What’s on this week: 7-13 October

Music fans will discover the delights of being urban in the fifth edition of Nuits Sonores and European Labs. The event brings together different communities through music, debate and conferences centred around contemporary issues, in locations including La Vallée, C12 and Bozar. New this year is the addition of the ephemeral venue, Reset, located in the heart of the capital and run by non-profit Arty Farty Brussels. Following the urban theme, different techno DJs have been invited to perform their best sets and electrify the crowd. An event that encourages both diversity and social cohesion through awesome music and discussion is sure to be a blast. 12-16 October, Bozar, Rue Ravenstein 23 and other venues

For its first edition, the In.out.sider. festival gives participants an insight into how the music and art industry incorporates projects for people with disabilities. Through workshops, conferences and an exhibition on outsider art, the festival raises the profile of a series of amazing artists. The event wants to draw public and professional attention to ongoing problems in the industry, which prevent many artists from reaching their full potential. A diverse programme of musical talents curated by the Nuits Sonores festival will be performing, while speakers and artists take part in European Labs conferences and the Outsider Art exhibition. 12-16 October, La Vallée, Rue Adolphe Lavallée 39 (Molenbeek-Saint-Jean)

From early 19th-century bourgeois boutiques to the development of global design, consumerism and emergence of retail in the 20th century, On display: Designing the Shop Experience take visitors through the ages to experience how shops have reflected changes in our society. From Adolf Loos’ research in architecture to the achievements of Marc Newson in design, the exhibition examines how the store experience has changed over time. 10 October to 5 March, Brussels Design Museum; Place de Belgique 1 (Laeken)

Don’t miss the final week of a double exhibition at the Aboriginal Signature Estrangin gallery: Claiming the Land honours the way in which Aborigine artists have fought to recuperate their territories via 30 paintings by some of the movement’s leading figures. Together, they offer a colourful escape into the expanse of the Australian outback and dreamtime traditions, including familiar paint dot works and scorched bark decorated with natural pigments. Aboriginal Culinary Journey is an itinerant exhibition of everyday kitchen appliances adorned with ancestral symbols and stories. The project is a unique collaboration between public and private sectors and indigenous community groups. A microwave, coffee machine and toaster, among other familiar objects, fuse authentic Aborigine art with contemporary design. Reservation necessary. Until 15 October Rue Jules Besme 101 (Koekelberg)

Alles es Just! festival is celebrating its 10 years by staging a variety of events in Schaerbeek. A pop-up café commemorates the original café Aux Trois Rois to which the event owes most of its success. An evening in the Novanoïs cinema and four concerts all encourage participants to honour this decade-old festival. Over in galerie-librairie GRAFIK, illustrator Pieter Fannes is displaying 10 years of his works at Jazz Middelheim and Alles es Just! festivals. A 2023 calendar is also being made to look back on the location’s history and the festival’s inception in 2013. 6 to 9 October, Rue des Ailes 3 (Schaerbeek)

For its 21st edition, the 10-day multidisciplinary Festival des Libertés is dedicated to the theme ‘Unleash the ties’, prompting a reflection on acts of solidarity while enjoying pertinent theatre, music, documentaries - in an international film competition exploring human rights and freedoms – and enlightening talks. One highlight of the musical programme is a concert by Senegalese artist Youssou N’Dour (pictured) on 16 October, as well as performances by Juicy Orchestra and Feu! Chatterton. 13-22 October, Théâtre National, Boulevard Emile Jacqmain 111-115

The building itself is part of the act during the Artonov Festival, a multidisciplinary collaboration between Art Nouveau and Art Deco buildings and other outstanding architecture venues in the capital. Not only does it give you access to interesting spaces, it introduces you to unique performance and visual arts. There’s some great events on the programme, like the audio-visual performance Memory of a Place at the Stassart farm-cum-offices in Uccle and Japanese Noh theatre in Saint-Gilles’ famous city hall. 8-16 October, across Brussels

Don’t miss the second weekend of the Brussels Biennale Neoclassic, which invites us to explore the histories and particularities of architectural facades we pass by every day but whose details we usually miss, such as the federal parliament building (pictured). 8-9 October, across Brussels

While art in the west is obsessed with the artist as the author of a work, in Japan, traditional ukiyo-e prints were produced collaboratively: there was an illustrator, a wood carver and someone who created the print from the carving. The 20th-century shin-hanga (literally “new prints”) movement continued this tradition, and a marvellous collection of more than 200 works is on show at the Art & History Museum. Shin Hanga: The New Prints of Japan shows the penchant for retaining traditional themes, like landscapes and lovely women, but also reflects the artists’ take on a modernising Japan. 13 October to 15 January, Cinquantenaire Park 10

La Semaine Numérique, or Digital Week, offers many events and activities centred around digital education, and especially the digital divide. Taking place across Brussels and Wallonia, it features workshops and debates on topics like cyberbullying, free software genealogy, alongside a theatre piece on artificial intelligence and an Escape Room. (In French) 10 to 21 October, across Brussels & Wallonia

Parcours Street Art in Brussels offers routes for self-guided street art tours, but you can also let photographer and urban guide Benjamin Tollet impart his vast knowledge of the Brussels street art scene to you during themed tours in English, French or Dutch. Coming up this month in English are a bike tour focusing on women artists and a walking tour of the Marolles. Ongoing, across Brussels-City

A line-up of young talented baristas and coffee lovers are getting together this month for Coffee Week. Located throughout Belgium, coffee drinkers and makers can get involved in workshops, lectures and other events to learn from the best and have an enjoyable week drinking good coffee. Keep up to date with the latest information by following their Facebook page. Until 12 October, multiple locations

Brussels Artisan Market continues its autumn series of monthly eco-markets in the sustainable village Be-Here. Some 40 artisans and artists will be displaying their edible treats, jewellery, illustrations, textiles, plants and cosmetics. Visitors to the canalside community hub will have the chance to meet the local entrepreneurs and participate in workshops. Original food and drink options are sure to tempt visitors and the free event offers a bouncy castle and a magician for little ones. 8 October 12.00-18.30, 4 Rue Dieudonné Lefèvre (Laeken)

OUTSIDE BRUSSELS

The Museum Dr Guislain, dedicated to psychiatry and art brut, teams up with fashion museum MoMu for the double show Mirror Mirror: Fashion & the Psyche. Investigating the interconnections between fashion, psychology, self-image and identity, Mirror Mirror features artists who have an emotional attachment to a garment, which are sometimes created in psychiatric institutions. They reveal much about the creator and wouldn’t necessarily be out of place on the catwalks of today. 8 October to 26 February, Guislain (Ghent) and MoMu (Antwerp)

Belgium’s largest film festival takes over Ghent cinemas for 10 days of movies, special guests, debates, concerts and the World Soundtrack Awards. Some highlights of the Gent Film Festival’s programme are the screening of Petite maman (pictured) by Céline Sciamma (Portrait de la jeune fille en feu), followed by a chat between the French director and Belgian filmmaker Lukas Dhont. Dhont’s new film Close opens the festival. Grab a drink at the festival café on site at Kinepolis or dinner at the new Faim Fatale festival restaurant. 11-22 October, across Ghent

Joan Miro: The Essence of Past and Present Things spans the entire career of the Catalan Surrealist artist (1893-1983), from his early Fauvist works to the influence of primitivism, Roman art and Japanese calligraphy. Always creating art from his own imagination or memories, he may be remembered principally as a painter, but over a seven-decade career, Miró also produced sculpture, ceramics, tapestry and, most prolifically, prints. 8 October to 8 January, BAM (Beaux-Arts Mons), Rue Neuve, Mons

Waterloo is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its twinning with the town of Nagakute in Japan. The beautiful history of Kintsugi is a grand exhibition displaying 80 pieces from the ancient art of Kintsugi. The beautiful Japanese art form involves filling the cracks of broken pots with gold, accompanied by themes of renewal, peace and resilience. The collection on show was originally created during the battle of Nagakute and has been refurbished by Sensei Showzy Tsukamoto, a master of this art. Various festivities, workshops, masterclasses and conferences will also be held to mark the occasion (free entrance). 8 & 9 October, Ecuries, Chaussée de Bruxelles 308, Waterloo

Photos: Nuits Sonores -CB-Marion-Bornaz; Front of the Bubble Shop, ca 1969 Avenue des Champs-Élysées, Paris - Christian Girard (1926-2008)  © Nicolas Girard; © FG - Australian Embassy. © Aboriginal Signature Gallery with the courtesy of the artists; Artonov @Ofer Smilansky; Shin Hanga ©S Watanabe Color Print Co; Street Art (c)Quentin Durand; Mirror Mirror © Marc Deurloo