Brussels in English

The Dukes of Burgundy's collection of several hundred illuminated manuscripts and books are the foundation of the Royal Library of Belgium (KBR) but because of the deleterious effects of light on these priceless works of art they can only be exposed for 6 months at a time. The current rotation of manuscripts is a very special one in that the centerpiece of the exhibition is a black manuscript of r...

The Brussels Cultural Guide 2023, also known as the Cultural Hotlist 100 is out with its highlighting of one hundred of the more than 25,000 events that take place every year in Brussels. The guide is published by the Fondation pour les Arts/Stichting voor de Kunsten and Director Guy de Bellefroid lets us in on what we can't miss next year.

Ars Musica is one of the most important international contemporary music festivals.  From 18 November to 2 December, the 32nd edition is entitled Big Science and explores the relationship between music and science. Director Bruno Letort tells us what to expect. https://www.arsmusica.be/node/2022

The Royal Museum of Art and History has an exceptionally well preserved collection of Japanese woodblock prints dating from before the 20tth century, and presented an exhibition selected from its collection in 2016-2017 which had a huge success.  However the museum has a very small collection of Shin Hanga which are the prints that were produced during the renaissance of the artform in the first h...

The Design Museum Brussels' current show On Display is an overview of retail store design from the end of the 19th century to the very beginning of the 21st century. Curator Benjamin Stoz explains how these ephemeral interiors were an important area of experimentation that had a tremendous impact on architects' more permanent work.

Cirque WTP's  (World Top Performers) shows sell out wherever they perform. We will get our chance to experience the magic as it is coming to Brussels to the Cirque Royal for the last four days of 2022 and the first day of 2023. Troupe member Asia Tromler tells us all about it. www.cirque-royal-bruxelles.be

This weekend Brussels is a top destination for science and technology as the I Love Science Festival takes place in sheds 1 and 2 at Tour & Taxis and in special science trucks parked by the sheds. There are dozens of activities offered in entertainment, workshops, exhibitions, VR experiences, labs and lots more for all ages. Belgian astronaut Dirk Frimout was on hand to answer questions and we...

While Kanal-Centre Pompidou, Brussels'  new Museum of Contemporary Art is being built in the old Citroën factory, a space across the canal that used to be a nightclub is now K1, the temporary Kanal-Centre Pompidou. It is hosting its first show, Kinshasa (N)tonga in which various Kinshasa artists use various media to show us their city and how they live it. Curator Estelle Lecaille explains. Open T...

To celebrate its tenth anniversary the A Foundation is presenting Women’s Perspectives, the work of 19 women photographers on four continents and in a number of different decades of the 20th and 21st centuries, offering a startling array of subject matter and techniques. For only the second time in its ten years, the photos on display come from founder Astrid Ullens de Schooten Whettnall’s persona...

Zahava Seewald, director of Anderlecht's Municipal Museums brings us up to date in regards to the complete restoration of Anderlecht's tiny béguinage and what the visitor can expect to see during the next few months before the completely reimagined museum is reinstalled next year. www.erasmushouse.museum

The biennial event which is the flower carpet on the Grand' Place will be  back this summer. Flowers are very important to Belgium culturally and economically as Belgium is the 7th largest flower exporter in the world . Filip Fontaine, general director of VLAM, Flanders’ Agricultural Marketing Board, tells us why this is the case. www.flowercarpet.be

Argos presents an unusual group show, When the Angels from Above featuring an international selection of artists. The focus on spirituality and healing revisits legendary gay cruising grounds, experimentation with psychedelic drugs and traditional medical practice in an animist community.  Founded in 1989, the arts space located in an industrial building in the Quais neighbourhood, was created to...

After two years of pandemic disruption the Brussels International Film Festival (BRIFF) is back to its original late June time slot for a fifth edition with a rousing program of comedic zombies, living icons of European cinema, a new generation of French directors, newly restored hidden gems of the Italian cinema of the Fifties and Sixties about love and sex, international and national competition...

BRAFA, the Brussels Antiques and Fine Art Fair has come a long way since its humble beginnings in 1956. It is now one of the art and antiques sector’s top 5 fairs. 115 leading galleries from fifteen countries (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Monaco, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates and the USA - 40% Belgian and 60% f...

Coudenberg Palace was situated above Brussels for 800 years. It was the palace of the Emperor, the palace of the Dukes of Burgundy, it was considered the most beautiful  European palace and gardens until it burned down in the beginning of the 18th century, and was left in ruins by the Austrian authorities for 40 years after which they built the Royal Quarter on top of the ruins. Those ruins are no...

The major restoration of Gaasbeek Castle is nearing its end. Closed for over two and a half years, the interiors of the castle are almost complete after which the furniture and artworks will be reinstalled with a new scenography. Architect Barbara Pecheur and director Luc Vanackere tell us what the project entailed. www.kasteelvangaasbeek.be

Created for Brussels European Capital of Culture in 2000, the Zinneke Parade has become a mainstay of the city's cultural landscape. Every two years two dozen Zinnodes (think of the Krewes of New Orleans' Mardi Gras) rally around a theme (after such themes as Water, Disorder, Temptation, Fragility, Illegal and Wolves! this year's theme is Trompe l’oeil) and create an unforgettable, entrancing, str...

JEM, the most international of puppet festivals is back in Brussels with a sixth edition of thirty shows from twelve countries for five consecutive weekends starting 7 May. And there are two last minute additions: There’s Three, a puppet company from Ukraine that has travelled to Brussels to present Little Duck, an interactive show . All the proceeds from the two performances of Little Duck will g...

Among the events celebrating the centenary of the garden cities of Brussels, CIVA is holding an exhibition focussing on Le Logis-Floréal, one of the 25 garden cities built around Brussels. Curator Yaron Pesztat explains the hows and whys of this particular form of urban planning. Until 26 June.  https://civa.brussels/en

The Festival Panorama is uncovering the Mont des Arts' secrets and hidden gems. Isabelle Vanhoonacker, Vice President of the Mont Des Arts Association tells us what they have in store for us. https://panoramakunstberg.be/en/

The Brussels Short Film Festival is celebrating its 25th edition with a retrospective of the best of the past and look forward to the best of the latest. Co-founder Céline Masset tells us all about it. www.bsff.be/en

California native, award-winning Brussels chef Alex Joseph entered the pandemic with one restaurant and came out of the pandemic with two restaurants. We hear from him and from Fela Herzog, the chef at Alex's new restaurant. http://www.rougetomate.be/ https://joseph-resto.com/

The third edition of the Best Prawn Croquettes in Brussels competition pitted 19 chefs with food establishments (restaurant, canteen, food counter or food truck) in the Brussels region against each other for bragging rights for the year. We hear from organiser Olivier Marette of Visit Brussels, jury member food writer Caroline D'Hont and Sofitel chef Gabriele Petrucci. After a blind tasting which...

Recently, the yet to open KANAL - Centre Pompidou Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art presented its first acquisitions. Jennifer Beauloye, Collections & Research Manager for the museum explains how they are building their permanent collection. www.kanal.brussels

Nupur Tron, founder of the Fondation Frison Horta brings us up to date on her ongoing restoration of the Victor Horta designed Hôtel Frison. https://www.foundation-frison-horta.be/