Feeling unmotivated to leave the comfort of your sofa this weekend, or are you feeling energised but lacking creativity on what to do? Don't worry – with our wide range of activities in Brussels and beyond this weekend you'll be spoilt for choice!
Arts, music and culture
Brussels Art Fair (BRAFA), Brussels Expo, until Sunday 4 February
For BRAFA, the capital's first major art event this year, 132 leading galleries will be meeting in Brussels to unveil their treasures, blowing away collectors and art lovers alike. The last edition in January 2023 attracted no fewer than 65,000 enthusiastic visitors from Belgium and abroad.
Credit: BRAFA
This year's edition showcases an array of different eras and eclectic styles. The spotlight will also be on the Paul Delvaux Foundation. BRAFA will mark the 30th anniversary of the Surrealist painter's death with a dedicated space that will present an overview of the Belgian artist's astonishing career.
Find more information here.
'Popcorn', MIMA, until 26 May
Expect the unexpected when visiting this temporary exhibition at Brussels' MIMA (the Millennium Iconoclast Museum of Art in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean) in the coming months. 'Popcorn' is an exhibition featuring 15 artists young and experienced artists.
Credit: MIMA / Popcorn
Through a wide range of works, the artists depict society in a colourful, offbeat and dreamlike way, with a touch of 1930s surrealism. Make your way to the contemporary art museum during these cold, dark days for a real antidote to winter melancholy.
Find more information here.
'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof', Centre Culturel Jacques Franck, until Saturday 3 February
This weekend, the American Theatre Company will bring its version of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by the legendary playwright Tennessee Williams, which combines Real Housewives-style melodrama and humour with powerful human emotions.
Credit: ATC Archive
Renowned for its vivid characters and sharp dialogue, the play explores themes such as greed, desire and repression, but also fear of ageing and death. It also explores masculinity within the context of a hugely dysfunctional family in the Southern United States, celebrating the death of a dying relative.
Find more information here.
Lights, camera, action!
Festival en Ville, various locations in Brussels, until Sunday 4 February
This documentary film festival, one of the first of the season, explores various territories and those who inhabit them and bring them to life. The screenings, which all take place in art-house theatres, aim to allow audiences to discover the surprises of the cinéma du réel but also engage audiences in debates about the topics explored.
The multifaceted festival's fifth edition includes the Belgian premiere of the French film 'La Rivière', analysing how human activity is disrupting water cycles, and 'Il pleut dans la Maison' by Belgium's very own Paloma Sermon-Daï. It explores the link between the house, home and the family members who occupy it.
Find more information here.
For the young ones
Festival 0>6: C'est la fête, Cultural Centre of Jette, Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 February
This year, the 0>6 Festival is celebrating its tenth edition at the Cultural Centre in Jette with another two days dedicated entirely to children aged six and under.
Credit: CC Jette
From theatre and music to dance and interactive workshops, this weekend is filled with multi-disciplinary activities, some of which must are ticketed and others free of charge. They are organised in pairs so that parents (or older siblings) can join in and rekindle their childlike spirit.
Find more information here.
Further afield
Ghent Festival of Lights, across the City of Ghent, until Sunday 4 February
There are few better times to discover the historical city of Ghent than during its Festival of Lights. This free event paves a one-way track over 7.2 kilometres and features 31 artworks by 34 national and international artists.
Festival of Lights. Credit: Visit Ghent
The Ghent Festival of Lights has succeeded in brightening up people's dark days for several years in a row now. This year will be no different, with installations depicting scenes from nocturnal magic in a digital zoo to a dive into an underwater world.
Find more information here.
