CONTEMPORARY ART : the exhibitions not to be missed this autumn!

 This year, contemporary art will bring the new cultural season to life once more. As from September, several large-scale exhibitions are showcasing a varied programme. The works of two renowned British artists will be hanging from the Brussels picture rails: the photographer Martin Parr and the legendary painter David Hockney. With a good dose of poetry and a real sense of humour, museums and art centres will also take their visitors on a journey to the four corners of Europe. Fuller than ever, the new season's programme is both diverse and enthralling: let's look at the exhibitions to discover over the next few weeks!

Double Bill  

MIMA is offering a double bill, with an exhibition for cinema fans. The first part looks back over the scandalous history of the Brussels erotic cinema ABC Studio, through vintage posters and period archives. In the museum's storeys, the visitor discovers the screen prints of Laurent Durieux, a Brussels artist whose world is inspired by the great film classics, from The Shining to Breakfast at Tiffany's and The Godfather.

Dates: up to 9 January 2022

Location: MIMA

Chiara Fumai, Poems I Will Never Release, 2007-2017  

At La Loge, Poems I Will Never Release traces the fascinating journey of Chiara Fumai, an Italian artist with a strong personality whose works have helped develop the languages of Feminist performance and aesthetics in the 21st century.  Summoning bearded women, terrorists, mediums and writers, her installations and performances evoke strong, rebellious and sometimes radical female figures whose destiny has been forgotten too soon by History.

Dates: from 09 September to 13 November 2021

Location: La Loge

Marcel Broodthaers: Industrial Poems, Open Letters 

For the new season, WIELS dedicates a brand-new exhibition to the great Belgian poet and artist Marcel Broodthaers. It looks back on an original and still little known series: the Industrial Poems. Between rebus, riddle and slogan, these works created on thermoformed plastic plates question language and play with words and signs without straying from humour or irony.

Dates: from 10 September 2021 to 09 January 2022

Location: WIELS

Martin Parr - "Parrathon" 

Fancy a photographic marathon? Visit Hangar for a “Parrathon” in honour of the British photographer Martin Parr. The first retrospective dedicated to the artist in Belgium, it looks back on 40 years of creation and gathers more than 400 documentary images. We see the inimitable style of the photographer where uncompromising perspectives, caustic humour and bright colours reign.

Dates: from 17 September to 18 December 2021

Location: Hangar

David Hockney: The Arrival of Spring, Normandy, 2020 

David Hockney: Works from the Tate Collection, 1954-2017 

In 1992, David Hockney filled the Bozar picture rails with a memorable exhibition. In 2021, the star painter returns for not one, but two exhibitions in partnership with the Tate and the Royal Academy of Arts in London. The first will present some of his iconic works, while the second will put the spotlight on his more recent creations. It's now or never to stimulate your eyes with the 83-year-old Brit's vibrant palette, bright tones and pop touch blended with hyperrealism.

Dates: from 08 October 2021 to 23 January 2022

Location: Bozar

Europalia Trains & Tracks  

Since they have existed, trains have constantly fascinated artists: symbols of freedom, the embodiment of travel and movement, they also evoke modernity and discovery. With its usual multidisciplinary programme, Europalia celebrates the railway for the European Year of Rail. Artists, dancers, writers, singers and musicians from varied backgrounds explore the moving train around 4 fruitful themes.

Dates: from 14 October 2021 to 15 May 2022

Location: throughout Belgium

Viewing depot EXH#02 

A new exhibition at the Fondation Vanhaerents is always a real event. Two years after Viewing depot, Viewing depot EXH#02 gives another glimpse into the wealth of the family collection. Presented in an original manner, still partially wrapped in their crates which are sometimes used as bases, the works take on a singular dimension. With, among others, Allan McCollum, Bruce Nauman and Dahn Vō.

Dates: various tours with a booking

Location: Vanhaerents art collection