What’s on this week: 11 to 17 October

Whether or not you actually love science, you’ll have a blast at the I Love Science Festival, three days that mix innovation with creativity, from technology to nature to space to medicine. Try on an exoskeleton with VUB researchers, create an electric-powered greeting card, whip up some composite biomaterials. I Love Science is for all ages, is completely free and is all under one roof. 11-13 October, Tour & Taxis, Rue Picard 11

How is a great work of art created? That’s the question the Royal Museums of Fine Arts explores in its new exhibition Drafts. From Rubens to Khnopff. Some 100 works of art, dating from the 15th to the 19th century, immerse visitors in the creative process of iconic artists such as Rogier van der Weyden, Rembrandt, Rubens, Jordaens (pictured), Ensor, Magritte, Khnopff, among others. 11 October to 16 February, Rue de la Régence 3

Belgian Surrealist master René Magritte continues to inspire new artists. US painter Emily Mae Smith has created a unique personal dialogue with his fascinating universe as part of the worldwide centenary celebrations of Surrealism. Her new works, made exclusively for the exhibition, are on display alongside loans from private and public collections. Smith shares with Magritte a certain dark humour, as she enjoys playing with her “double-self” to question the place of women in painting and in our society. 11 October to 2 March, Rue de la Régence 3

Contemporary art space Centrale reopens its doors after renovation with a new artistic direction. Inspired by the summer exhibition of London’s Royal Academy of Arts, its inaugural show Hosting follows an open call to Brussels- based artists of all generations and disciplines in the visual arts. Some 247 artists were selected anonymously, resulting in 353 artworks on display. The resulting ‘cabinet of curiosities’ is a celebration of the diversity of the capital’s artistic scene. A sale of some works provides a solidarity fund (20% of the proceeds) to be redistributed to all the exhibiting artists (Melsenstraat by Thomas Dielman pictured). Until 9 February, Saint-Catherine 13

If colourful graphic novels came to life and jumped off the page, they’d look just like the work of Michel Goyon. For more than 40 years, the French artist has been creating works that draw on comic strips, art brut and mathematics as inspiration. The exhibition Arborescences is a fascinating multimedia art trail through the history of his work that questions the boundaries between outsider and contemporary art. 17 October to 19 April, Arts et Marges Museum, Rue Haute 314

Get ready for five days of innovative music, debate and experimentation at Abrupt, which replaces the former Nuits Sonores Brussels. Concerts, club events, workshops and debates are all lined up at  Bozar, Botanique, C12, Reset and Ancienne Belgique, while an urban music trail incorporates venues such the Cathedral of Saints Michael and Gudula and the Warehouse on the Usquare site in Ixelles. The cutting-edge music programme features local and international artists, intertwining music, visual art, debate and science, all infused with a festival experience. Warning: tickets are selling fast! Until 13 October, multiple venues

Garden Tales is a unique, free event that allows you to discover beautiful Brussels gardens, parks and green spaces on your own, with a guide, or on two wheels. This weekend includes Saturday’s special ‘Night of Darkness’ featuring walks, workshops, star gazing and a moonlit forest cycling adventure. Continue the adventure on Sunday by visiting gardens in elegant upper Schaerbeek and lesser-known Evere. Also on the menu are guided walks of the Art Deco Terdelt cité-jardin, Moeraske marsh’s myriad mushrooms and on how Brussels Cemetery trees prepare for winter. Saturday, 17.00 - 22.00 – Bergoje park area and Rouge-Cloître (Auderghem), Sunday 10.00 – 18.00 - various locations in Evere and Schaerbeek

Music, diversity, solidarity and fun – that is the theme of Raising Voices – la Monnaie’s joyous festival dispelling any notion that opera is dull. Highlights include the ‘Opera and dance battles’, ‘Songs for social justice’ and a ‘One day choir’. You can also jam at the opera, enjoy a masterclass with American soprano Claron McFadden, join a guided walk or discussion on the role of music in culture, identity and diversity; or, just relax during a jazzy afternoon. With a special schools programme featuring ‘The Time of Our Singing’ concert, the event also includes the 19 October ‘Museum Night Fever’ festivities. 17-22 October, Place de la Monnaie and surrounding area (Brussels)

Explore one of the 20th century’s greatest archaeological discoveries – the uncovering of more than 8,000 statues of soldiers, chariots and horses buried in the Necropolis to protect the First Emperor of China in the afterlife. This Terracotta Army, unearthed in 1974 by peasant Yang Zhifa in China’s central Shaanxi province, provides a new perspective on the art, culture and history of Imperial China. Complete with a spellbinding installation of the army itself in all its finely reconstructed glory, for Benoît Mater, author of a book on the subject, the exhibition’s aim is “to show the history of the first big kingdom of the world”. Until 31 December, Shed 4bis, Tour & Taxis, 86C Avenue du Port

Inflatable art is given the immersive treatment in The Balloon Museum exhibition EmotionAir. Filling a 7,000m2 space of Brussels Expo, the interactive, multi-sensory journey “exploring the profound relationship between art and human emotions”. Consisting of 20 monumental artworks by internationally renowned artists, the show has already been staged in cities around Europe and the US. The experience is very photo friendly! 11 October to 26 January, Place de la Belgique 1 (Laeken)

To launch her debut book of poetry Wingless I Watch, Wordcraft founder Emma Woodford talks to fellow Brussels poet Margot Delaet. Together they discuss poetry, inspiration from the natural world and the writing process. Woodford will be reading from her illuminating poems that explore the lives of seabirds and the human actions that threaten their existence. Registration here. 12 October, Pianofrabriek, Rue du Fort 35 (Saint-Gilles)

Belgian Cinema at the Oscars is the hot topic at the International Study Group’s upcoming talk. French film critic  Quentin Moyon discusses the political and social implications of Belgium’s film selection for the annual award ceremony. His aim is to present the country’s Oscar contenders as mirrors, or at least as witnesses, of the economic or political crises, social victories and changes that Belgium has experienced since 1968. Guests welcome; €10 entrance fee. 14 October 10.00, Chateau Malou, Allee Pierre Levie 2 (Woluwe-Saint-Lambert)

Women have shaped the world of design and yet – industries being what they are – their contributions are often overlooked. The exhibition Here We Are! Women in Design 1900 to Today highlights the creative talents of women from the past and present through a retrospective collection of furniture, ceramics, glass, textiles, fashion and graphic design. The companion exhibition Untold Stories shines a light on women designers in Belgium from 1880-1980. 16 October to 9 March, Place de Belgique 1

For its annual exhibition showcasing Belgian art, Belfius Art Gallery invites spectators on a sensory journey in Art Pops. Eschewing the habitual white space concept of showing art, this immersive experience enables you to feel, touch, smell and listen to a series of installations around carefully selected woks from the largest private collection of Belgian art in the country. Discover masterpieces by Breughel, Magritte, Delvaux and Spillaert, as well as new acquisitions by exciting contemporary and multidisciplinary artists. Open to the public every Saturday by reservation. Until 21 June, Place Rogier

OUTSIDE BRUSSELS

How well do we really know the oeuvre of Belgian 20th artist Paul Delvaux. As a Surrealist artist, his reputation has forever been eclipsed by his contemporary Magrite. Reputed for large-scale dreamy compositions of nudes and railway scenes in often bizarre and ambiguous settings, the The Worlds of Paul Delvaux is a retrospective that offers a deeper insight into his iconography and includes a multimedia approach to his life and work. Some 150 works span his artistic career, shown alongside paintings by his contemporaries and even Andy Warhol, one of the many creatives to be inspired by Delvaux’s artistry. Until 16 March, Parc de la Boverie, Liège

The work of Belgian artist Peter Morrens can be very crowd-pleasing as his amusing imagery, subversive language and biting humour come together to question prevailing conventions. These include the social norms of daily life, as well as political positions and art world benchmarks (such as “Self Portrait” above). The appropriately named Oeeeeeeuuuuvvre is his first solo museum exhibition and an excellent overview of his 35 years of work. 11 October to 2 March, Museum M, Leopold Vanderkelenstraat 28, Leuven

Wander among the stunning pyramids of flowering plants 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, crafts and antiques and a wealth of entertainment for the young and the not-so-young. In other words, it’s a garden event for people with or without a garden. 11-13 October, Beervelde-Dorp 75, Lochristi (East Flanders)

One of the delightful aspects of the Museum Dr Guislain in Ghent is how it uncovers a wealth of artistic work formerly hidden from view. Now the museum dedicated to outsider art brings us the versatile collection of painter and writer Emiel De Keyser, whose work was known only within a small circle for the past 60 years. Until 31 December, Jozef Guislainstraat 43, Ghent

Welcome to the Kingdom of Beldavia! Visitors to this interactive digital action-exhibition are invited to follow the experience of migrants as they attempt to navigate the barriers to setting up a home in this imaginary offbeat country as either an economic migrant, political refugee or part of a family reunification. The experience is based on testimonies of migrant families in Belgium. Beldavia has been created with the assistance of nonprofit La Rue. Until 23 October, Cinex, Namur

If you thought painting was a solitary pursuit – in workshops with only a muse for company – think again. Dora Maar and Picasso and Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera were just two big-name art couples. Symbiose, le verre en duo highlights at Charleroi’s Glass Museum 11 glass-making duos from renowned Czech artists Jaroslava Brychtová and Stanislav Libenský, who created some of the defining cast glass sculptures and architectural installations of the 20th century, to Juliette Leperlier and Arthur Monfrais’s light-seeking work. Also enjoy the oeuvre of Claude and Véronique Monod, credited with reviving French glass in the 1980s, and of Monica Guggisberg and Philippe Baldwin. They questioned environmental and political issues for 40 years. Until 9 March. Musée du Verre, Rue du Cazier 80, Marcinelle, Charleroi

Women artists, unlike writers, rarely changed their name to get work shown. But they remained largely invisible, even last century. Si le cœur vous en dit. Artistes femmes au XXe siècle en Belgique shows through the work of 27 artists including Marthe Donas, Mig Quinet and Jane Graverol and illustrative texts and articles, the conditions of women’s artistic production and non-production in Belgium at the time. Overlooked first in education and employment, they were then ignored by museums, galleries, reviews and art critics. Complete with a rope spectacle every first Sunday of the month, you can also enjoy this beautifully rehoused fine arts museum’s free and impressive permanent collection. Until 16 February. Musée des Beaux Arts, Boulevard Pierre Mayence 67, Charleroi

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

Photos: (main image) I Love Science; Peter Paul Rubens, Le triomphe de la Foi catholique; Emily Mae Smith, The Studio, Odalisque (2016), courtesy of the artist and private collection London, UK, photo © Max Slaven; ©Terracotta Army Tempora Victor Pierrot; ©Invisible Ballet – hyperstudio mauro pace; Belfius Art Gallery; Here-We-Are ©Vitra Design Museumdelvaux 2024 la boverie ©tempora cdbcreation;