Nuits Sonores & European Lab 2019: The third edition of the Brussels urban festival

 

Last weekend the third edition of Nuits Sonores & European Lab Brussels took place at Bozar. This is an urban festival born of the joint forces of BOZAR and Arty Farty. Four days (from Thursday to Sunday) of non-stop beat with a top-notch local and international line-up, numerous debates and plenty more.

The focal point of the festival was undoubtedly the BOZAR Takeover, on Friday evening. A combination of live performances, concerts and DJ sets in the beautiful and unique location of the Centre for Fine Arts. The evening brought more than twenty artists from all over the world together on three stages, turning BOZAR into Belgium’s biggest club for one night.

Every room of the labyrinthine Centre for Fine Arts was filled with beats and amazing light games. The main venue was the spectacular art deco concert hall (Henry Le Bœuf Hall) that for the occasion was converted into a huge dance floor. Between the names of the DJs spinning above the crowd in the royal box, there were: ڭليثر Glitter ٥٥, Dasha Rush, Octave One Live, and Paula Temple.

 

Henry Le Bœuf Hall during BOZAR takeover  – Credit Video: Simone Vespa

 

However, the Nuits Sonores were not just about partying, but also about talking and thinking. Club owners, artists and even philosophers had the chance to exchange ideas about club culture, activism and more. Also the artist-researcher Bogomir Doringer participated. After studying and filming dance floors all over the world and presenting his exhibition “Dance of Urgency” at Q21 in Vienna, the artist decided to continue his work at European Lab Brussels.

His project looks at the dance floor as a space for socio-political expression. According to him, the “Dance of Urgency” is a dance born of emotions that emerge at times of personal and collective crisis. It is a dance that empowers individuals and groups. The artist first moderated a debate on the topic and then he pointed his camera to the dance floor at BOZAR to integrate the Brussels party crowd in a live artwork.

The Nuits Sonores continued on Saturday night with The Loop, one of Nuits Sonores’ most impressive historical programmes. It is an exclusive musical journey in three locations in the vicinity of Brussels’ Canal: Kanal – Centre Pompidou, LaVallée & Be-Here. Local cultural operators collaborated with Nuits Sonores to give each venue its own individual musical atmosphere.