Culture

At last a statue for one of the city's great celebrities

19 October 2017

The Belgian capital did not have a statue of the singer Jacques Brel.

Kaaitheater a cultural beacon for 40 years

13 October 2017

Created 40 years ago as an act of rebellion against the ‘rigid Flemish theatre world’, and nowadays a fully-blown arts centre in Brussels. Hugo De Greef founded the Kaaitheater back in 1977.

Wim Delvoye creates a statue for Paris

13 October 2017

The Belgian artist Wim Delvoye has designed and made a statue of François Arago. The sculpture of this French physicist, astronomer and politician is on show in the garden of the Paris Observatory.

Laura Groeseneken to represent Belgium at Eurovision

09 October 2017

It's official. Belgium has announced the name of its 2018 Eurovision Song Contest entrant. Laura Groeseneken, a 27 year-old from Flanders will fly the country's flag in Lisbon.

Frédéric François, now Knight of Arts and Letters

06 October 2017

At the end of September, the Italian-Belgian singer Frédéric François was presented with the insignia of Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Embassy.

A country of legends and thrills

The constant contact with other peoples and cultures hasn't been without its effects in terms of art and culture, both in the past and the present day. A true crossroads of the major influences of art, Belgium has always been home to a large number of artists and frequently establishes itself as the place for innovation for new movements.

Belgium has preserved much evidence of the greatest architectural and artistic movements. The Middle Ages saw cathedrals and belfries spring up, monuments that still grace the Belgian cities of art. Countless châteaux pepper the countryside and Belgium is the country with the most châteaux per km². As for Brussels, in the 20th century, it became the capital of Art Nouveau. All this explains the country's incredible architectural wealth.

The splendid works of the old Flemish painters such as Peter Paul Rubens, Pieter Bruegel, Jan Van Eyck, Antoine Van Dyck, along with more recent artists like Paul Delvaux or René Magritte, are now exhibited in museums all over the world.

The ultimate hub for comics, Belgium is home to the largest concentration of comic book authors in the world. They continue the tradition of Hergé (Tintin), Peyo (Les Schtroumpfs), Edgar P. Jacobs (Blake et Mortimer), Morris (Lucky Luke), Bob De Moor (Barelli, Cori de scheepsjongen), Willy Vandersteen (Suske en Wiske) and many more!

Today, many Belgian talents are making a name for themselves. This is particularly the case on the international music scene with Angèle, Milow, Selah Sue and Hooverphonic. On the big screen, a new generation of directors and actors are frequently recognised with awards including the Palme d'Or at Cannes and the Oscars in Hollywood.

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