What’s on in Belgium, from Liège to Antwerp: Avant-garde pop, birthday celebrations, outdoor art walks, and exhibitions. See you there!
Birthday bash: Divagation turns 6
From 6 to 17 February Brussels
Brussels concert series Divagation (which can be translated to the act of straying off course) is celebrating its 6th birthday this week with a giant anniversary bash. The project, which has established itself as an integral part of the local music scene over the years, invites music aficionados to a diverse concert route through different venues in Ixelles. All details here, and an interview with founder Franck Limonier over here.
Opening: Ici, Ici, C’est Saint-Gilles! at Maison des Cultures de Saint-Gilles
Opens Thursday, 9 February, 18-21h00 Brussels
Local cult club Union St. Gilloise, recently even more successful than established Brussels competitor Anderlecht, has been melting football hearts both at home and abroad over the last years. With its small cozy, old school stadium and friendly crowd famous for its creative fan chants, its success proves that money isn’t everything. Attending a match in the Joseph Marien Stadium is a bit like watching football in the olden times. At Maison des Cultures de Saint-Gilles, a photography exhibition opening this week lets you discover this rather special club and its dedicated fanbase, on the occasion of the club’s 125th birthday. The scenography was thought up by Brussels photography collective La Nombreuse.
Opening: Beatriz Santiago Munõz at Argos
Saturday, 11 February, 18-21h00 Brussels
“Oriana” is Puerto Rican artist Beatriz Santiago Munõz‘s first solo exhibition in Belgium. The show includes an intricate audiovisual experience spread across the two floors of the Argos building, based on her first feature-length film. It’s inspired by feminist writer Monique Wittig’s revolutionary 1969 novel Les Guérillères, in which heteronormative gender roles are rejected. Keep an eye out for the interesting Responses program, which invites different cultural and social groups to react to the exhibition from their perspectives.
Art walk: Art au Centre
Runs until 30 April Liège
A new edition of Art au Centre just kicked off, inviting art fans and everyone interested to stroll through the streets of Liège for an exhibition of a different kind. With the idea to revive the city center, the initiative shows art in empty shop windows, making it accessible for everybody. Here’s a handy map illustrating the whole route, which features works by Alice Quentel, Cléo Totti, and many others.
Music: Schiev festival at Beursschouwburg
From 10 to 12 February Brussels
Eva Donckers, Schiev 2017
This weekend Schiev festival takes over Brussels Beursschouwburg for the 8th time, bringing together an exciting programme of both Belgian and international avant-garde pop music, a label market championing local initiatives, and conferences dealing with issues pertinent to cultural workers. And by the way, Schiev not only innovates through its musical line-up, but also via its financial model: every single artist receives the same paycheck. All details here.
Exhibition: Alexandre Bavard at Tick Tack
Runs until 24 March Antwerp
French artist Alexandre Bavard integrates multiple genres into his practice, merging sculpture, painting, performance, theater, history, fashion and more while keeping alive his Georgian roots. The latter shine through in the historical cultural patterns Bavard uses to create a backdrop consisting of textiles and rugs. BRAV, on view at Antwerp’s Tick Tack gallery until 24 March, blends artefacts from the past and the world we live in today.