as a core and personal responsibility, and the role of an exhibition in the public space as “an exemplary gesture of the power of subjectivity.” This anniversary exhibition honours that commitment to art as a de facto part of humanity with a presentation of works by some 30 artists who, at one time or another, crossed paths with the gallery owner.
From September 6 until November 25, 2023
Tuesday to Saturday from 11am to 6pm
Rue de la Concorde 33, 1050 Brussels
Free admission
TIM BURTON’S LABYRINTH
“It’s good as an artist to always remember to see things in a new, weird way.” These famous words of Tim Burton are ones to live by – not only for artists, but anyone. Those looking to put them into practice can do so at an exhibition this fall that will transport its visitors into the extraordinary world of Burton’s design. Images from famous films such as Edward Scissorhands and Batman immediately spring to mind for most people when they consider Burton, but why settle for images alone?
The Labyrinth exhibition allows one to physically step into this at-times-unsettling universe in a fully immersive experience. An hour-long route is mapped as its name implies – a maze that lets visitors choose their own path. With over 150 original works, some never seen before, one can walk through the magical forest of The Funeral, come face-to-face with Beetlejuice and wind up on the edge of the looking glass in the world of Alice in Wonderland.
Something worth noting: while few doors truly close in life, they do in this exhibition, meaning once you’ve left a room there’s no going back. Anyone seeking to explore the labyrinth should therefore do so without hurry – all the better for discovering the weirdness within the world and the mind of Burton himself.
October 20 until February 4, 2024
Open most days of the week from 10am to 8pm
Maison de la Poste, 1000 Brussels
Tickets €19.80 – €26
EAT FESTIVAL BRUSSELS
Four days hardly seems enough to savour the latest culinary trends, but it certainly gives one a taste – and undoubtedly whets the appetite for more. Some 60 chefs and artisans will be showcasing the best of Brussels eats at this year’s annual food festival, from signature dishes and colourful desserts to delicious cheeses and the local beers that cement Belgium’s reputation as the King of Brews.
For the first time, gastronomy enthusiasts (and anyone who simply happens to be hungry) will be able to break their bread with beer on hand as Eat Festival teams up with BXLBeerFest. Not only will a bar serve up Brussels’s finest brews, but anyone with a ticket to Eat Festival will also enjoy reduced-price entrance to BXLBeerFest.
Discover local producers and strike up a conversation with the culinary stars of the capital at this year’s festival, held at Tour & Taxi’s striking Gare Maritime. Microbreweries, biscuit factories, sauces, spices… there’s something for even the most particular palate.
September 28 until October 1
Gare Maritime, 1000 Brussels
€20 admission, €15 early-bird rate
