7 things to do in Liège, Brussels, Antwerp & Ghent from birthday parties and exhibitions to concerts and film screenings. See you there!

Birthday bash: Fancy Footwork turns 5 at Plein Publiek

Wednesday, 6 March, 17-00h00 Brussels

Fancy Footwork celebrates its 5th birthday this Wednesday, and you’re invited! It’s all going down in a unique and brand new location: Plein Publiek, located in the stunning “Palais de la Dynastie” at the bottom of Mont des Arts. Behind the decks: Munich-based Alkalino, who’s made a name for himself over three decades as a leading figure in the disco, boogie and Balearic re-edit scene. Happy birthday!

Cinema: Blonde Venus at KASKcinema

Wednesday, 6 March, 20h30 Ghent

Blonde Venus (1932), film still

The 11th edition of Ghent’s Kinoclub brings you the grand classic “Blonde Venus”, starring the legendary Marlene Dietrich, Herbert Marshall and Cary Grant. Besides the movie screening (in 35 mm) there’ll also be an introduction by Rachel Gruijters, who dived deep into the archives of the German film star.

Concert: The Lemonheads at Reflektor

Saturday, 9 March Liège

The Lemonheads are an American alternative rock band formed in Boston in 1986 around frontman Evan Dando. After going on a hiatus in 1997, they reformed in 2005. It’s been almost a decade though since the troupe’s last release, and their fans will be delighted to hear that “Varshons 2” just came out this February. This weekend you can enjoy their new tunes and old classics live on stage at Liège’s Reflektor.

Fashion: Responsible fashion salon at MAD

Saturday, 9 March, 10-18h00 Brussels

Brussels Dressing Room and MAD join forces for the first edition of a sustainable fashion salon. To discover: trendy second hand clothes and accessories but also brands, projects and ideas evolving around how to consume fashion in a more responsible way. There’ll also be food, drinks, and talks, for example with two fashion-loving sisters who decided to take on the challenge to not buy any new clothes for a whole year.

Exhibition: Walter Swennen at Xavier Hufkens

Runs until 13 April Brussels

Brussels’ Xavier Hufkens currently presents a captivating, playful and colorful solo show by Belgian, Brussels-based artist Walter Swennen (73). Moving back and forth between abstraction and representation, he cleverly toys with language and meaning, appropriation, colour, texture and form. While Swennen’s approach to painting is intuitive, spontaneous and influenced by everyday life as well as by chance encounters and coincidences, his works often deserve a second look: things are never quite what they seem.

Last days: Arcades at Base Alpha

Runs until 9 March Antwerp

“Arcades” at Antwerp’s Base Alpha gallery brings together the works of three different artists: Laurens Legiers’ paintings seem to oscillate between realism and surrealism while Ghent-based Conrad Willems makes sculptures, drawings an performances, dealing with recurring themes such as geometry, repetition and modularity.

Finissage: Kato Six and Sári Ember at DMW art space

Sunday, 10 March, 14-18h00 Antwerp

Sári Ember

On Sunday it’s closing day for this interesting duo show at Antwerp’s DMW art space whose mission is to put forward the role of artistic dialogue. Accordingly, “Heads or Tails” connects the universes of two different artists. Belgian artist Kato Six had the opportunity to invite an artist of her choice for this collaboration: Sári Ember from Hungary.

Cover photo Sasha Vernaeve