What’s on this week: 4-10 November

Art fans will rejoice as the second edition of the National Artist Market opens at Tour & Taxis, offering a unique view of the local vibrant art scene. Visitors will have the opportunity to meet and buy from 60 artists and local initiatives, ranging from visual art, books, fashion, music and design. The event will be accompanied by music from Balades Sonores and Welcome to Belgium, as well as food from Fernand Obb, who’s won awards for the best shrimp croquettes in Brussels for two years in a row. 4-6 November, Maison de la Poste, Tour & Taxis, Rue Picard 5/7

The Brussels Art Film Festival (Baff) features documentaries about art, from music to performance to the fine arts. Check out, for instance, Rewind and Play, an incredibly uncomfortable and revealing 1969 interview with legendary jazz musician Thelonius Monk by French state television. Or See You Friday, Robinson, featuring the iconic Jean-Luc Godard (pictured) and Iranian filmmaker Ebrahim Golestan, who swapped emails once a week but never met. The programme is full of similar recent documentary gems. 10-13 November, across Brussels-City

Girls from rival gangs fall in love, a married man is enchanted by a trans erotic dancer, a gay couple from Mexico weigh up crossing the border to live in peace. These are just a few of the stories you’ll find at Pink Screens, Brussels queer film festival. There are features, documentaries, shorts, animation and maybe just a little porn. 10-19 November, across central Brussels

Help Portuguese performer Lígia Soares build her theatrical world in Romance, a parody of the western world in which you and she literally finish each other’s sentences. You don’t just watch theatre, you help to create exactly where it goes (in English). 9-10 November, Kaaistudio’s, Rue Notre-Dame-du-Sommeil 81

Don’t miss the final days of the exhibition Naruto. The Ninja phenomenon, a rare opportunity to explore the cult manga comic. Celebrating the 20th anniversary of its publication in French, the show reveals the work of Masashi Kishimoto and the major milestones of the adventure over the past two decades. Since the launch of manga in Japan in 1999, Naruto has become the third bestseller in the world. Until 13 November, The Belgian Comic Strip Center Museum Brussels, Rue des Sables 20

For anyone looking for a touch of nostalgia and an initiation into the foot-tapping dance style, the Jazz Station has been organising a special music and dance event every Friday since October. Take the E Train, a collaboration with Easy Swing, gives spectators a chance to discover how to swing with dance balls, concerts, performances and a variety of other surprises. A unique trip back in time which will make anybody feel like they’re in the heart of Harlem during the 1920s and 40s. 4 November 20.00, Jazz Station, Chaussée de Louvain 193A-195 (Saint-Josse)

New English-language improvisation theatre piece Out of My Mind starts its winter run at le Théâtre de l’Improviste this Sunday. The story involves two people who, due to a worldwide lockdown are forced to adapt to a new array of emotions in a closed space. Both characters, played by comedians Gabriele Tallone and Bethany Staunton, explore their subconscious worlds and emotions through improvisation, which could result in a pretty relatable performance. 6 November & 18 December, Théâtre de l’Improviste, 120 Rue de Fierlant (Forest)

Would you like to be less overwhelmed by what’s going on around you and learn a lifestyle practice that will help you feel more grounded and in control? Mindfulness is a pathway to clarity, self-guidance and happiness. The Brussels Women's Club is offering a four-session workshop for beginners as well as more experienced meditators, focused on ‘mindfulness of the body’. Only eight places available ; registration is necessary by 4 November. 10 November 10.00-11.30, Rue au Bois 509 (Woluwe-Saint-Pierre)

Book now: The first two Rammstein shows at King Baudouin Stadium sold out so fast, the band agreed to schedule a third. Tickets are on sale now, but buy them right away if you want a spot at one of the biggest concert events of 2023. The German icons of Neue Deutsche Härte rock have beaten the odds, with the original line-up lasting nearly 30 years. 3 August 2023, Avenue de Marathon 135

OUTSIDE BRUSSELS

For fans of all ages ready to dive into the magical world of Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts, Harry Potter A Forbidden Forest Experience opens its fantasy world doors this weekend. Inspired by Hogwart’s forbidden forest, as featured in the movies and the books, a luminous path guides visitors through a mystical forest where magical creatures roam. Hippogriffs, centaurs, unicorns and nifflers are among the mythical animals to be discovered. There’s also be a themed village with stands selling a variety of drinks and dishes from the wizarding world. Prices range from €23€ to €55 for adults and from 19€ to 40€ for children (parking €3 by reservation). 5 November to 5 February, Konijnestraat 172, 1602 Sint-Pieters-Leeuw

If you don’t have a clue how clothes are made, let alone designed, you have much to learn at Exploding Fashion at Antwerp’s fashion museum. In particular it demystifies the concept of a fashion designer as the sole creator of a garment by focusing on the pattern cutter, a highly influential part of the design process often unknown to the public. See five historical designs literally deconstructed – with the help of digital technology – to view the entire process of how all that fashion gets from rolls of material to your outfit. Until 5 February, MoMu, Nationalestraat 28, Antwerp

The Next Festival brings together more than 70 of the best international theatre and dance productions of the last year. The cross-border concept doesn’t stop there: The festival takes place in 20 venues in Flanders, Wallonia and northern France. There’s a huge amount of diversity here, from drama to satire to 20 dancers creating 10,000 movements, and some of them involve the audience in new and unique ways. There’s also the opportunity to enjoy hors d'oeuvre at the home of a local before the show. 10 November to 2 December, across Belgium and France

While the Rothschild banking dynasty was renowned for its philanthropy and private art collections, the role of its female family members has largely been overlooked. Paying tribute to the contribution of nine women from the illustrious family is the exhibition The Rothschild collectors: Female patrons and donors par excellence . Some 350 works from around 40 institutions and major French collections are on display in this collaboration with La Louvre. They include works by Delacroix, Cezanne, Claudel and Rodin, as well as Italian Renaissance jewellery and porcelain and African and Asian objects (pictured, portrait of Alix de Rothschild). Until 26 February, La Boverie, Parc de la Boverie, Liège

Namur’s historic citadel hosts the European Cyclocross Championship this weekend, providing a dramatic and potentially muddy backdrop for one of the sport’s major events of the year. The spectacular course is habitually home to a leg of the World Cup (pictured), but for 2022, the hilly terrain overlooking the rivers Meuse and Sambre welcomes thisa key stage of the European Championship. 4 to 6 November, Esplanade, Citadel of Namur

Photos: (main image) National Artist Market, Stephane Dethy; Romance © Filipa Couto; Next Festival © Michiel DevijverReynold Arnould, Alix de Rothschild, 1969 © Musée des Beaux-Arts de Caen / Patricia Touzard ; Namur cyclocross 2021 © Belga/David Stockman