Europalia is back in Brussels next year. For its 30th edition, the extraordinary arts festival will be celebrating Spain and its rich array of culture with some 300 activities on the agenda.
Europalia is a Brussels-based, international biennial arts festival which highlights the cultural heritage and art scene of one guest country. From 7 October 2025 to 18 January 2026, Spain will be taking centre stage in the Belgian capital.
This is the second time the festival has been dedicated to Spain, and the Spanish Ambassador to Belgium, Alberto Antón Cortés, hopes that next year's edition will "continue the legacy of 1985," which some 1.5 million Belgians attended.
At a press conference last week, the Ambassador remarked that both the world and access to culture had changed a great deal since the country's previous edition four decades prior. "In a world that focuses on differences, culture has the power to unite," he stated.
The festival aims to highlight Spain's "unique heritage and the wider EU context," he continued. There will be a particular focus on the work of renowned romantic painter and printmaker Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes and three 'Goyaesque' concepts – Caprichos, Desastres and Disparates.
"These three words not only sum up Goya's critical and visionary spirit, but also articulate a discourse that links the past to the present, the local to the global, and identity to the international," a press release stated.
The Goya exhibition will open the festival at the Brussels Centre for Fine Arts (Bozar) on 7 October 2025, with an array of impressive portraits and landscapes. They offer a "profound reflection of current issues," according to Artistic Director of Europalia España Maral Kekejian, as many are tied to contemporary themes such as war, violence, absurdity and satire.
"The programme aims to explore the complex relationship between beauty and the grotesque in contemporary art, the power of art to criticise society and the resilience of societies in the face of modern challenges," the press release read.
Europalia art2gether in Bourse on Friday 31 May 2024, a three-day artistic celebration of Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (in the framework of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU 2024). Credit: Europalia / Facebook
With exhibitions, interactive showcases and performances, Europalia España 2025 will feature both big names and emerging figures in Spanish contemporary creation. These include Candela Capitán, Cristina Garrido, Silvia Pérez Cruz, Maider López, Iván Zulueta, Félix Luque, La Ribot, Marta Pazos, Janet Novas, Mercedes Peón, Santiago Ydáñez, Pablo Lilienfeld and Federico Vladimir, María Jérez, Rogelio López Cuenca and Sergio Rubira.
Europalia España is also committed to bringing culture to all four corners of the country, from Bruges and Antwerp to Charleroi. Over 300 events and some 50 partners are on the programme, including Bozar, MOMU, De Singel, KMSKA, 404, SMAK, KVS, Théâtre National, Charleroi Danse, Listen Festival, Concertgebouw Brugge, Théâtre de Namur and OPRL Liège.
The Europalia Curator's Award, which recognises the most talented (future) curators, will generate the production of new works during a residency in Spain, which will be presented exclusively during the festival. The Pick Up Club – a blind date between musicians and emerging choreographers – will be organised in close collaboration with Charleroi Danse.
"Europalia is more than just a festival; it's a conduit for cultural exchange. In a world of increasing polarisation and division, art offers a beacon of hope and unity which pushes the boundaries of cultural expression," concluded Christian Salez, General Director of Europalia.
