“Nown” is a contraction of the English terms “now” and “own” which express, respectively, temporality and belonging. “Nown,” it’s your Brussels, here and now. Through simple photos, we can learn much more about the different ways of living in Brussels.

Through this photography project, a dozen local people, refugees and asylum seekers capture the atmosphere of Brussels and their daily lives. The goal is to discover different ways of understanding the city in order to better reunite with it.

It is therefore a project that aims to improve living together by creating a collective dynamic that tends to develop the individual abilities of each person through creative processes.

In January 2019, the project started under the initiative of 4 women (Sara, Marine, Philippine and Chloé) with the creation of a photo workshop. The unique task was photographing their daily lives in Brussels.

A group of volunteers was quickly formed with about ten people who wanted to share their daily lives in Brussels. They work with disposable cameras and notebooks to record photo descriptions in their language.

Around October, the various photographs will be exhibited exclusively at the Recyclart. That’s why, a month ago, they organized  a crowdfunding in order to make this exhibition possible and they have reached the necessary amount.

This project deconstructs each human journey to reconstruct common visions and realities. The goal is to develop important collective objectives of sharing and social cohesion, but also to meet the needs of security, belonging, self-esteem and self-accomplishment by making each participant an actor in the project and a trigger for his or her own creativity.

If you want to discover more about this project, don’t hesitate to visit their Facebook page.

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The most famous place is of course the Atomium, an essential symbol of Brussels and Belgium and a unique achievement in the history of architecture. From the top, at 92 meters high, you can enjoy the most beautiful 360° panorama of Brussels.

Another place I want to talk about is Place Poelaert which overlooks the lower city of Brussels from a sixty-three meter height, a gigantic square in front of the Brussels Court House. This square gives you the opportunity to have a breathtaking view of Brussels. In addition, there is a glass elevator to get down to the lower part of Brussels and visit the famous Marolles district, which also offers you a superb view.

We also have the Musical Instrument Museum or MIM, the most surprising rooftop in Brussels. Located on the top of an art-nouveau style building, the rooftop of the MIM is one of the most beautiful in Brussels. The terrace of the restaurant offers a magnificent view of the historic center, and where you can find an all-you-can-eat brunch buffet every Sunday. A must for tourists and for all Brussels residents who respect themselves!

If you are in the center of Brussels, don’t forget to walk to the Mont des Arts. It’s an urban complex comprising the Royal Library of Belgium, the Kingdom’s General Archives, the Palais des Congrès and a garden created by landscape architect, René Pechère. The vintage cafeteria on the fifth floor of the Royal Library (KBR) offers you a unique panorama of Brussels.

JAM Hotel Rooftop, high and perched on top of Brussels will make your friends jealous. The old building of the St. Luke School of Architecture has been transformed into a modern hotel with a bar open every day on the Hotel rooftop, which will allow you to enjoy the interior space which houses a restaurant, two bars and an outdoor pool.

As its name suggests, Villa in the Sky offers you an idyllic setting to admire Brussels from the sky. The restaurant’s huge bay window will take your breath away while you enjoy your dishes. It is a two-star Michelin restaurant located in Brussels and run by Alexandre Dionisio.

The Cinquantenaire Park and its Arch of Triumph. The site is a vast set of gardens, punctuated by monuments and museums. It was built for the 50th anniversary of Belgium’s independence. Not everyone knows it, but you can climb up the arcades of the Cinquantenaire Park. Perched at a height of more than 65 meters, the visitor can enjoy a breathtaking view.

The Basilica of Koekelberg, the 5th largest basilica in the world. At 52.80 meters high, just under the dome, an outdoor gallery allows you to discover the most beautiful view of Brussels and the Flemish and Walloon Brabants. On a clear day, you can even see the Cathedral of Mechelen and the inclined plane of Ronquières!

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This pop-up plant sale will take place from 15 to 18 August in Brussels, on the site of SEE U, the former gendarmerie barracks in Ixelles (Rue Fritz Toussaint, 8 1050). The entrance is free of charge.

For the Brussels edition of PUP, there will be more than 163 different types of Pleasant and Unusual Plants, all directly from the producers.

You will find indoor plants, tropical variants, trendy plants and unique specimens. In addition, many workshops on plant care and the multiplication of your urban jungle will be organized in collaboration with local talents. There will be something for everyone. Delicious food trucks, a pleasant bar and music will enhance the atmosphere.

The organizers attach a lot of importance to local sourcing and buy more than 65% from Belgian growers in order to promote the Belgian craftsmanship. They will visit every city in Belgium and at the end of their trip, they will give an overview of the cleaned air per city.

« For PUP it is crucial to know the origin of the plants. In this way, we know the history and are therefore able to help plant lovers to take the best care of their plants, » the organization said.

Here is the link to their Facebook Event where you can find all the information you need

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Now, it is harvest time in their wheat field. With the heat of the last few days, the association’s volunteers got up early to mow during the cooler hours of the day. Especially since they work on the “Flemish sappe”, a traditional tool similar to the sickle.

After being sorted and threshed, the grains pass between the millstones of the Woluwe-Saint-Lambert windmill, located a few hundred meters from the plot. The breads can then be baked in a traditional oven not far from the Hof Ter Musschen’s farm.

The field is located on Sint-Stevens-Woluwe, but they have set up a collaboration with the Commune of Woluwe-Saint-Lambert to cultivate a plot of land next to the windmill from 2019.

The goal? Prepare a homemade bread at the beginning of the process. The association also organizes training courses to make bakery at home according to the ancestral method. The Hof Ter Musschen bakery is located at the corner of boulevard de la Woluwe and avenue Hippocrate.

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Every Friday, the 2^nd edition of the “Laeken Fires” by the City of Brussels will offer many activities and entertainment (food trucks, dances, workshops, demonstrations, games, initiations, etc.) from 6 pm. The evening will culminate at 11 pm with a firework display from the foot of Palace 5 of Brussels Expo. The event is completely free of charge.

Each Friday will also have a different theme:

• 26^th of July: Fantasy World
• 2^nd of August: Around the World
• 9^th of August: Greenfeeling
• 16^th of August: Watersplash
• 23^rd of August: Musicals

On this occasion, Mini-Europa will remain open for several nights until midnight (the last entrance is one hour before the closing time), with a festival of lights. This will translate into « a fascinating play of light and shadow that will highlight the details of each model, » says the park. The Atomium will also be accessible in the evening, with the last entrances at 9:30 pm, to pass the time until the fireworks display.

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