The Artsy Guide to Brussels Art Days
The seventh iteration of the Brussels Art Days once again highlights a group of select galleries in the seat of the EU government. In what is often touted as the next European art city, 29 galleries present their impressive beginnings to the fall season. Among the participating spaces are Almine Rech, Xavier Hufkens, Office Baroque, dépendance, and Daniel Templon, all who have organized solo and two-person exhibitions from their young, diverse, and international programs.
1. When? Where? How?
Brussels Art Days takes place on September 13th and 14th, across Brussels. While the city does not have a centralized arts district, most of the galleries are around uptown and downtown Brussels as well as in Ixelles. Gallery openings are free and open to the public.
2. What is Art Days Brussels?
Brussels Art Days began seven years ago as a small collection. In a relatively short time it has become a fixture on the art world calendar, with the stated goal of highlighting the city’s role in promoting and furthering the avant-garde in contemporary art.
3. Why visit?
Brussels is the up-and-coming darling of the European art world, so much so that several writers and critics have openly questioned if it has replaced Berlin as the center of the the young and emerging Western art world. While staking its claim as a new art capital is not part of Brussels Art Day’s stated goals, it is clearly an opportunity to view the best that Brussels has to offer in contemporary art—as well as to allow galleries that are respected and recognized within the city’s community to step into the international spotlight.
4. What galleries are participating?
For as long as Brussels Art Days has existed, it has always had 30 participating galleries. The selection is a representative cross-section of what is on view in Brussels—from established galleries like Michel Rein and Greta Meert, to the new globally recognized names like MOT International, Rodolphe Janssen, and Meessen De Clercq, to even newer galleries with strong young programs like Christopher Crescent, LEVY.DELVAL, and Super Dakota.
5. Museum Exhibitions in Brussels
Several large museum exhibitions open alongside the Brussels Art Days. A few highlights include: Ana Torfs at WIELS, le Centre d’art Contemporain; the Brussels-centric group exhibition Silver Bliss #2 at ARGOS Center of Art and Media; Richard Jackson at Contemporary Art Brussels; “Youth: portraits of artists, between freedom and fight” at Maison Particulière; and “The 8 of Paths: Art in Beijing” at Uferhallen.
6. Programming
A rich program of talks, performances, and tours will take place throughout the weekend, at galleries and around the city. Highlights include:
Film Screening: “Selected videos by Shana Moulton” at la loge. September 11th–27th, one-hour program, screened in a loop from Thursday to Saturday, 12–7pm.
Artists’ Talk: Daniel Dewar and The Bruce High Quality Foundation at the NICC. Friday, September 12th, 7:30pm.
Open Collection: “Man in the Mirror” at the Vanhaerents Art Collection
