What’s on this week: 12 to 18 April

This new immersive digital experience invites visitors to become the hero of their own story. The Museum of Infinite Realities (MOIR) is an entertaining interactive show in which you can explore your personality. Via seven spaces, each filled with a variety of cutting-edge light, sound and holographic projections, discover which of six personality type best sums up your character, with each one represented by a series of predatory animals. The science-backed experience (currently in Eng & Fr) is ideal for groups of friends, colleagues and family members for maximum fun and enlightenment. From 13 April, Rue de Marché aux Poulets 32

Roll up, roll up and explore The Nomad House! The big top set up in the middle of De Brouckère houses travelling cultural centre Compagnie des Nouveaux Disparus and a free programme of events all on the theme of migration. Le Songe, inspired by Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is sold out but you can join the waiting list for the play. Talks, debates and an exhibition complete the programme. The company is joined by international partners in this Europe Creative project. 12-20 April, Place De Brouckère

If you are in Saint-Gilles over the next few days, you will not be able to miss the Parcours des artistes Saint-Gilles, which takes over the municipality. This year the theme is What Connects Us, with exhibitions taking place in multiple locations, including the famous town hall. The inaugural evening takes place there, with the opening of Marcel Broodthaers: La Poésie et l’Art and an audio-visual performance. The biennial event also sees some 150 artists opening up their studios to visitors and interventions in public squares. 12-21 April, multiple venues (Saint-Gilles)

Musician Nick Cave shows 17 glazed ceramic figurines in a blood-curdling pastiche of the pastoral artform at Xavier Hufkens gallery. The exhibition The Devil — A Life  presents works created over the past four years. They are an arresting cradle-to-grave story of the Devil, while also portraying a personal narrative by the singer-songwriter who has lost two sons over the past nine years. Death and grief now inform all of Cave’s work; the visual expression here also reveals his ongoing interest in religion and spirituality. Until 11 May, Rue Saint-Georges 50

It’s Slow Art Day on 13 April and museums across Brussels and Flanders are participating in the international movement that invites viewers to take their time when perusing works of art. In the capital, Bozar is running a Slow Art Tour of its exhibition  'Histoire de ne pas rire. Surrealism in Belgium'. While the average time spent viewing a work is 28.63 seconds, participants will be asked to take a more intense and conscious look at the art on display. 13 April 15.00-16.30, Rue Ravenstein 23

Dynamic cultural hub LaVallée’s new exhibition Cracked Perspective showcases the work of its four artists in residence: Ammo, Hell’o, Elzo Durt and Studio Biskt. While each practice different artistic disciplines, they all share concepts and influences such as vegetation, psychedelia and geometric motifs. The collective show is the latest event for the venue promoting diversity and emerging artists via exhibitions, residences and other cultural activities. 12 to 28 April, Rue Adolphe LaVallée 39 (Molenbeek)

Olivetti was an early producer of typewriters and computers and – being Italian – was well known for its attention to design. The company was also dedicated to the social and cultural development of its workers, believing this led to a more satisfied and hence productive and loyal workforce. All of this suited Brussels artist, illustrator and sculptor Jean-Michel Folon, who collaborated with the company for 30 years and is the subject of a year-long tribute, 90 years after his birth. It was in fact Olivetti that printed Folon’s very first posters. See them at the exhibition Olivetti-Folon in the Design Museum at the Atomium. Until 15 September, Place de Belgique

From its temporary village at the foot of the Cinquantenaire triumphal arch, the second edition of the Festival of the New European Bauhaus offers free workshops, demonstrations, discussions and performances to explore the innovative power of Europe.  It maintains the spirit of the Bauhaus movement in design and architecture with its emphasis on the perfect marriage between form and function. Learn how to build a common future that beautiful to look at and also promotes our collective well-being. Some events are accessible online. Until 13 April, Cinquantenaire park

The International Competition for Young Pianists Merci Maestro! features winners in a gala concert under the patronage of the Embassy of Ukraine. Initiated by the Brussels International Music Academy, selected winners are performing solo and chamber music pieces. A reception follows in the fabulous landmark building overlooking the Grand Place. Reserve tickets in advance. 14 April 18.00, Gothic Room Brussels Town Hall

A flight of expert Belgian speakers address the issue "Voices of the People - Can Citizens Save Democracy?" at Flagey on Saturday afternoon. David Van Reybrouck, Béatrice Delvaux, Eva Kraus and Paul Verhaeghe are among the writers, journalists and thinkers exploring citizens' assemblies as a way to improve democratic processes. The conference is organised by the Goethe-Institut, in cooperation with G1000, the Belgian platform for democratic innovation and Flagey. 13 April 14.00, Place Sainte-Croix

With ceramics finally receiving the attention they deserve in the world of contemporary art, the late Brussels ceramist sculptor Antoine de Vinck is honoured for his contribution by the municipality of Kraainem where he lived and worked for decades. In Earth, mirror of the soul. Ceramics by Antoine de Vinck (1924-1992), more than 70 works are on show, many of them on display for the first time. De Vinck was introduced to ceramics by pioneering British artist Bernard Leach, author of A Potter’s Book, which the Belgian translated into French. The exhibition is organised by nonprofit Discover Kraainem and the municipality. 14 April to 26 May, Château Jourdain, Avenue Dezangre/Chemin du Château (Kraainem)

Full Circle House stages a series of events tipped to pique the interest of a wide-ranging public. Neuroscientist Dean Burnett explains the importance of emotions to our well-being in Emotional Ignorance and the Science of Emotion on 16 April. It’s followed by the salon discussion Beyond Conflict - Israeli and Palestinian Women Speak out, attended by two Israeli women from Women Wage Peace and two Palestinian women from Women of the Sun on 17 April. It’s preceded by a screening of the film Guerrières de la Paix by Hanna Assouline (In Fr, English subtitles). 16 April 18.30-20.30; 17 April 18.00 (film), discussion 19.30 (limited places), Chaussée de Vleurgat 89 (Ixelles)

“Atherton Lin has a five-octave, Mariah Carey-esque range for discussing gay sex,” says The New York Times. If that isn’t enough to get you to read Gay Bar: Why We Went Out, I don’t know what is. But there is also so much more in this 2021 book, which is part historical record, part memoir of gay bars, the communities they welcome and California editor and essayist Jeremy Atherton Lin (pictured). He talks about his work at Passa Porta on the occasion of the French-language translation (in English). 16 April 20.00-21.30, Rue Antoine Dansaert 46

Book now Royal Greenhouses As this splendid spring display is only open to the public for a few weeks a year, it’s best to book in advance. In a tradition dating back a century, thousands of varieties of plants and trees, including rare species from the collection of King Leopold II, are on show. The former monarch commissioned the classical-style greenhouses and winter garden, which was designed by illustrious Belgian architect Alphonse Balat in 1873. There are also long and short walking routes around the park of the royal residence. 26 April to 20 May, Avenue du Parc royal 61 (Laeken)

OUTSIDE BRUSSELS

The Antwerp Spring Festival of classical music has proven so popular, it has doubled its number of concerts this year, all held in the sumptuously gorgeous Handelsbeurs. It’s an adventurous programme that kicks off with Arvo Part’s Spiegel im Spiegel, combined with work by Bach and the Japanese “king of minimalism” Ryuichi Sakamoto. There’s more Bach at the candlelight concert Bach by Night, a live cooking session set to music and Diabelli Mystery, wherein three pianists take on 11 of the 33 variations composed for Diabelli’s famous waltz for piano. 15-21 April, Borzestraat 31, Antwerp

Enghien’s Foire de Jardin is one of the country’s largest garden fairs where some 250 horticulturalists, architects and garden designers show off their specialities and wares, including outdoor furniture, pools and spas. Explore the four-hectare 17th-century park and pick up new skills in numerous workshops and talks. As well as gourmet food, artisan stands, castle visits and a kids’ playground are among the attractions. 12-14 April, Parc du Château d’Enghien (Hainaut)

Bruges is not short of eye candy and yet the Bruges Triennial gives us even more inspiring architectural and artistic sights. One of the nice things about this year’s theme – Spaces of Possibility – is that it gets us off the beaten track of this much-travelled city and into lesser known streets, parks and squares. The 12 major installations are in public space and freely accessible. The opening on Sunday features some behind-the-scenes look at the artists’ work, a free drink and “sculpture whisperers”. 13 April to 1 September, across Bruges

Visuals have overtaken words in the relaying of information in a social-media obsessed society where any message that takes longer than six seconds to convey is seen as a burden. Enter the Carta festival, where trendsetting, cross-disciplinary artists indulge themselves in visual dislocations. How does an image work? How do we go beyond the dominance of the visual? Find out at this arts festival where AI develops a new relationship with music, a route through the venue immerses visitors in sound and human obsessions are put into perspective. 18-20, 25-27 April, deSingel, Desguinlei 25, Antwerp

The arrival of two restored baroque organs to the Namur church was the springboard for this first edition of Le printemps des orgues de Saint-Loup. It kicks off on Sunday with Clematis, a performance by Ensemble Clematis and world-renowned Namur Chamber Choir and organist Maude Gratton, directed by Brice Sailly. On the programme: three masters of Liège cathedral, Lambert Pietkin, Pierre Lamalle and Henri-Denis Dupont. 14 April 16.00, Eglise Saint-Loup, Rue du Collège, Namur

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

Photos: (main image) ©Museum of Infinite Realities; Parcours des artistes Saint-Gilles ©Jonathan Petit; Bozar ©Marin Driguez; LaVallee Cracked Perspective Elzo Durt King Gizzard Adelaide; Laeken Palace greenhouses © Jean-Michel Byl; Courtesy Design Museum; Antwerp Spring Festival ©Antoine Porcher ; Triënnale Brugge ©Bangkok Project Studio