The Year of Art Deco, Contemporary Flemish art and some other stuff
Here's a look at what's to come in 2025.
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In 2025, once again, Brussels will celebrate both its cultural heritage and its booming contemporary art scene.
If last year was the year of Art Nouveau, James Ensor and surrealism, this year we’ll be seeing a lot of Art Deco and Flemish artist Berlinda De Bruyckere.
As every January, I’ve spent some time curating my cultural calendar for the next few months.
Here are some highlights that I’m looking forward to, or have been recommended to me. I’ve broken the list up in categories:
Art, music, architecture, opera, film.
Let’s get into it.
Art in Brussels
Two highly anticipated exhibits will take place at Bozar:
‘When We See Us: A Century of Black Figuration in Painting’ opens February 7th. Koyo Kouoh, the Cameroonian curator who put this together, has just been appointed curator of the 2026 Venice Biennale, a highly coveted role in the art world.
Berlinde De Bruyckere, whose sculptures were shown as part of the Venice Biennale last year, will be the subject of an upcoming show I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz about. More info here.
5 art fairs are coming up:
BRAFA, Belgium’s fine art fair and one of the oldest in Europe. It shows everything from ancient to contemporary art. (January 26th - Feb 2nd)
Ceramic Brussels, a new fair only in its second edition, “dedicated to contemporary ceramics.” (Jan 22 - 26)
Affordable Art Fair, where prices are significantly smaller and the spotlight is on emerging artists (February 5-9th)
TEFAF, another fine art fair but bigger and in Maastricht (March)
Art Brussels, our lovely city’s big contemporary art fair (April).
I wrote about art fairs, what they are and how they work, in a previous issue of this newsletter. Read it here.
Music
Gustavo Dudamel, one of the most well-known conductors working today, is coming to Brussels on January 23rd. Last tickets available.
The Brahms Festival (January 16-19) would be fun for the lovers of romanticism among us. The quartet performing on the 16th sounds particularly interesting.
Shostakovich’s 5th Symphony, one of his most well-known ones, will be performed at Flagey on January 25th and 26th (with a lecture before the performance). Listen for the ironically joyful tunes put together by a man struggling under Stalin’s regime.
For contemporary music, Ancienne Belgique, La Madeleine and Botanique bring in known and emerging artists from across the Continent.
Opera
I’m thrilled to report Brussels’ opera house La Monnaie is finally ending its Wagner cycle with the fourth part, ‘Götterdämmerung,’ taking place this month.
Come June, we can all enjoy a night at the opera the way God intended: two hours, one intermission, some fun dancing in the second act and one single death scene to end the night.*
Yes, that’s right: Bizet’s ‘Carmen’ is coming to save us all. Tickets are already up for sale on La Monnaie’s website.
Meanwhile, the Opera Ballet Vlaanderen is putting on Prokofiev’s ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ a lovely ballet, in Ghent and Antwerp on various dates between March and June.
*These are one author’s opinions. You are as welcome to share them as you are to be appalled.
Architecture
In 2025, Brussels is celebrating the centenary of the 1925 Paris International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts, where this then-emerging style got its name.
The Year of Art Deco kicks off with an exhibit into its beginnings at Villa Empain, itself an impeccable specimen of Art Deco architecture. Then, the BANAD festival in March will offer some guided tours in buildings typically closed off to the public.
I previously wrote about Art Deco and its characteristics here.
Film
… is not really my thing. But I was excited to learn Cinematek, the theatre near Gare Centrale showing old movies, is putting on a whole Hitchcock marathon through the end of the month.
Some of his more popular ones include:
‘Dial M for Murder’ on Saturday, January 25th
‘Rear Window’ (considered one of his best ones) on January 26th
‘To Catch a Thief’ (starring Grace Kelly!!) on January 27th
Hitchcock aside, their showings of silent movies accompanied by a piano are also lovely. Full schedule here.
How exciting, to live in a city where so much takes place!
Later this year, a new museum for modern and contemporary art — courtesy of the Centre Pompidou — will open near the canal, in Northern Brussels.
The museum will be named KANAL.
(The Dutch word for canal is “kanaal,” whereas the French term would be “canal.” The museum’s name seems to bring the two together in an innovative hybrid.)
Enjoy your weekends,
Ana