This year's edition of the Feral Festival will be held in Brussels and Grimbergen from 24 to 26 September, bringing together around 30 artists, researchers and activists for a programme centred on piracy, as a way to defend freedom of expression and share knowledge.
The Festival, organised by the International Centre for Training in the Performing Arts, Cifas, is supported by the French Community Commission, the Wallonia-Brussels Federation and the municipality of Saint-Gilles.
The 2026 edition is being held under the banner of the black flag.
The festival's organisers say it aims to explore the “pirate methods” used by artists to protect freedom of expression, develop new forms of knowledge and pool resources.
Its theme draws on the black flag, popularised by the One Piece manga and later adopted by a number of protest movements around the world.
The event opens on Thursday 24 September at Metarage in Saint-Gilles, with a morning of discussions titled 'From Pirate to Pirate Care,' followed by participatory workshops in the afternoon.
The opening day will end with a concert by Franco-Cameroonian artiste Violence Gratuite at the Place du Jeu de Balle.
On Friday 25 September, a walk accompanied by discussions will link Woluwe Shopping with the Zaventem Industrial Zone, focusing on issues related to digital infrastructure and data centres.
On Saturday 26 September, festivalgoers will be able to travel by boat from Quai Béco-Sainctelette to the Cercle de la Voile in Grimbergen.
The day will continue in Grimbergen with further participatory workshops and discussions on ecological struggles linked to waterways.
The festival will close with a concert by the trio She Shanties.
Cifas describes itself as a Brussels-based space for training and research for live arts practitioners, with a particular focus on the relationship between art and public space, as well as the political dimensions of art.
