Cultural Compass: Big events and little discoveries for culture around the region

Every Sunday, Belga English picks its favourites from the rich cultural agenda. This week: Brussels is illuminated with Bright Festival this week, Antwerp's M KHA ushers in an artistic spring and there are other explorations in music.

Bright Festival, Brussels, 13-15 February

As night falls over Brussels, luminous silhouettes emerge, transforming the city into a radiant spectacle. Bright Festival invites visitors on a magical journey through the European and Royal Quarters, where more than 20 light installations and interactive experiences bring the city to life.

This year, the festival celebrates La Monnaie, one of Europe’s most prestigious cultural institutions and recently crowned Best Opera House at the 2025 Oper! Awards

As part of Brussels' Art Deco Year, festival-goers can explore La Monnaie’s workshops inside the historic Vanderborght building, dating back to 1935. Guided tours offer a rare glimpse behind the scenes, showcasing costume, set and sculpture workshops. The Dare to Love light installation will light up the building’s rear facade.

For the brave or slightly inebriated, the Dare to Sing/Dare to Love opera workshop on Valentine’s Day allows everyone to be an opera singer for the day. Participants will be taught music by Bizet and Monteverdi and given the chance to perform at a reception resplendent with champagne to tamp down stage fright.

Opening night at M HKA, 13 February & Hugo Roelandt: The End is a New Beginning, 14 February
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A decade after his passing, Antwerp’s Hugo Roelandt (1950-2015) receives his first museum retrospective at M HKA, in collaboration with the Centre for Art Archives Flanders. The exhibition showcases key works alongside Roelandt’s extensive archive, including notes, sketches and unrealised projects.

A pioneering figure in Antwerp’s post-war avant-garde, Roelandt moved fluidly between performance, installation and photography, challenging traditional artistic boundaries. His work explored themes of body image, gender norms, automation and the bourgeois art world.

M HKA’s season also features The Situation is Fluid, Panamarenko: A Journey to the Stars, archive presentation Today's Place and Bruno Zhu- Out.

It wouldn’t be a Belgian art opening without DJ sets playing late into the night. AMVK, Pierre Elitair and Matti Drome take you from dusk until dawn with their beats.

Polish Unsound Festival, Bozar, 14-15 February

This festival’s signature blend of experimental and boundary-pushing sounds features artists from around the world in its 22nd iteration.

Polish multi-instrumentalist and composer Piotr Kurek draws on influences from medieval compositions, baroque music and experimental jazz. His notes transcend what music from certain time periods or movements is “supposed” to sound like. Described as layered, “melting” sounds, his music conjures images of Dalí’s clocks or candle wax dripping onto a table. Along with a few Belgian musicians, he will present his album Smartwood.

The rise of AI-generated music has sparked intense debate, with opinions ranging from outright rejection to enthusiastic embrace. Rather than taking a one-sided stance - whether negative or overly optimistic - Irish composer Jennifer Walshe explores alternative perspectives in her book, 13 Ways of Looking at AI, Art & Music.

Through this work, she challenges conventional narratives, urging artists and audiences to rethink the role of AI in creative expression and consider its potential as a tool rather than a threat. Walsche will field questions from the audience during the fesitval.

The festival concludes with a club night of DJ sets.

ON/OFF, Technopolis

Is this a classic technology exhibition? Not quite. The tech at ON/OFF seems straight out of a sci-fi movie, but it’s actually shaping everyday life.

Technology fuels every challenge. Play air hockey from a wheelchair, control a game using only your eyes or send digital balls flying with a simple gesture. In augmented reality, battle digital monsters on a climbing wall or interact with a life-like hologram that feels almost real.

Test the limits of AI by playing Pictionary or spotting your face in a famous painting. Step into virtual reality, where you can cycle across a deep ravine or paraglide over mountains. Try on an invisibility cloak, shape-shift in front of an avatar mirror or direct your own stop-motion video.

(MOH)

​​ ​^{​​#FlandersNewsService | KMSKA © BELGA PHOTO JONAS ROOSENS}

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