Cultural Compass: American Surrealism, togetherness in dance, Museum Night Fever and more
Exhibitions, music, architecture, books, festivals… this is Belga English's pick of cultural activities in Flanders and Brussels, published every Sunday.
On Friday, the Magritte Museum passed the baton from Jean-Michel Folon’s exhibition to Emily Mae Smith’s. Born in Texas, but based in New York, this American painter will present around 30 pieces that establish a personal dialogue with René Magritte’s universe.
Central to her work is an anthropomorphic broomstick, inspired by Disney's Fantasia and Goethe’s poem The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. This figure serves as her muse, representing a painter’s brush, a housemaid’s tool, a witch’s symbol and even a phallus, giving her work a sexual undertone.
Smith places this broomstick in various settings such as a 17th-century interior, in rocky exterior, inside of a cave and so on. She works to incorporate elements from symbolism and surrealism, using skulls, flowers and Magritte-esque apples. She also references Magritte's work directly, sometimes even including his paintings within her own.
Both Smith and Magritte share a fascination with visual trickery and self-portraiture, Magritte with his iconic man in a hat, and Smith with her broomstick. Their styles feature sharp contours and an interplay of text and imagery. Smith also injects dark humour into her work, using her character to explore women's roles in art and society, alternating between empowerment and objectification. René Magritte X Emily Mae Smith runs until 3 March, 2025.
Serge Aimé Coulibaly’s C la Vie is a vibrant celebration of unity and hope. Known for his emotionally charged and thought-provoking choreography, the Burkinabè artist draws inspiration from African initiation rituals in this new work. With nine performers on stage, C la Vie transforms into a symbolic public square where anything is possible. Instead of traditional trials or heroic figures, the performance focuses on the power of togetherness.
Rooted in African culture, Coulibaly’s work blends deep feeling with reflection, creating a universally relatable experience. Since founding Faso Danse Théâtre in 2002, he has consistently tackled complex themes, aiming to inspire positive change, especially for younger generations. Performances are 18 and 19 October.
© Maillon Théâtre de Strasbourg
In October, Brussels' museums come alive for Museum Night Fever, and Bozar is a key participant. This year’s highlight is the Love is Louder exhibition, which explores love beyond the romantic. Love that reflects friendship, families and even politics. The exhibition delves into how love and friendship shape society, accompanied by creative activities under the same theme.
Polyphonie d’amour, a radio project initiated by Anna Raimondo, inspired by bell hooks' All About Love, arrives in Brussels after its debut in Rome. The programme features multilingual, improvised reflections on love, which will be transformed into a podcast co-produced by Michel-Ange Vinti.
Chaos Village (NMSS & Simlo) will present an immersive audiovisual performance blending chaotic images and electric sounds. To conclude the night, the sister duo Femifé & Sica Kidjo will host a festive event until 01:00, creating a vibrant end to the evening.
From 18 October to 23 November, Huberty & Breyne will host the first Brussels exhibition of Stéphane Blanquet, a French multimedia artist known for his unique and unsettling work. Blanquet's art explores fragmented bodies and eerie landscapes, blending them into a single organism that challenges the viewer’s perception. His style merges figurative art with elements of art brut, making his work a striking blend of the familiar and the bizarre.
The exhibition, titled Écume Mercure au Plexus (Merury Foam Plexus), showcases a variety of Blanquet's creations, including drawings, paintings and tapestries. A highlight is Plexus Mercure, a new series of 100 blue ink drawings, where masculine and feminine forms merge in fluid metamorphosis. Large-scale autobiographical paintings in monochrome red, dense with detail, will also be on display, alongside intricately woven silk and wool tapestries.
De Singel presents Flesh can’t can’t not’t ‘tis flesh h…, a multisensory performance by Costa Rican-Nicaraguan artist Mario Barrantes Espinoza, blends sci-fi elements, live music, projected text and sculpture to explore identity and queer history. Accompanied by reggaeton sounds and perreo dance, two fiery bodies guide us through the surreal landscape of migration between the Global South and North, offering a glimpse into the queer history of Central America.
Espinoza, born in 1991 and now based in Brussels, studied theatre and dance in Costa Rica before moving to Belgium to further his education at P.A.R.T.S. His work often fuses performance, text, vocals and elements of pop culture, creating an immersive experience that challenges perceptions and evokes deeper reflections on identity and belonging. Catch the performance for only one evening on 19 October.
Additional cultural coverage from Belga this week includes: Expo at Bozar explores the changing face of love, Brussels joins international Music Cities Network to promote music culture, Activists demand return of stolen artefacts in protest at Africa Museum
Ongoing events
Whats the Story? KMSKA
Emile Claus: The Prince of Luminisim, Mudel Museum of Deinze
Alechinsky, Pinceau Voyageur
Cindy Sherman, ENSOR 2024, FOMU
Masquerade, Make-up and Ensor, MOMU
Ensor's States of Imagination, Plantin-Moretus Museum
In Your Wildest Dreams: Ensor Beyond Impressionism, KMKSA
To Antarctica, The Polar Pioneers of the Belgica, MAS
Margaret of Parma, MOU
Alternative Narrative, MSK
Lucy McKenzie Super Palace, Z33
Juliette Vanwaterloo’s Burn it All Down, BPS22
Alain Séchas’ Never Get Bored, BPS22
(MOH)