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In the first part of the guide, 10 prominent figures – including Galila Barzilaï-Hollander, Laurent Jacob and Sophie Whettnall – were interviewed and shared their feelings about contemporary art in Brussels and their favourites examples of it in the capital.

The second part of the guide presents a selection of 40 major venues (galleries, museums or art centres) chosen by these 10 figures.

Finally, the Brussels Art Guide offers an extensive address book of every location dedicated to contemporary art in Brussels as well as an agenda of exhibitions, fairs and events planned for 2020.

Practical and full of illustrations, this new edition aims to be a guide for all lovers of contemporary art, co-authored by Virginie Devillez, Sam Steverlynck, and Antoine Defeyt.

The Brussels Art Guide is also produced in collaboration with visit.brussels.

USEFUL INFO:
Price: €10
Release: 9 October 2019
200 pages – 110 x 165mm
Edited by the Fondation pour les Arts à Bruxelles
On sale in bookshops and at visit.brussels tourist office (Rue Royale)

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The post More than 100,000 people attended the 10th edition of the Comic Strip Festival in Brussels appeared first on Brussels Express.

The post Comic albums, comic books, comic merchandising and comic strip walls appeared first on Brussels Express.

The Balloons’ Day Parade, taking place during the Comic Strip Festival, will run for the 17th consecutive year across the major Brussels streets on September 15, 2019. Composed of famous characters of Belgian comic strip and rhythmed by Belgian fanfares, the Balloons’ Day Parade will have the pleasure to make discover to young and old its gargantuesque balloons.

Sunday, September 15, during 1 hour and 30 minutes, a parade of giant balloons in the form of comic characters, will cross the city center of the capital. The aim of the Balloons’ Day Parade and the Comic Strip Festival is to immerse fans and enthusiasts in the fantastic world of Belgian comics.

 

 

This year it is not one but two new balloons that will integrate the parade, Toto, the most famous kid for classic jokes of French culture and Dooly the Little Dinosaur. It is also with pleasure that the penguins of Madagascar will make their comeback for this 2019 edition.

The impressive inflating balloon show will start around 10:00 am on the Place des Palais where more than 200 volunteers will be needed to give life to these giants. Most of the balloons will cross the Atlantic to participate at this event. From 15:00, Billy, Spirou, Tintin, The Cat and their new friends will walk in the city center to finally return to the Place des Palais around 16:30.

This year, the parade will welcome new fanfares from all over Belgium, the fanfares are placed between the balloons to give a rhythm and animate the parade.

The comic strip lovers will also find satisfaction in the Royal Park in the Comic Strip Village where new and used comic books will be put on sale by publishers and booksellers. More than hundred authors will give signing sessions and there are many other surprises and animations during three days.

To lead the balloons, the Balloons’ Day Parade is currently looking for volunteers to inte- grate the parade from 13:45 to 18:00. If want to do it, do not hesitate to send your information to the email address: gold@beegroupe.be

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Brussels has a reputation for poor urban decision-making. The destruction of Horta’s Maison du Peuple or Ixelles’s Halles for example, still cause locals to facepalm in anguish. But sometimes the planners get it right.

The Anderlecht Abattoir was built in 1888 to replace its festering predecessor. The new site would be better connected to the canal and rail infrastructure. A branch of the Senne was redirected, the swampy terrain was drained and four-metre vaulted foundations were dug. The vaults become an ice-cellar and mushroom farm (and these days are available for venue-hire). Above sprouted a hundred cast iron columns supporting the vast metal roof of the 400sq metre markethall, designed by Emile Tirou.

At the gate, visitors are greeted by two cast bronze bulls, copies of those at the Vaugirard Abattoir in Paris (now the Parc Georges Brassins). Inside, in the shade of the roof, daylight is carved into horizontal bands and ornate arches.

This is not only an impressive part of agro-food history, but an exciting part of the city’s future. A hundred years after its construction, the site was sold to a cooperative and listed as a classified monument in 1988. It has gone from strength to strength. 200,000 animals a year are still slaughtered here and there are multiple thriving ‘mets’ (‘met’ is the old Brussels dialect for market) including a Sunday flea market, Brocantemet. Complementing its older mistress, a new Foodmet was recently added, housed in a pre-cast concrete pavilion which was exhibited at the Venice Biennale 2016, with cutaway panels resembling a child’s shape sorting game.

And throughout the summer, from 6pm on a Thursday night, Abattoir becomes the venue for one of Brussels’s most surprising afterwork parties. The Boeremet. Lined with foodstalls serving pizza, thai noodles, dim sum, burgers, nibbles and shots, chips (of course) and plenty more, the marketplace is taken over by a massive sound system pumping out popular club floorfillers. By 8pm, enthusiastic semi-clad punters are dancing on the tables.

You’ve been warned!

The post Brussels Hidden Gems: Afterwork Party at Boeremet, Abattoir – and more appeared first on Brussels Express.

On 22 October 2018, visit.brussels organised the first “best Brussels’ prawn croquettes competition”. The overall winner was the Fernand Obb Delicatessen. La Quincaillerie, Ma Folle de Soeur, François, Todt’s Café, Le Belga Queen, Toucan Brasserie, l’Atelier de Willy, La Guinguette en Ville and La Brasserie de la Gare were all in the top 10.

The 14 businesses to enter this year are: Chez Ta Mère, Les Brasseries Georges, Ma Jolie, Aux Armes de Bruxelles, Le Patio, SANZARU, Callens Café, Fernand Obb Delicatessen, Racine Carrée, Chalet Robinson, Les Petits Bouchons, Cospaia, Le Rossini, Lola

To take part in the competition, candidates had to meet the following criteria: own a business, a cafeteria, a bar or Food Truck that is actively in use and located within the Brussels-Capital region and offer home-made prawn croquettes à la carte.

The judging panel, which is made up of food journalists, will use a grid to establish a grading system for the produce they taste. Points will be awarded following several criteria, including crunch, taste and quality of the prawns.

The competition will take place in front of the public this year, on Saturday 7 September, during the BRUSSELS, drink! BORDEAUX festival. Members of the public will even be invited to take part in the judging panel.

The winner of this year’s competition will be able to use the title of “best prawn croquettes in Brussels” for a year after the results have been announced.

For more information on the 2018 top 10

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As well as all its traditional and iconic attractions, Brussels is packed full of typical spots and secret treasures loved by its inhabitants. That’s why visit.brussels, in collaboration with the creative agency FamousGrey, has developed an innovative online guide that’s available in real time: “now.brussels”.

Now.brussels, a new tool in real time to discover Brussels in a different way

When you’re exploring a city, there’s no better way than to visit the places the people who live there like. Thanks to now.brussels, this is now possible with a click. Now.brussels is an innovative site that lets visitors choose what they want to do based on where they are, the weather forecast, what they fancy doing at that time and, above all, the recommendations of locals.

What are the most popular open-air cafes with the locals? Where can you party until the small hours in Brussels? What are the not-to-be-missed events? Brussels’ hotspots are rated in real time, based on what locals are saying on social media (through photos, stories, comments, hashtags…) and their location.

How does it work?

All the user has to do is visit now.brussels and turn on their location, and the Brussels adventure can begin. They can choose from three options: things to do, where to drink, and where to eat. Based on the user’s geolocation and what they choose to do, the site uses an interactive map to identify where locals are at that precise time. According to their size and shade, coloured areas identify the places most visited by locals, which are both near the visitor and located in the Brussels region. The visitor then just has to decide what to do, based on the descriptions and photos uploaded about each place and/or activity.

An authentic “made in Brussels” experience

After visiting the city’s historical highlights, tourists will be able to enjoy the atmosphere and buzz of the “real” Brussels. Exploring Brussels with now.brussels is a unique way to be inspired and guided by locals, as well as to discover Brussels in real time at the same pace as locals.

More information: now.brussels

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The International Greeters Association, a symbol of participative tourism, has been created and its headquarters are in Brussels.

Now in its 26th year, the Global Greeter Network is going from strength to strength. And what better way to visit a city than accompanied by a local? As a symbol of this boom, the International Greeters Association has been created and its headquarters are in Brussels.

Greeters are local people who give tourists an unusual, original and personal insight into their city or neighbourhood, in a friendly and welcoming way. This idea is a perfect example of the trend in alternative tourism, which is increasingly in demand from tourists looking for a more authentic experience. It represents participative tourism, a vehicle for urban development and a cornerstone of tourist growth at the start of the 21st century.

The Global Greeter Network has more than 140 members in all 4 corners of the globe. Brussels can boast about being one of the 6 Global Greeter destinations to have seen the biggest rise in visits, along with Paris, New York, Chicago, Brisbane and Hamburg.

Today, Brussels Greeters and visit.brussels are delighted to announce the creation of the International Greeter Association (IGA). The Brussels Greeters network is a free, participative tourism service, that relies on the volunteering work and enthusiasm of the people of Brussels. Coordinated by visit.brussels, its mission is to welcome and help visitors discover the city. The creation of the IGA in Brussels confirms the capital’s international standing and further boosts its active approach to local partnerships.

Visit.brussels (and the Brussels Greeters), CDT Pas-de-Calais, Hamburg Greeters, Cicerones of Buenos Aires, Paris Greeters and Choose Chicago are the founding members, who will soon bring the 140 existing networks together. The global network is expected to grow by 5% in the next two years.

Brussels, world capital of international associations, with more than 2,300 based in the city will, from now on, also be a leader in participative tourism.

For more information go to

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