Film in Ghent, photography in Antwerp, music in Brussels, and more. See you there!

Cinema: Ghent Film Fest

From 11 to 21 October Ghent

Sakamoto will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award this year

Every October the film industry gathers in Ghent for the annual Film Fest, attracting around 100.000 visitors at each edition. While the festival features more than 100 movies and 30 short films from all over the world, it’s about more than that: since 2001, the World Soundtrack Awards take place here, the most prestigious soundtrack awards in the world. The focus of this 43rd edition lies on the Nordic countries as well as Japan, offering a multitude of screenings and concerts spread out over the city. See the full program here.

Photography meets art: From Broodthaers to Braeckman at MHKA

Opens Thursday, 13 October Antwerp

With “From Broodthaers to Braeckman. Photography in the Visual Arts in Belgium”, Antwerp’s M HKA shows photography from a different perspective, focusing on its long-lasting relationship with painting and the visual arts in general. The exhibition vividly illustrates how the medium of photography entered the field of visual arts in Belgium as well as how it evolved into an independent artistic medium between 1960 and 1990. Accordingly, this fascinating show not only includes works by pure photographers but also presents the photographic work of conceptual artists such as Marcel Broodthaers, Jacques Charlier or Jef Geys. With Dirk Braeckman, Ria Pacquée, Philippe Van Snick, and many others.

Biking meets coffee: Kring grand opening

Thursday, 13 October, 18-22h00 Brussels

There’s a new concept store in town! Bike cafe Kring opens its doors for the very first time this week, uniting everything that bicycle as well as coffee lovers will appreciate. Discover the brand new project while sipping on free drinks!

Exhibition: A Double Tour at Sous Les Tropiques

From 13 to 16 October Brussels

Brussels-based art collective Sous Les Tropiques, made up by Mathieu Chartier, Ines Haym, and Damien Caccia, is back after the summer break with a captivating, genre-crossing four day group exhibition featuring the works of no less than 15 artists, from Balthazar Blumberg and Pieterke Estelle Mol to Emmanuel Simon and Lucie Vanesse. There will also be special sound sessions and a closing party. Check the Facebook event for more details.

Music: Brussels Electronic Marathon

From 14 to 16 October Brussels

This month a new music festival is hitting the city, when the Brussels Electronic Marathon invites you to three days of concerts, DJ sets, screenings, performances and workshops. An initiative by Belgian music collective FTRSND, this first edition wants to shine a light on the diversity and richness of Brussels electronic music scene in a multitude of different venues ranging from museums to record shops. See the full program here.

Book launch and signing: Harold Ancart at Triangle Books

Friday, 13 October Brussels

New York-based Harold Ancart is one of the most prominent names when it comes to the younger generation of Belgian contemporary artists. In 2014 he bought a car and drove it from New York City to Los Angeles,  turning the trunk of the car into a mobile studio where he could draw. He also took alot of photographs. This artistic journey has now been turned into two books: “There is no there there” and “Driving is awesome”. You can get your hands on a freshly printed and signed copy this Friday at Belgian independent publisher Triangle Books.

Exhibition: Ed Ruscha at The Embassy

Until 12 November Brussels

The Embassy, located in a former consulate and hotel and owned by one of Belgium’s most prominent young collectors, Ronald Rozenbaum, celebrated its launch during this year’s Art Brussels. Now you’re invited to The Embassy’s second exhibition, curated by Ronald himself and featuring selected works by the great Ed Ruscha, a true icon of the West Coast art scene.”Sixteen Books” brings together his conceptual books from 1962 until 1978 as well as other historical materials and ephemera from that period, which came to define the “Artist’s Books” as we know it today. The sixteen books have their own idiosyncrasies and vary in size, number of blank pages, titles and formatting.

Concert: Sophia at Ancienne Belgique

Saturday, 15 October Brussels

British indie pop outfit Sophia has always had a bit of a special relationship with Belgium, not only because frontman Robin Proper-Sheppard has been living in the country for years. Their 2004 tune “Oh My Love” became a hit in the indie scene especially in Germany and Belgium, and now Sophia is back to present their new album “As We Make Our Way (Unknown Harbours)” after a seven-year hiatus.

Cover photo by Murielle Victorine Scherre