What’s on this week: 9 to 15 October

The 10-day multidisciplinary Festival des Libertés returns with concerts, shows, documentaries, talks, performances and exhibitions. Against a backdrop of war, threats to civil liberties and widening inequalities, this edition examines the forces that can leave us stunned and paralysed while exploring the acts of resistance, expression and creative endeavours that set societies back in motion. This tension between shock and uprising shapes the line-up. Abd Al Malik opens the festival with Gibraltar, Identités réconciliées, a show blending slam poetry, rap, vocals, dance and visual arts. On the musical front are Yuston XIII, Keziah Jones, Ascendant Vierge, Imany (pictured), Blu Samu and 2L, Marcel Khalifé and Altın Gün, while Sister Carol closes with a roots-music double bill featuring British reggae pioneers, Cimarons. 8-17 October, Théâtre National, Boulevard Emile Jacqmain 111-115

The 10 artists selected for the annual contemporary art competition ArtContest are now on display at the brand new Atoma Art Center in Forest. This nonprofit platform for emerging talent collaborates with Le Botanique once again to stage its 22nd edition, albeit in the freshly-reconverted space of the former notebook factory. ArtContest is committed to supporting artists beyond this show; encouraging reflection on their roles as artists in today’s society. Pictured: artwork by first prize winner Badi Rezzak. Until 22 November, Rue Pierre Decoster 110 (Forest)

Etterbeek Artists’ Trail 2026 transforms the municipality into a vibrant art gallery with more than 320 artists occupying studios, cultural venues and public spaces. Meet local artists and discover their artwork: painting, sculpture, photography, illustration, digital art and installations as well as a cultural programme with music, theatre and stand-up comedy. Also on display is an exhibition of work by local artist Ilja Sircenko (pictured, main image), showing in De Maalbeek. 9-12 October, multiple venues (Etterbeek)

IN.OUT.SIDER Festival 2026 takes over LaVallée cultural hub and Cinéma Aventure for a bold and eclectic programme of alternative music, performances, exhibitions, workshops and artistic residencies. At the crossroads of outsider art, experimental creation and social engagement, the festival is committed to inclusion for artists with and without disabilities. 8-10 October, Rue Adolphe Lavallée 39 (Molenbeek)

Multidisciplinary festival MashaaDunya highlights culture in the capital arising from migration and diasporas. Through art, music, cinema and collaborative creation, it encourages encounters and exchanges among Moroccan, Turkish, Congolese, and Belgian communities and cultures. The festival goes beyond showcasing works; artistic creation serves as a tool for mutual understanding and social transformation. 8 October to 28 November, multiple venues GC De Markten

Enjoy an extraordinary musical journey celebrating climate, equality and peace at a charity concert featuring legendary soundtracks in film history. The Leonardo 4 Children Music Movies & Awards Ceremony includes melodies by Ennio Morricone, John Williams and Hans Zimmer, as well as live renditions from Mission, Schindler's List, Interstellar, Titanic, The Lord of the Rings and Nuovo Cinema Paradiso. Internationally renowned virtuosos include violinists Augustin Dumay & Anastasiya Petryshak, cellist Bruno Ispiola & the Kundera String Quartet, pianists Laurent Beeckmans & Erika Zoi) and the sopranos Olga Artemenko & Anastasia Varga. Euronews anchor Meabh Mc Mahon presents the awards, assisted by Carmen Cotugno. 50% discount on family tickets. 9 October 19.30, Novum theatre (ex-Théâtre Saint-Michel), Rue Père Eudore Devroye (Etterbeek)

Personal stories of Iraq in the 1970s are explored in House of Memory / بيت الذاكرة, an immersive 15-minute Virtual Reality experience by Irish-Iraqi artist Basil Al-Rawi at Bozar. Based on photographs and oral testimonies from the Iraq Photo Archive, he transforms this material into a virtual space where memories can be revisited and explored. The work offers a rare perspective on Iraqi history and diaspora experience. It is part of Ireland’s cultural programme for the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. 14 October to 22 November, Rue Ravenstein

The annual Brussels International Women’s Film Festival (BIWFF) offers fresh opportunities to discover films directed by women from over all around the world. This 18th edition opens with Marie Madeleine (pictured) by Haitian director Gessica Généus. Meanwhile, the Closing Night features the Belgian premiere of Ton Animal Maternel by Valentina Maurel. Other highlights include a showcase of international short films and the Graines de Cinéastes National Short Film Competition that shines a light on emerging filmmakers in Belgium. 13-21 October, UGC De Brouckère, Cinéma Aventure, Cinéma Galeries; 19-21 October, Cinematek

As part of its illuminating Collection Meets programme, the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium presents works by the Belgian-Polish artist Tapta (1926-1997) in dialogue with US minimalist artist Donald Judd (1928-1994). A rare opportunity for the museum to display Tapta’s Néoflexibles 2, a work not seen in public for many years, which typifies her influential practice of using textiles and other flexible materials as sculptural elements. It echoes Judd’s use of commercial materials to create an artistic vocabulary that valued space and industrial surfaces. Until 14 March, Rue de la Régence 3

Cinquantenaire Park hosts the annual ode to Bavarian beer and bonhomie Oktoberfest Brussels 2026. With original Munich beers, regional specialties such as pretzels, white sausage and pork knuckles, as well as traditional brass music, it promises some Bavarian tradition in an international setting. The programme includes special events such as a day dedicated to inspiring women, Damenwiesn, on 15 October and a Family Day exploring the world of crossbowmen on 18 October. Tickets required. 14-24 October 16.00-23.00 (from 11.00 on Sunday), Cinquantenaire Park

Jean Brusselmans - Painter by nature at Bozar is a retrospective of one of Belgium’s most influential 20th century artists. If the Brussels-born Flemish artist failed to achieve commercial success in his lifetime, or international renown after his death in 1953, he is undoubtedly a “painter’s painter.” More than 120 works trace his artistic evolution and his singular pictorial language at the intersection of abstraction and figuration as revealed in his depiction of the Brabant countryside and the Belgian capital (pictured above). Brusselmans’ works are shown in dialogue with contemporaries including Léger, Mondrain and Wouters. Until 31 January, Rue Ravenstein 23

The Bridge Theatre’s autumn production, Copenhagen by Michael Frayn is a 1998 drama about of the most consequential moments in the history of science. In 1941, Werner Heisenberg travelled to Nazi-occupied Copenhagen to meet former mentor, the physicist Niels Bohr. With Europe at war, the discovery of nuclear fission had opened up the possibility of a weapon capable of unprecedented destruction. Exactly what happened during the visit remains a mystery, but Frayn takes this uncertainty and turns it into something extraordinary; part detective story, part philosophical debate and part emotional reckoning. 15 October to 6 November, La Maison Qui Chante (Ixelles)

Book now Wordcraft Collective presents the play Dead Man House, a one-man show that invites audiences to meet Martin, an Irish traveller who will break hearts and mend them, invoke tears of sadness and laughter, while also showing great craic. The Brussels literary association partners with the Council of the EU 2026, Culture Ireland and EFACIS ‘Performing Ireland’ Project to stage this play by Martin Beanz Warde.  28 October 19.00-20.15, Pianofabriek, Rue du Fort 35 (Saint-Gilles)

OUTSIDE BRUSSELS

British director Mike Newell is the guest of honour at Waterloo Historical Film Festival (WaHFF) with the director of blockbusters such as Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Four Weddings and a Funeral delivering a masterclass on Saturday. Also on the programme of the 14th edition, is opening film Fausse note by French director Alexandre Arcady, competitions and eight international historic films and eight documentaries. 8-11 October, Cinés Wellington, Chaussée de Bruxelles 165, Waterloo

Immerse yourself in the natural world thanks to the Festival International Nature Namur. The 32nd edition screens professional and amateur films, photo exhibitions, talks, nature and kids’ activities. For the closing night gala, the film The Birds (pictured) follows animal filmmaker Martin Dohrn in Britain's Wash estuary. Head to Terra Nova at the Citadel for a nature village from 14 to 18 October, which hosts tours and free activities. 10-18 October, Le Delta, Avenue Fernand Golenvaux 18 & the Citadel, Namur

Design Museum Gent has re-opened its doors after four years of major renovation work. In addition to its permanent collection, one of its new temporary exhibitions is Collection. Models from the Part for the Future, which reflects on its founding as a ‘model museum’ in 1903, enhanced by a contemporary view of the museum’s history. Objects are grouped around five themes: Copy, Comfort, Migration, Folding and Connections. Until 31 December, Drabstraat 10

Anita Molinero is an artist often described as the “punk sculptor”. For Charleroi BPS22’s opening exhibition of the season, Sculpture is not dead, visitors can discover her expressive pieces assembled from discarded materials that are burned, slashed, compressed or even deformed to create a body of work that can be seen as an indictment of society. Two large-scale installations were made from material recuperated in the Charleroi region. This is the first major show in Belgium by the French artist of Spanish origin.  Until 3 January, Campus Charleroi Métropole, Boulevard Solvay 22, Charleroi

Wander among the stunning pyramids of plants and flower for sale during Flanders Garden Festival in Beervelde Park. It’s one of Belgium’s most popular gardening events for a reason: aside from plants, flowers and other gardening paraphernalia, you’ll find culinary delights, workshops, crafts and antiques and a wealth of entertainment for the young and the not-so-young, including live music. The theme of this spooky edition is ‘Trick or Treat’. 9-11 October, Beervelde-Dorp 75, Lochristi (East Flanders)

Discover more upcoming events at The Bulletin's events page.

Photos: (main image) Imany ©Eugenio Recuenco; ArtContest first prize winner ©Badi Rezzak/BE_Culture; Basil Al-Rawi Installation Foreword July 2025, courtesy the artist; Courtesy Oktoberfest; Jean-Brusselmans, Het bad van de vagebonden 1936 ©photo Peter Cox, Eindhoven; Huib Hoste, Glazen vouwdeur uit Woning Haegens, 1931, collectie Design Museum Gent ©Anwyn Howarth; Anita Molinero, Sculpture is not dead (vue d'exposition), 2026, BPS22 ©Leslie Artamonow