Unsure how to spend your weekend in Brussels? We have got you covered! From a crazy Ceilidh on Friday evening to an offbeat cinema festival on Saturday and a visit to one of the world's oldest and most prestigious art fairs on Sunday, there's plenty going on in the Belgian capital.
Arts, music and culture
Festival Courts Mais Trash, Espace Magh, Friday 31 January until Sunday 9 February
The iconic one-of-a-kind Courts Mais Trash film festival is descending on the capital for its 20th edition this weekend. On the agenda for this crucial event for independent, underground, political, and offbeat cinema is the screening of more than 150 films. Over 50 filmmakers will be present to share their work with the audience.
Credit: Festival Courts Mais Trash
For this special celebration, it is joining forces with Queer Mais Trash and taking place at Espace Magh near Grand Place in the city centre for the first time. To properly mark the occasion, the City of Brussels has approved a Manneken Mais Trash costume for the Manneken-Pis statue located near the venue.
Find more information here.
BRAFA Art Fair, Brussels Expo, until Sunday 2 February
The Brussels Art Fair (BRAFA) is one of the world's oldest and most prestigious art fairs, famous for the wide range of high-quality fine art, antiques, modern and contemporary art and design it offers. For BRAFA too, 2025 marks an anniversary: this edition will be its 70th.
BRAFA 2025 - Artimo Fine Arts. Credit: Luk Vander Plaetse
More than 130 leading galleries from 16 countries across the world will be exhibiting their works in the large Brussels Expo hall, near the Atomium. Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos, famed for her monumental sculptures and immersive installations, is this year's guest of honour, instilling a vibrant energy into the Fair.
Find more information here.
Get on your dancing shoes
Scottish Ceilidh, Centre Communitaire Maritime, Friday 31 January
Almost one week after Scotland's biggest celebration (Burns Night), Brussels will host a guid auld Scottish party. A feast featuring all the traditional dishes – Haggis, Stovies, Cullen Skink (halal options available), and barrels of Scotch whisky to wash it down – will be preceded by live traditional folk music and the address to the haggis.
Credit: Janet McCrorie
This will be followed by dance music performed by the Scottish and Belgium-based band The Hoggies and a ceilidh (of course). What does ceilidh mean? It descended from the Gaelic word for 'gathering' or 'party' – so get ready for the greatest night of the year (without being biased). Alba gu bràth!
Find more information here.
Out and about
TOM Festival, Centre Culturel d'Uccle, until Wednesday 5 February
TOM stands for Théâtre Objet Matière or Theatre, Object, Matter. It aims to give a voice to those who don't have one: animals, objects, nature, and many more. With the ingenuity of the artist, the performances speak for things, forcing observers to speak a new language and find their inner child, leaving room for spontaneity.
Credit: visit.brussels/ CCU
On Saturday, Nuisibles opens the audience's eyes to the infinitely small and dares to imagine what a larva or an ant dreams of, while Sunday's show Sous La Table (Under the Table) shows viewers the world from underneath. The installation continues with a participatory lab where parents and children come together to play, combine ideas and tell stories.
Find more information here.
Exposition Farm Prod, Maison des Arts d'Uccle, until Sunday 16 February
Also in Uccle, the Maison des Arts is hosting a unique urban art exhibition by the renowned Brussels collective Farm Prod. It brings together several visual artists to work on a variety of creative projects.
This latest exhibition brings together the work of nine Farmily artists, past and present. Through a selection of paintings, it highlights the unique worlds of each member, ranging from vibrant graphic compositions to realistic interpretations.
Find more information here.
