Belgian Museum Week kicks off on Monday 12 May, offering visitors the chance to vote for the 'Museum Piece of the Year', and discover all the history and culture the country has to offer in the lead up to International Museum Day on Sunday 18 May.
The week is hosted by the Brussels Museums federation, founded in 1995, and connects 125 museums in the Brussels-Capital Region. It offers a packed programme of activities for all the family. Find out what's on the agenda below.
What's on?
The programme encourages residents and tourists alike to explore the educational and cultural entertainment the Belgian capital has to offer.
The Belgian Comic Strip Centre is putting on a 'Drink and Draw' evening for comic book lovers. Pick up a pen and meet new people surrounded by drawings, unpublished documents, and statues from your favourite cartoonists.
Guided tours will be offered in both the Belgian surrealist René Magritte Museum and contemporary 'outsider art' Art et Marges Museum. Magritte lived in the building during his most abundant creative period and the building now houses his gouaches, drawings, paintings, and hundreds of personal documents.
Credit: Art et Marges Museum
For children, the Coudenberg Palace and the Sewer Museum are hosting family days including dress-up activities, puppet theatre shows, marzipan cooking lessons, storytelling, guided tours and more.
The LAB.AN x Hôtel van Eetvelde UNESCO World Heritage recognised Art Nouveau space will grant access to its upper floors, which usually remain closed to the public.
Find more information here.
International Museum Day
On International Museum Day on Sunday, thousands of museums worldwide will offer a range of free activities to recognise the importance of cultural heritage and encourage visitors to engage with the works that reflect historical and current expression.
Brussels' Bozar Centre for Fine Arts will offer a special programme of guided tours, concerts and more on Sunday.
Credit: The Old Masters Museum
Situated in Mont des Arts, the Horta marvel celebrates the event with an abundance of interactive workshops, notably the kite-building workshop hosted by two Palestinian brothers, inspired by their tradition of kite-flying that has become a symbol of resistance and freedom.
The Museums of Fine Arts – the Old Masters Museum, the Musée Wiertz, the Musée Meunier, the Magritte Museum and the Fin-de-Siècle Museum – will showcase works free of charge. The Museum of Musical Instruments, the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, and the Royal Army Museum in the Cinquantenaire Park will also not charge entry fees.
