Brussels Diwali Festival
Brussels Diwali Festival turns ten. Two days of light, music, dance and food on the Atomium esplanade, with fireworks . Classical and Bollywood stages, the Brides of India fashion show, workshops, a food village of India's regional kitchens and a Maha Aarti at the foot of the Atomium. Theme 2026: Culture United. Tickets from €12.
The Brussels Diwali Festival celebrates its tenth edition on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 NOVEMBER 2026 on the Atomium esplanade, from 12:00 to 23:00.
Diwali, the Festival of Lights, marks the victory of light over darkness. For ten years Brussels has celebrated it under a national monument, and the anniversary edition is the largest yet. Under the theme Culture United, Indian communities from across Europe and guest performers from invited European countries share the stage.
On the programme: a continuous stage of classical dance, Hindustani and Carnatic music, folk forms and Bollywood; the Brides of India fashion show; Maha Aarti and a temple on site; workshops in dance, rangoli, mehndi and more for all ages; The festive Lights and a food village bringing together India's regional kitchens. Each evening closes with the biggest Bollywood party in Europe.
Organised by Art India ASBL with the support of the City of Brussels and the Embassy of India.
Family and Group packages available online only.
Presale Tickets from €12 online, free for children under 12.
Brides of India (fashion show); [ART INDIA DANCE ENSEMBLE] (Bharatanatyam/Kathak); DJ Nitro; DJ Param; Art India Music Conservatory (music); guest performers from invited European countries; fireworks; laser show
+ many more
Atomiumsquare
Laeken
Festival
Brussels Diwali Festival
Mikiztli
MIKIZTLI es un festival cultural internacional dedicado a la transmisión de culturas y patrimonios mexicanos en Bélgica. Alrededor del «Día de Muertos», recrea un ritual de memoria, de compartir y de transmisión, desde la imaginación, las experiencias y las prácticas de los artistas y de las comunidades mexicanas y belga-mexicanas establecidas en Bélgica. #MuchoMÉXICO
MIKIZTLI est un festival culturel international dédié à la transmission des cultures et patrimoines mexicains en Belgique. Autour du « Día de Muertos », il recrée un rituel de mémoire, de partage et de transmission, depuis l’imaginaire, les expériences et les pratiques des artistes et des communautés mexicaines et belgo-mexicaines établies en Belgique.
Avec #MuchoMÉXICO, le Festival accueille des artistes, chercheuses, chercheurs et communautés du Mexique, de Belgique, mais aussi de France, de Suisse, d’Allemagne et d’autres territoires, qui viennent partager leurs arts, leurs savoirs et leurs cultures à travers des conférences, ateliers, spectacles, danse, concerts, expositions et bien plus encore.
Un espace de rencontre culturelle, intergénérationnelle et bilingue FR/NL, pensé pour tous les publics, pour découvrir notre rapport à la vie, à la mort, ainsi que les liens culturels qui unissent le Mexique, la Belgique et au-delà.
Le Festival accueille des artistes, chercheuses, chercheurs et communautés du Mexique, de Belgique, mais aussi de France, de Suisse, d’Allemagne et d’autres territoires, qui viennent partager leurs arts, leurs savoirs et leurs cultures à travers des conférences, ateliers, spectacles, danse, concerts, expositions et bien plus encore.
Maison de Quartier Malibran
Ixelles
Festival
Mikiztli
BAFF- Brussels Art Film Festival
From 10 to 15 November, the Brussels Art Film Festival celebrates its 25th anniversary with nearly 40 recent documentaries exploring art in all its forms, from dance and music to photography and visual arts. Across Brussels, Mons and Antwerp, discover 13 Belgian films in competition, international premieres, a focus on Lebanon and special events bringing artists, films and audiences together.
BAFF 2026: 25 Years of Cinema, Art and Creativity
From 10 to 15 November 2026, the Brussels Art Film Festival (BAFF) celebrates its 25th edition in Brussels, Antwerp and Mons. The only festival in Belgium dedicated to documentaries about art and artistic creation, the BAFF invites audiences to explore the connections between cinema, music, dance, literature, poetry and the visual arts over six days.
The programme features 38 films, including 13 Belgian films in competition and around 20 Belgian premieres, offering the chance to discover remarkable artists, works and creative worlds. From Marina Abramović to Germaine Acogny, from William S. Burroughs to Barbara Hammer, the festival brings artistic practices, eras and perspectives into dialogue.
For this anniversary edition, collage takes centre stage as its guiding theme: fragments of images, stories and memories come together, intersect and open up new perspectives. This approach runs throughout the programme, from the National Competition to the International Panorama, including screenings that resonate with exhibitions currently on view at Bozar, WIELS and ISELP.
The National Competition brings together 13 films — six feature-length films and seven short films — competing for four awards, including the Art Film Award, exceptionally increased to €2,500 for this anniversary edition. The selected works include Nostalgia for the Future by Brecht Debackere, a tribute to Chris Marker that premiered at Cannes, Donn, le danseur du XXe siècle by Mariano Baez and Florencia Dávila, and Ceci n’est pas un film français by Tom Adjibi.
This year, the festival is strengthening its ties with its sister festival, the BAFF – Beirut Art Film Festival, through News from Lebanon, a programme dedicated to Lebanese cinema. Featuring films from both the past and the present, including two rare works by filmmaker Maroun Baghdadi, who died in 1993, the selection invites audiences to discover different stories and perspectives on Lebanon. This dialogue will continue in December with CINEMAMED.
The festival opens at Palace with Days of Wonder by Karin Pennanen, a film devoted to Finnish artist Markku Pennanen. The closing film will be Souraya, mon amour by Nicolas Khoury, a portrait of actress and dancer Souraya Baghdadi, who will be present for the screening.
Six days of cinema to discover art from a different perspective, meet artists and bring images, ideas and imaginations into circulation.
Full programme and information: www.baffestival.be
Souraya Baghdadi, Sarah Vanagt, Thierry Smits, Pierre(s), and films featuring or exploring the work of Marina Abramović, William S. Burroughs, Germaine Acogny, Jorge Donn, Alain Cavalier, Chris Marker, Frank Zappa…
Various places in Brussels
Brussels
Festival
BAFF- Brussels Art Film Festival
Fifty Lab Music Festival
Fifty Lab is for the curious ones, the people always wondering what’s next?!
Fifty Lab is for the curious ones, the people always wondering what’s next?!
Every year, we bring exciting new artists from Belgium and beyond for live music, DJ sets and big discoveries, in the heart of Brussels. Come get lost somewhere unexpected, and leave with a veryyyyy long new playlist
Various places in Brussels
Brussels
Festival
Fifty Lab Music Festival
MAD Parcours 2026
From Thursday 12 to Saturday 14 November, MAD Brussels presents the third edition of MAD Parcours, the annual event opening up Brussels’ fashion and design scene to the public. Over three days, Brussels-based creatives take over the city centre, transforming the capital into a vibrant creative trail.
This third edition brings together a diverse range of Brussels-based creatives across studios, boutiques, concept stores, galleries, showrooms and other iconic local addresses. Throughout the parcours, participating venues will host encounters with creatives, collection presentations, launches, demonstrations of craftsmanship, installations, as well as a selection of pieces and objects to discover or (re)discover and, for those who wish, to take home. It is an opportunity to step inside places that may be less familiar, meet the people shaping Brussels’ creative scene, and discover creations, collections and objects that reflect the diversity of approaches and expertise found across the city.
To help visitors find their way, MAD Parcours offers several thematic routes, allowing everyone to explore the city according to their interests. Independent fashion, collectible design, contemporary jewellery, contemporary ceramics or new creative addresses: each route highlights a different facet of Brussels’ rich creative scene, while encouraging visitors to venture beyond the usual circuits and rediscover the independent businesses that form part of it. A printed map, available at MAD Brussels and at participating venues, allows everyone to freely create their own itinerary and explore the city at their own pace.
Conceived as a journey of discovery, MAD Parcours offers a different way of experiencing Brussels: by following the thread of its creativity. The event shines a light on both emerging talents and established creatives, celebrates independent businesses and venues, and invites visitors to discover a local scene renowned for its diversity, boldness and spirit of innovation.
This initiative is supported by Entreprendre Bruxelles, Local Guide and the Alderman for Economic Affairs.
MAD Brussels
Brussels
Exhibitions
MAD Parcours 2026
TADAM IMPRO FESTIVAL : 25 ans de complicité
La Vénerie / Espace Delvaux
Watermael-Boitsfort
Festival
TADAM IMPRO FESTIVAL : 25 ans de complicité
Grrrabuge Natural Wine Festival #4
Salon Grrrabuge
Forest
Festival
Grrrabuge Natural Wine Festival #4
Ars Musica Festival — ARCTIC FEVER
ARCTIC FEVER: Ars Musica 2026 sets its sights on snowy horizons! With a Nordic focus stretching from Iceland to the Baltic countries, the festival brings together two internationally acclaimed featured artists: Norway’s Kristine Tjøgersen and Sweden’s Anders Hillborg. Expect works evoking the beauty of ice, the urgency of its melting, and projects where music, dance, video and even scent meet.
“There is nothing more beautiful than this Arctic night. It is the land of dreams, the colour of unreality.”
Fridtjof Nansen, Vers le Pôle
Iceland, Scandinavia, Finland or the Baltic states: Ars Musica 2026 ventures into captivating musical landscapes where contemporary creation resonates with vast expanses of ice, rock, flowing water and forests. Featured composers Anders Hillborg (Sweden) and Kristine Tjøgersen (Norway) will guide us through these northern territories, alongside the elemental and spiritual worlds of Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Arvo Pärt and Kaija Saariaho, as well as new works by Helena Tulve, Erkki-Sven Tüür and Bergrún Snæbjörnsdóttir.
But Arctic Fever is also the fever of a North that is overheating. Glaciers melt and collapse into the sea; landscapes shift into the unknown. This fragile reality has inspired works such as Jean-Luc Fafchamps’ Messe des Glaces and Frédéric Verrières’ Cristallisation. Here, ice fields and the languages of northern peoples acquire a renewed poetic resonance.
< ARCTIC FEVER > Far from the bacterial infection the title may evoke, the fever we celebrate is one of joy… of contagious exhilaration! Hearts race, bodies move, and music becomes a celebration of life itself, from hip-hop dance to contemporary trance, with Régis Campo’s Beatbox Concerto, Bastien David’s Nous sommes Orage, and many more.
50 events / 25 locations / 20 creations / 10 cities. Remaining true to its human-centred vision of music, Ars Musica 2026 brings together some of the most compelling voices in contemporary creation, from Belgium and beyond. Open to everyone – music lovers, adults, students and children alike – the festival is made possible through partnerships across Belgium and internationally, including Ensemble Intercontemporain, Cikada Ensemble, the Belgian National Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic, Chœur de Chambre de Namur and Quatuor Diotima.
Finally, this edition’s subtitle: [We Are Hot]. It expresses our conviction that discovering new artistic creation is exciting and that in a world that is literally heating up, we have to continue to burn with curiosity about the world around us.
In music, perhaps more than anywhere else: let our enthusiasm be a reminder to be aware, and let our awareness be a reminder to always remain enthusiastic.
Anders Hillborg, Kristien Tjøgersen, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Pierre Bleuse, Quatuor Diotima, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Helena Tulve, Belgian National Orchestra, Eva Ollikainen, Ida Falk Winland, Brussels Philharmonic, Vlaams Radiokoor, Brussels Jazz Orchestra, Ilan Volkov, Collectif Listening, Régis Campo, Footbox G, Choeur de Chambre de Namur, Jean-Luc Fafchamps, Sarah Defrise & many more
Ars Musica
Brussels
Festival
Ars Musica Festival — ARCTIC FEVER
Balkan Trafik!
From 19 to 21 November 2026, Balkan Trafik! makes its long-awaited return to Brussels after a one-year break. To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the festival is reinventing itself and, for the first time, taking over all the spaces of the Brussels Stock Exchange.
The festival will transform this iconic venue into a true indoor festival, featuring two main stages, a Balkan Village, music lounges, meeting areas and an experience designed throughout the entire building.
True to its mission of building bridges between Belgium and the Balkans, Balkan Trafik! will present a programme that challenges stereotypes: from Roma brass bands to electronic beats, from centuries-old polyphonies to emerging electro scenes, from gypsy punk to gypsy jazz, as well as Balkan food and wines.
This anniversary edition marks a turning point for one of Brussels’ most distinctive festivals: more intimate, more immersive and deliberately limited in capacity. "Festival CASHLESS"
The ticket grants access to the full Balkan Trafik! programme for the specified day, and not to a performance by a specific artist.
The programme and the line-up of the bands are subject to change. The cancellation of an artist’s, a band’s or one of its members’ participation due to circumstances beyond the organiser’s control does not, in itself, give rise to a full or partial refund of the ticket, provided that the day in question goes ahead and its essential features are maintained.
This provision is subject to the mandatory consumer rights provided for by applicable legislation. Any changes will be communicated to the public as soon as possible.
Bourse Brussels
Brussels
Festival
Balkan Trafik!
Quatuor Ébène | Beethoven String Quartet Cycle
On the eve of the Beethoven Year 2027, Flagey presents the first half of an integral cycle of Beethoven’s string quartets, spread across two seasons. There could be no better guide through this monumental body of work than Quatuor Ébène: the French quartet has recorded Beethoven’s complete string quartets and has already brought the cycle to stages around the world on several occasions. Across these three concerts, the four musicians offer a cross-section of Beethoven’s musical universe: from the early quartets rooted in the Classical tradition to the enigmatic yet visionary works of his late period.
Flagey
Ixelles
Festival
Quatuor Ébène | Beethoven String Quartet Cycle
Courts + Queer Mais Trash 2026 Film Festival
Centre culturel Espace Magh asbl
Brussels
Cinema
Courts + Queer Mais Trash 2026 Film Festival
Shaping the Possible. Pierre Lallemand, designer
The Design Museum Brussels presents Shaping the Possible. Pierre Lallemand, designer, from 27 November 2026 to 7 March 2027, an exhibition offering an intimate insight into Pierre Lallemand’s work as a designer. Rather than attempting to encompass his entire body of work, which also spans architecture, urban planning and other creative fields, the exhibition explores more than thirty years of research into objects, furniture, materials and manufacturing processes.
Developed in collaboration with Pierre Lallemand, Shaping the Possible, curated by Maude Willaerts (Design Museum Brussels) and independent curator Syuzanna Poulichet, brings together a selection of drawings, models, prototypes, objects, furniture and experimental pieces. This deliberately focused selection offers a closer understanding of his design process, from initial sketches and experiments through to production and the final form.
Trained in Brussels in the late 1970s, Pierre Lallemand developed an approach from the outset that defies strict boundaries between disciplines. His early lighting designs, exhibited in the 1980s at Galerie Théorème in Brussels, already demonstrate his interest in experimentation and in objects that bring together practical use, technology and artistic expression.
His international career further shaped this approach. His experiences in Italy, at the Milan-based architectural practice BBPR, and later in the United States, working with César Pelli, helped him develop a way of thinking about design across different scales. Furniture, objects, bicycles and sailing boats all became fields of experimentation in which drawing, technical expertise, attention to materials and formal exploration come together. It is an approach in which form and function develop hand in hand, as Pierre Lallemand explains: “I don’t believe that form and function should be seen as opposites. Form is already a function in itself. Whether I’m working on a bicycle, a car, a boat or a smaller object, I always seek a strong sculptural presence that incorporates technical and practical constraints from the very beginning. For me, function and form must develop together.”
Although the exhibition deliberately focuses on design, it cannot separate it from what Pierre Lallemand describes as an “architecture of the possible”. For him, objects and architecture share the same approach to questioning our environment: designing is not simply about responding to a need, but about exploring how things might be different.
Through this selection, Shaping the Possible reveals the continuity of an approach developed across design and architecture, without attempting to offer an exhaustive retrospective. It provides a unique opportunity to discover the thinking and practice of a creator for whom every project represents an opportunity for exploration.
Design Museum Brussels
Laeken
Exhibitions
Shaping the Possible. Pierre Lallemand, designer
Tough Enough : David Eugene Edwards & Many more
First name and headliner of the 2026 edition of Tough Enough festival, a concentrated blend of americana, roots, blues, and garage rock
David Eugene Edwards
David Eugene Edwards is widely regarded as one of the most influential and uncompromising voices in modern American music. Emerging from the Denver underground with 16 Horsepower in the 1990s, Edwards forged the Denver sound that resonated deeply across Europe—an intense fusion of Gothic Americana, folk tradition, and spiritual fervor that found particularly devoted audiences in France, Belgium, Scandinavia, the Netherlands, and Germany. His later work with Wovenhand expanded that reach, inspiring artists across post-punk, neofolk, metal, and experimental sceneswho cite his visionary approach as a defining influence.
With Mercurial Silence, his forth comingand second solo album, Edwards enters a new chapter while continuing the thematic and sonic explorations that have made him a singular figure on the European stage. His live performances remain magnetic and ritualistic — drawing on ancient musical lineages, devotional intensity, and a raw emotional power that transcends genre. For European listeners who have followed his work for decades, Edwards stands not only as a pioneering American songwriter but as a cultural bridge, shaping the dialogue between folk tradition, spiritual music, and contemporary experimental sound.
Botanique
Saint-Josse-Ten-Noode
Festival
Tough Enough : David Eugene Edwards & Many more
Listen Festival 2026
Listen festival 2026: the electronic music festival that transforms Brussels into one massive dancefloor is back for its 10th anniversary with a new formula with over 24 hours of music in 15 locations.
LISTEN FESTIVAL 2026: THE ELECTRONIC MUSIC FESTIVAL THAT TRANSFORMS BRUSSELS INTO ONE MASSIVE DANCEFLOOR IS BACK FOR ITS 10TH ANNIVERSARY WITH A NEW FORMULA WITH OVER 24 HOURS OF MUSIC IN 15 LOCATIONS.
On Saturday the 21st of November Listen Festival takes over Brussels for its 10th anniversary edition. The festival returns with an all new 24 hour formula with 1 fairly priced ticket giving access to an action packed programme stretched across 15 unique locations. Among many other iconic locations, the festival is turning the main stations of Brussels - North Station, Central Station, Congrès Station and Brussel Midi Station - into one big dancefloor this year.
With its finger strongly on the pulse of Brussel’s unique music eco-system, local talent and international headliners once again come together for an eclectic musical ride. With international artists like Tiga, Avalon Emerson, Dillinja, Mala, Kirollus, Miss Bashful, MCR-T, Francesco Del Garda B2B Virgina and many more stacked against local legends like Lefto Early Bird, FAISAL, Bibi Seck, Nosedrip, Lolalita & Brennt 'Live', DJ Rino, KŌMA, LAURAVIOLI, Listen Festival is once again connecting the dots regardless of musical style and orientation.
Tiga, Avalon Emerson, Dillinja, Mala, Kirollus, Miss Bashful, MCR-T, Francesco Del Garda B2B Virgina and many more stacked against local legends like Lefto Early Bird, FAISAL, Bibi Seck, Nosedrip, Lolalita & Brennt 'Live', DJ Rino, KŌMA, LAURAVIOLI & many more.
Listen
Brussels
Clubbing
Listen Festival 2026
Coudenberg Sound Box Fest 2026
The Coudenberg Palace presents the sixth edition of Coudenberg Sound Box Fest, an eclectic festival where music meets history.
COUDENBERG SOUND BOX FEST 2026
reConciliations: War & Peace
Step beneath the streets of Brussels for a truly unforgettable experience! Celebrating its sixth edition in autumn 2026, the Coudenberg Sound Box Fest (CSBF) presents a bold new edition titled reConciliations: War & Peace. True to the festival's DNA and Brussels' eclectic arts scene, early music remains at the core, yet — in line with artistic director Matteo Gemolo's philosophy — this is music from the past, but not of the past. Through our signature double-concert format set against the breathtaking underground palace ruins, historical sounds spark thrilling dialogues with jazz, electronic beats, and physical theatre, exploring the journey from never-ending conflict to utopian harmony.
The dynamic line-up for this year's edition strives to bring history back to life. Feel the compelling clash of baroque elegance and raw energy as the InAlto ensemble's sacred 17th-century repertoire meets the immersive physical theatre of AkroPercu (22th of November). Explore poignant tales of memory, exile, and defiance with Ensemble Matica de Flor (winner of the first edition of our Next/Gen competition for young talents in 2025) and Trio Satellite, who bridge ancient Sephardic traditions with repressed 20th-century voices (29th of November). Expanding this cultural dialogue, let a powerful East-meets-West crossover transport you, as the Belgian-Syrian oud master Elias Bachoura shares the stage with the explosive jazz-electronic duo BeraadGeslagen, weaving a musical narrative which proves peace and cultural dialogue are always possible (13th of December).
This edition also breaks new ground with an exclusive co-production with Bozar (6th of December), guiding audiences from subterranean archaeological vaults with ClubMédiéval to the heights of the Church of St. Jacques sur Coudenberg / St. Jacob op Koudenberg with vocal ensemble Dionysos Now!
Beyond these site-specific performances, the festival hosts the second edition of the CSBF Next/Gen competition (17 – 18th of November) and engaging public talks in collaboration with ULB and IHEB, bridging historical music and modern society. Proudly recognized as a member of REMA since 2025, the festival continues to celebrate Brussels as a thriving crossroads for artistic innovation, where heritage meets cutting-edge creation.
With the support of our partners:
urban.brussels
Ville de Bruxelles / Stad Brussel
Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles
Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie
COCOF
Play Right
Loterie Nationale Loterij
Sabam
Musiq3
Bozar
ULB
IHEB
JM Wallonie BXL
La Classica
Prométhéa
visit.brussels
The European Festivals Association
REMA
Belarts
Early Music & Beyond
Sunday the 22th of November: InAlto + AkroPercu
Synday the 29th of Novembre: Ensemble Matica de Flor + Trio Satellite
Sunday the 6th of December: ClubMediéval + Dionysos Now!
Sunday the 13th of December: Elias Bachoura + BeraadGeslagen
Palais du Coudenbergpaleis
Brussels
Festival
Coudenberg Sound Box Fest 2026
Festival Cinemamed 2026
Cinemamed Festival is back from 26 November to 4 December at the Palace Cinema and the Aventure Cinema! Some screenings will also take place at Espace Magh, Cinema Galeries, Bozar, W:Halll, RITCS and Cinematek!
The Cinemamed festival (Brussels Mediterranean Film Festival) is back from 26 November to 4 December at the Palace Cinema and the Aventure Cinema! Some screenings will also take place at Espace Magh, Cinema Galeries, Bozar, W:Halll, RITCS and Cinematek! This is the event of the year to discover a selection of quality films reflecting the social and cultural realities of the entire Mediterranean basin. On the programme for this 26th edition: powerful documentaries, original fiction films, short films, previews, concerts and a multitude of events that create the warm and friendly atmosphere of Cinemamed! Since 1989, Cinemamed has been promoting multiculturalism and highlighting socially engaged themes. It is also a forum for reflection and dialogue between people and cultures. Come and talk to filmmakers, film crews, association members and specialists at the many meetings and debates organised after the screenings.
Cinéma Palace
Brussels
Festival
Festival Cinemamed 2026
Winter Wonders
Celebrate 25 years of Plaisirs d’Hiver in Brussels! In a warm and festive atmosphere, discover a must-visit Christmas market, magical illuminations, artistic creations, attractions and plenty to explore. This year, the Béarn-Pyrénées region and the Basque Country take centre stage in the heart of the capital.
From 27 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, Brussels celebrates the 25th anniversary of Winter Wonders. For a quarter of a century, this much-loved event has brought locals and visitors of all ages together to experience the magic of the festive season, in a warm and welcoming atmosphere that blends tradition, conviviality and creativity.
At the heart of the city, the Christmas market and its many chalets invite visitors to discover delicious local specialities, handcrafted creations and gift ideas. From Place de la Monnaie to Place Royale, Grand-Place, Place Sainte-Catherine, Vismet, Place de la Bourse, Place De Brouckère, the Black Tower, Place de la Madeleine and, finally, Place Poelaert, Winter Wonders brings its festive atmosphere to iconic locations throughout Brussels.
A magnificent Christmas tree and a spectacular sound and light show illuminate Grand-Place, while attractions for all ages, cultural activities and artistic creations add to the experience. This anniversary edition also shines a spotlight on Béarn, the Pyrenees and the Basque Country, with a dedicated village at Place de la Bourse, inviting visitors to discover the region’s traditions and culture.
Spanning squares and streets across the city, Winter Wonders goes beyond the traditional Christmas market to offer a festive experience that allows visitors to discover Brussels in a different light. Whether visiting with family, as a couple or with friends, come and celebrate this special anniversary and share in the magic of the festive season in the heart of the capital.
Various places in Brussels
Brussels
Festival
Winter Wonders
Kanal - Opening weekend
Kanal opens 28 & 29.11.2026
Kanal opens! For a whole weekend, wall-to-wall, non-stop. With ten exhibitions and a host of live
performances and opening rituals, concerts and DJ sets, films and installations, workshops for
kids and families, as well as explorations and activations of the new building and its surroundings.
All free of charge.
Kanal - Centre Pompidou
Brussels
Festival
Kanal - Opening weekend
Brussels Fashion Days
Belgian fashion returns to Espace Vanderborght! Over two unmissable Saturdays, Brussels Fashion Days transforms 6,000 m² into a creative hub where fresh talent meets established designers.
Both Saturdays:
6 PM: Schools’ Runway featuring 8 Belgian fashion schools
9 PM: Designers’ Runway
Come explore, connect and be inspired. Everyone is welcome!
Belgian fashion takes over Espace Vanderborght once again ! Over two unmissable Saturdays, Brussels Fashion Days turns 6,000 m² into a pop-up hub for creativity, where bold ideas and fresh talent meet established names.
Runway schedule (both Saturdays):
6 Pm: Schools’ Runway, with 8 Belgian fashion schools showcasing the next generation
9 Pm: Designers’ Runway, with established professional designers presenting their latest creations.
Whether you’re a fashion lover, a professional, a student or just curious, everyone is welcome. Come wander, connect, get inspired and be surprised: fashion is something you live, not just look at !
Espace Vanderborght
Brussels
Various
Brussels Fashion Days
Manon de Boer
Amidst the bustle of the new museum and the city, Manon de Boer’s sound installation Blindsight invites you to slow down. Together with choreographer Latifa Laâbissi and sound designer Laszlo Umbreit, de Boer animates the voices of artists who inspire them, from Chantal Akerman to Beyoncé.
Amidst the bustle of the new museum, Blindsight invites you to slow down. Take a seat in a cinema chair and dive into the soundtrack of a film you can feel rather than see. This installation by artist Manon de Boer, collaborating with choreographer Latifa Laâbissi and sound designer Laszlo Umbreit, is the final part of a trilogy that began with the performance Ghost Party 1 (2022) and the film Ghost Party 2 (2022). In that film, de Boer and Laâbissi lend their voices to artists and writers who inspired them, from Chantal Akerman and Beyoncé to Anne Carson and Marguerite Duras. The dialogues and soundscapes were later translated into a sound installation, now reimagined for Kanal.
Blindsight immerses you in a carefully composed sensory environment. Sound emanates from speakers concealed inside vases – a nod to the vases featured in Ghost Party 2 – which are dispersed throughout the space. Each vase corresponds to one of the "ghosts" to whom the artists give their voices. Here, the ear takes precedence over the eye. In a world saturated with stimuli, the installation creates an interval of stillness, a near-meditative space in which the whispers of forgotten voices resurface.
Manon de Boer is a central figure in the Belgian art scene, known for her video work that brings together music, dance and film. Through her filmed portraits, she explores the perception of time and space.
This work is part of the Kanal collection.
Kanal - Centre Pompidou
Brussels
Exhibitions
Manon de Boer
Joshua Serafin
Why do we continue searching for what has been lost? In Whispering Pleas of the eternal echoes, you are invited to join the search for Joshua Serafin’s roots. This immersive film installation weaves together scenes across countries and generations. In the artist’s unique cosmology, past and present enter into conversation.
In 1909, Joshua Serafin’s Japanese great-great-grandfather migrated to the Philippines. Commissioned by Kanal, the film installation Whispering pleas of the eternal echoes invites you to join the search for ancestry and belonging. Motivated by a desire for connection and knowledge of the past, Serafin brings together multiple characters and entities across regions and eras. Footage from the Philippines flows into scenes filmed in Belgium. In a universe of Serafin’s own making, past and present generations converse as if across a cosmic threshold.
Joshua Serafin’s practice centres on choreography and queerness, exploring how body, space and audience co-produce meaning. Serafin’s personal journey – from Manila to Hong Kong and now Brussels – fuels their ongoing inquiry into how migration and displacement impact identity and resilience. In their performances, Serafin brings together alter egos and fictional characters within "speculative cosmologies". These spaces for imagination, liberation and transformation challenge systems that control and constrain bodies, as in the performance VOID, which was critically acclaimed at the 60th Venice Biennale in 2024.
Kanal - Centre Pompidou
Brussels
Exhibitions
Joshua Serafin
Otobong Nkanga
For the opening of Kanal, Otobong Nkanga weaves stories through threads. An installation of looms becomes the backdrop for encounters and conversations about sustainability and ownership, but also about the museum’s role in the social ecosystem.
Commissioned by Kanal, Otobong Nkanga transforms one of the vast open spaces into an intimate site for encounter and co-creation. At the heart of the installation are wooden looms where participants, who have received prior training, work side by side. Skills and experiences are exchanged. Threads are woven, and personal and collective stories become interlaced. Weaving turns into a "social act", a joint endeavour that contributes to the evolving artwork.
In the setting of the new museum – formerly a car garage and large-scale production site – the installation invites you to reflect on the labour and the economic structures that underpin cultural institutions and the world at large. In her work, Otobong Nkanga examines how these systems and processes shape relationships between people, materials and spaces. By redistributing work and resources across a network of partners and participants, the social responsibilities of the museum and its commitments to community-building, sustainability and shared authorship are highlighted. Otobong Nkanga lives and works in Antwerp and is recognised as one of the most influential artists working today. She received a Special Mention at the 58th Venice Biennale and she was commissioned by MoMA in New York in 2024 to create a work for their Atrium. Among her many accolades are the Yanghyun Prize, the Belgian Art Prize and the Nasher Art Prize.
Kanal - Centre Pompidou
Brussels
Exhibitions
Otobong Nkanga
An infinite woman
A century ago, the mass-produced image of a Mangbetu woman went viral. An infinite woman explores how the distinctive profile of the Mangbetus from Congo became a modernist and colonial emblem after Citroën’s La Croisière Noire expedition, but also a powerful catalyst for artists. Through archives and works by contemporary artists like Carrie Mae Weems, Frida Orupabo and Magdalene Odundo, the exh…
In 1925, a Mangbetu woman from north-eastern Congo became the viral campaign image of La Croisière Noire, a colonial propaganda expedition across the African continent, sponsored by Citroën. In 1934, construction began on Citroën’s flagship garage in Brussels, marketing the idea of imperial conquest as much as cars. Converted into the museum Kanal, the building reopens with the exhibition An infinite woman, revisiting in two parts how the Mangbetu women functioned as a colonial symbol and how artists of African descent have reclaimed and subverted this imagery until the present day.
The first act is an archival investigation that traces how Mangbetus went viral as an "ethnographic fetish" consumed in the West as a pre-internet meme, through magazines, exhibitions and films. The second act shows how artists from the African diaspora – such as Raphaël Barontini, Sonia Barrett, Roméo Mivekannin, Faith Ringgold, Barbara Walker and Carrie Mae Weems – break the algorithm, reappropriating images and archives that generate new forms of knowledge and visibility.
The subtitle of the exhibition refers to cultural historian Saidiya Hartman’s essay Venus in Two Acts (2008). Inspired by this influential work about post-slavery society, it celebrates the limitless Black female imagination in resisting the toxicity of colonial imagery. Ultimately, An infinite woman is an exercise in defying gravity: recognising the full weight of the colonial past while refusing to let it continue defining our society today.
Artists: Agneskena, Raphaël Barontini, Sonia Barrett, Agnes Lalau, Simone Leigh, Roméo Mivekannin, Nontsikelelo Mutiti, Lorraine O’Grady, Magdalene Odundo, Temitayo Ogunbiyi, J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere, Mimi Ọnụọha, Frida Orupabo, Faith Ringgold, Ethel Tawe, Carrie Mae Weems, Barbara Walker.
Artists: Agnes Lalau, Agneskena, Barbara Walker, Carrie Mae Weems, Ethel Tawe, Faith Ringgold, Frida Orupabo, J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere, Lorraine O’Grady, Magdalene Odundo, Mimi Ọnụọha, Nontsikelelo Mutiti, Raphaël Barontini, Roméo Mivekannin, Simone Leigh, Sonia Barrett, Temitayo Ogunbiyi, Travis Matthews
Kanal - Centre Pompidou
Brussels
Exhibitions
An infinite woman
Banu Cennetoğlu
What do human rights mean today, in a world where they continue to be undermined and violated? In right?, Banu Cennetoğlu presents the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 in bouquets of gold letter balloons in Kanal’s showroom. As the balloons slowly deflate, the work questions the language of rights and the human rights framework the Declaration helped put into place. I…
With right?, Banu Cennetoğlu presents the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in bouquets of gold letter balloons in Kanal’s showroom. Each bundle represents one of the 30 articles of the Declaration. Proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations in Paris on 10 December 1948, three years after the end of the Second World War, the UDHR sets out, for the first time, the fundamental human rights to be universally protected. Translated into over 500 languages, it is one of the most widely circulated documents in existence. But what do these rights really mean in a world where they are still and persistently violated?
For Kanal’s opening, the artist – who lives and works in Istanbul – presents all 30 articles together for the very first time. Brussels is a fitting place for this gathering: it is home to the European institutions and NATO headquarters, organisations that claim to protect peace and democracy.
As the days pass, the balloons deflate and lose their sheen. The letters progressively deform and potentially transform. This gradual collapse exposes the vulnerability of human rights: they exist only as long as they are actively upheld, defended and reimagined. right? is both a testament and a warning – a reminder that human rights are never permanently secured.
Banu Cennetoğlu’s work investigates how narratives, data and documents circulate in public space and how they shape collective understanding.
Kanal - Centre Pompidou
Brussels
Exhibitions
Banu Cennetoğlu
Music Chapel Festival 2026
In 2026, the Music Chapel Festival will celebrate Queen Elisabeth’s 150th anniversary. True to its musical heritage, the Music Chapel brings together its Masters and Artists-in-Residence in a program ranging from the intimacy of chamber music to monumental symphonic works. An invitation to follow in the Queen’s footsteps on a journey through the history of music.
Flagey
Ixelles
Festival
Music Chapel Festival 2026
