Things to do in Belgium this week: music and open studios in Brussels, movies in Antwerp, exhibitions in Ghent, and more. See you there!
Concert: Lambchop at Ancienne Belgique
Thursday, 29 January Brussels
This Thursday American cult band Lambchop, inextricably connected to the rock of the 90s, will play their breakthrough album “Nixon” in its entirety, which by the way was just reissued last year. “’Nixon’ is still an improbable album. The band never sounds like they’re trying very hard and yet every song breaks some convention or another. Despite its showbiz arrangements, the music is tenuous and weird”, Pitchfork writes. A rare treat to be able to experience the whole record live on stage.
Music movie: Paris/Berlin at Cinema Cartoon’s
Thursday, 29 January, 21h30 Antwerp
Paris/Berlin is a fantastic music documentary zooming in on 20 years of underground techno through the lens of two major capitals and its major players from label managers and promoters to producers, DJs, and record shop owners. The film takes you right into Berlin’s infamous Berghain as well as to secret parties in Paris. Featuring Laurent Garnier, Milton Bradley, and many more. This Thursday on show on the big screen at Cinema Cartoon’s in Antwerp!
Antwerp Art Weekend
From 29 January to 1 February Antwerp
This weekend Belgium’s art epicenter will lie in Antwerp, when the very first edition of the Antwerp Art weekend comes about. Organized by the same people who are behind the regular Nocturne and Borger events, it aims at shining a light on the city’s vibrant art scene and its manifold artistic offerings from galleries and museums to project spaces and pop-up exhibitions. We handpicked a few highlights for you below plus you can check out the full program here.
Marenne Welten at Spaceburo
Under the name “Niets anders” Dutch artist Marenne Welten presents her work for the first time on Belgian ground. On show is a selection of softly-colored and sensual paintings oscillating between the abstract and the figurative.
Oogst magazine launch at De Studio
On the occasion of “The Night of Journalism” taking place at De Studio on Saturday, brand new, independent art magazine Oogst will officially launch its first edition. Grab a fresh copy (Rinus Van De Velde, Nicolas Provost and Jan de Cock inside!) and discuss with media experts and journalists about the future of the sector.
Mircea Suciu at Zeno X
At Zeno X you can currently discover two exhibitions: young Romanian artist Mircea Suciu’s solo show “Root and Branch” as well as a group expo uniting works on paper by nine different artists including Belgium’s painting star Luc Tuymans or celebrated South-African artist Marlene Dumas. Suciu’s show is really worth a visit; his dark, sinister and intriguing drawings and paintings dealing with socio-political and psychological issues are strangely fascinating.
HISK party at De Shop
There’s more to the Antwerp Art Weekend than gallery hopping: if you want to mingle and dance the night away together with other art enthusiasts, you can do so on Saturday at the HISK party. Behind the decks: Moonlight Shadow, Guillaume Bijl and others. Entrance is free!
Contemporary photography route
To make it easier for photography fans to make their way to the photography shows throughout the city, a number of galleries have teamed up for the so-called “Contemporary photography route”. Along the trail you’ll come across Ingrid Deuss gallery’s lovely exhibition of Veronika Pot as well as Stieglitz 19’s captivating show of Japanese photographer Daisuke Yokota opening this weekend.
Open Studio Day at Hotel Bloom
Friday, 30 January, 14-22h00 Brussels
Brussels’ Hotel Bloom and Harlan Levey Projects team up for a rather unlikely collaboration: in view of recent cultural budget cuts they’ve come up with an artist residency programme located on the 9th floor of the hotel, which functions as an art space. Each month, an artist, gallery or curator will be offered a place to live and work in addition to event and communication support. This month it’s the turn of Brazilian artist duo Monica Rodrigues Fernandes and Mozart Fernandes as well as Serena Vestrucci and Francesco Maluta from Italy, and on Friday they open their working spaces for you.
Weekend expo: Valery Vermeulen & Gertjan Biasino at Cecila Jaime
From 28 January to 1 February Ghent
In sync with the city’s current Light festival, Cecilia Jaime gallery invites you to a special installation bringing together the worlds of light and sound. While media artist Gertjan Biasino creates a cinematographic experience only by using the means of light, Valery Vermeulen presents a musical composition based on data from our solar system and deep space up to 22000 years old.