Culture beat - 20 March

Belgium’s prolific contemporary choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker is behind the live dance exhibition staged at Wiels from March 20 to May 17, 11.00-18.00. Work/Travail/Arbeid consists of nine hours of dance per day over nine weeks. De Keersmaeker has reimagined her work Vortex Temporum as a continuous performance within a museum space, creating an entirely new exhibition form.

Each year, the Brussels literary house Passa Porta organises a festival that is resolutely international in its remit. The 2015 edition is no exception, with a bevy of contemporary writers ready to share their works and thoughts. The majority of events are in English, Dutch and French, while other languages, such as Arabic, Spanish and Turkish, also make an appearance.
Among the authors taking to the stage, are JMG Le Clézio, David Van Reybrouck, Nancy Huston, Fatima Sharafeddine, Luanda Casella, Joke Hermsen, Kathy Mathys, Michel Faber, Tom Lanoye and Jenny Offill. Guest of honour is British writer Ian McKewan (pictured), talking about his latest novel The Children Act at Bozar on March 29. The festival offers a smorgasbord of events, from readings of bedtime stories, short stories and poetry, plus literary walks, children’s activities, screenings, performances, concerts and talks.

Bozar’s flagship exhibition for spring is Sultan’s World, exploring the art of the Ottoman Empire between 1453 and 1606 (pictured). It focuses on the influence of the empire on foreign artists during this turbulent Renaissance period, including Dürer, Memling, Bellini and Le Tintoret. The show also looks into the image of the Turk, frequently filled with fear and prejudice. Consisting of some 160 works of art and objects gathered from around the world, the exhibition will later move to Krakow. It is part of an international project Ottomans and Europeans, reflecting on five centuries of cultural relations. Until May 31

Fine art and antiques fair Eurantica attracts an increasingly international audience. At Brussels Expo from 25 March to 3 April, the 30th edition is home to 120 Belgian and foreign dealers. Collectors will be spoilt for choice with objects from around the world, from antiquity to the modern period. The fair’s theme – the portrait – includes an exhibition of contemporary portraits by Brussels photographer Anne-Catherine Chevalier (pictured). And Eurantica also pays tribute to Brussels and the great artistic names that have passed through the city, including Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Fernand Khnoff, René Magritte, Constantin Meunier, as well as designers Victor Horta and Jules Wabbes, among others.

British environmental activist Tristram Stuart speaks to the international networking club Full Circle on 26 March. As one of the most outspoken international campaigners against the global food waste scandal, he is the winner of the international environmental award, the Sophie Prize 2011. His initiatives include Feeding the 5000, a consciousness-raising campaign where 5000 members of the public are given a free lunch using ingredients that would otherwise have gone to waste.
The activist is the author of The Bloodless Revolution (2006) and Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal (2009). Stuart will address the Full Circle’s talking heads walking dinner on Waste Not, Want Not, from 19.00-22.30. The city-centre location will be announced a few days before the event.