This little trip to Brussels is worth sharing the backstory. It was supposed to take place on March 22nd. I was actually on the train on the morning of the attacks, but we were never able to cross the border and had to resolve to return to Paris, after a small detour through Lille. Suffice it to say that this morning was full of adventures, but I was still very eager to give it another go and return to Brussels, a capital with very communicative energy, to discover it from a more cultural aspect, through a few visits to exhibitions, new art centers, a short street art walk, and a few other wonderful discoveries.
Belgium is actually a country I’ve already talked about many times on the blog, because it’s a tourist destination near Paris that I am very fond of and that I never tire of discovering again and again. Here is my small selection of places to visit and see, centered on art, whether contemporary or urban, museums, and exhibitions.
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Table of Contents
CENTRALE for contemporary art Exhibition: Connected
This Brussels museum, dedicated to contemporary creation in all visual arts disciplines, has been housed since 2006 in the city’s old power station. The Connected exhibition invites you to discover creative universes resulting from the use of new technologies in the service of the visual arts. The works gathered here question the theme of connection (both physical and psychic) from the artistic creation to its author, but also to the spectator. More than twenty Belgian and international artists are represented in this exhibition.
Connected Exhibition from March 24th to August 28th, 2016 Wednesday to Sunday from 10:30 AM to 6:00 PM price: €5 / €4 for over 60s, groups, students over 26 / €2.50 for students under 26, job seekers, school groups / free for under 18s Centrale For Contemporary Art Place Sainte-Catherine, 44 Sint-Katelijneplein 1000 Brussels
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Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
Below, I invite you to discover 2 updates from the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium at the time of my visit in 2016.
Andres Serrano exhibition “Uncensored photographs”
This retrospective of the American visual artist is a visual “shock.” Dealing with often disturbing themes (religion, death, sex, or violence), Serrano’s photographs are considered scandalous, such as his “Piss Christ,” and, in fact, some of his works are even presented in Brussels with the traces of the acts of vandalism they were subjected to. Serrano’s art is particular and controversial, but one thing is certain: whether you like it or not, you cannot remain “unmoved” by his photographs. They inevitably have an effect on the viewer: fascination, rejection, shock, questioning…
The little extra: for Parisians, be aware that the European House of Photography (MEP) will present Serrano’s homeless series “Denizens of Brussels” from November 9th, 2016 to January 8th, 2017.
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
until August 21st, 2016
open Tuesday to Friday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM and Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM
rates: €14.50 full price / €12.50 for seniors / €8 for 16-25 year olds
Another update from the museum, the exhibition “Five Modern Masterpieces in dialogue with the collections.” This presentation offers a chance to rediscover 5 masterpieces from the modern and contemporary art collection, with additional augmented content (video, touchscreen table, digital art, etc.) thanks to an interactive setup.
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium Rue de la Régence 3, 1000 Brussels Until August 28th, 2016 rates: free access with the purchase of a museum ticket (€8 full price / €6 for seniors / €2 for children and young people up to 25 years old)
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Remember Souvenir by Denis Meyers
This typographer artist took over the former Solvay buildings in Ixelles before their planned destruction on July 21st. While waiting for that moment, he covered the walls and ceilings with words, stories, and portraits, based on his sketchbooks in which he has been drawing for 20 years. This ephemeral project titled Remember Souvenir, destined to disappear with the destruction of the site, is the result of 7 months of residency and a pharaonic amount of work.
If you want to discover this incredible place before it is swallowed up, the Arkadia association regularly organizes guided tours of the site. And at the end of the tour, the artist also puts some of his works, created on removable parts of the decor, up for sale in a small “Shop” area.
Remember Souvenir by Denis Meyers Location: 78 rue Keyenveld 1050 Ixelles tour price: €9 / duration of the visit, 1 hour
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Wiels Art Center
This Belgian institution for contemporary art is dedicated to the presentation and production of temporary exhibitions by national and international artists. This creative space has been installed since 2007 in a restored old brewery, a building designed by architect Adrien Blomme.
The little extra: the venue has a very nice terrace on the top floor that is accessible to visitors and offers a beautiful view of Brussels.
The good idea: have lunch (salads between €6 and €9 and sandwiches at €4.50) or have a coffee on-site to enjoy the space and the venue’s great industrial decor.
City Life in Congo Exhibition
Conceived by photographer Sammy Baloji and anthropologist Filip De Boeck, this exhibition offers a photo and videographic overview of different cities in the Congo, focusing on the “urban present,” torn between the colonial past and the promises of a neoliberal future.
Business Insider exhibition by Simon Denny
Another exhibition presented at the venue is that of visual artist Simon Denny, “Business Insider,” focusing on the emergence of computer hacking culture.
Wiels Avenue Van Volxem 354 1190 Brussels Exhibition from May 8th to August 14th, 2016 open Wednesday to Sunday from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM price: €10 / free the first Wednesday of each month
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The MIMA / City Lights Exhibition
This brand-new museum of contemporary art, unique in Europe and offering a discovery of the history of culture 2.0, is located in an iconic site in the center of Brussels, the former Belle-Vue breweries. This old brick building along the canal in Molenbeek offers the entity 1300 m² of exhibition space over 4 floors, dedicated to the permanent collection and temporary exhibitions.
Generally stemming from “subcultures” such as street art, skateboarding, or graphic design, the artists presented at the MIMA have achieved significant renown in the network of galleries and art centers, for example, in the field of what we ultimately call urban art. Because it inaugurates the newly opened Museum, City Lights is also a manifesto. Gathered for the first time in a European institution, Swoon, Maya Hayuk, MOMO, and the artist duo FAILE together offer a multidimensional image of culture 2.0, this cosmopolitan spirit that drives the museum.
Not to be missed: the rooftop terrace which offers a great panoramic viewpoint over the canal.
The plus: the venue also has a friendly little restaurant near the reception, for a quick bite to eat.
snack price: 1 slice of pizza + 1 drink €7.40 / salad €5
MIMA 39 quai du Hainaut 1080 Brussels City Lights Exhibition from April 15th to August 28th, 2016 open Wednesday to Sunday from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM price: €9.50 / €7.50 reduced rate / €5 for schools
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ADAM Art & Design Atomium Museum
This new Brussels cultural address, located right next to the Atomium, offers themes around design and art from the 20th century to today. As a reminder, the Atomium is the flagship totem that can be seen everywhere in the Brussels sky, a place of exhibition and a museum between architecture and sculpture. The venue even has a superb panoramic restaurant with 100% Belgian cuisine.
Permanent exhibition, the Plasticarium
The ADAM is installed in a part of the Brussels International Trade Mart and has nearly 5000 m², of which nearly half is devoted to a permanent exhibition: the Plasticarium collection. Built up since the 1980s, this unique set of items in the world brings together several hundred plastic objects ranging from the most common to the work of art, including design objects and everyday furniture.
Temporary exhibition: Eames & Hollywood
This is a retrospective of unpublished and little-known photographs, taken from the 50s by Charles and Ray Eames (famous designers) on the film sets of their friend and famous director Billy Wilder. The Eames selected 240 of them to compose Movie Sets, an audio-visual work that exposes the artistic gaze of the designers on Hollywood.
ADAM Art & Design Atomium Museum Place de Belgique B1020 Brussels
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Street Art visit in the streets of Brussels
If you are an enthusiast, I highly recommend that you take advantage of your stay in Brussels to do one of the different Street Art tours with the team from Fais le Trottoir which organizes guided Graffiti and Street Art tours in Brussels. The walks are led by connoisseurs and passionate graffiti practitioners who are there to give you the codes to understand urban art, which is omnipresent in our cities but whose exact meaning sometimes escapes us.
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CONTEST: WIN 2 ROUND-TRIP IZY PARIS – BRUSSELS TICKETS & TIPS
Since April, Thalys has launched IZY, the low-cost trains for traveling between Paris and Brussels at a lower cost. A good transport tip and another good reason to go for a trip to Brussels, because with prices starting at €19 one way, there is no reason to deprive yourself at that rate! Izy offers a direct connection between Paris Gare du Nord and Brussels Midi, with 2 to 3 daily round trips with a journey of about 2h15. IZY tickets go on sale 2 months before the train’s departure and they are neither exchangeable nor refundable.
More good tips:
- for families: children travel for €10 (“Kid” ticket for those under 12)
- In each train, 10 tickets without guaranteed seating are available online for only €10 and 25 “folding seat” tickets for €15
To give you the opportunity to go and discover all the beautiful addresses I told you about in the article, I invite you to try to win on the blog 3 x 2 round-trip IZY tickets for a Paris-Brussels journey.
The conditions: the trip must be taken between June 1st and August 31st, 2016 (at least 3 weeks in advance and subject to availability, of course).
To participate, just tell me in the comments what your tips and good cultural and artistic addresses in Brussels are and obviously why you want to win these train tickets. Then, a random draw among the answers to these questions will determine the 3 winners of the round-trip train tickets for 2 people. Good luck to everyone!
Rules:
– Contest limited to Metropolitan France and Belgium
– +1 chance if you are a fan of the blog’s Facebook page; +1 chance if you follow the blog’s Twitter page; +1 chance if you follow the blog’s Hellocoton page; +1 chance if you follow the blog’s Instagram page +1 chance for each share of the article (don’t forget to leave your usernames in your comment if you want to benefit from extra chance(s))
– 1 participation per IP address
– start date of the contest Saturday, June 4th, 2016 – deadline for participation Sunday, June 12th, 2016 and result the next day on the blog in an edit of the article
EDIT of June 13th, 2016:
Following the random draw, I announce that the 3 happy winners of the train tickets are Juliette, Elodie Trcz, and Carole SERRES.
Congratulations to you, I will contact you quickly by email. Thanks to everyone for your participation and for sharing here your desire to visit Brussels!
Find all my articles on Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia) below:
⇒ All my articles on Belgium
⇒ All my articles on Flanders
GENERAL INFORMATION ON BELGIUM
⇒ Brussels the capital
⇒ Belgian gastronomy
⇒ Bed and Breakfasts in Belgium
MY ARTICLES ON FLANDERS
⇒ Bruges
⇒ Ghent
⇒ Louvain / Leuven
⇒ The Belgian Coast and Ostend
MY ARTICLES ON WALLONIA
⇒ The Gaume Province
Photo credits: Mademoiselle Bon Plan Photos are not royalty-free, photographer's authorization mandatory before any use
