RendezVous – Brussels Art Week 2026

Brussels kicks of its fall art season with RendezVous – Brussels Art Week, the yearly celebration of the contemporary art scene in Brussels. Between Friday, September 11-Sunday, September 13th, a host of exhibitions and events across nearly 100 galleries, institutions, artist-run spaces, private foundations and auction houses will take place for a programme that spotlights the diversity and energy of the city’s art scene. RendezVous Brussels also seeks to broaden its scope, welcoming more people and making the experience of visiting the events more accessible and inviting to more audiences. Guided visits in various languages and online and printed maps and schedules provide clear guidance, while RendezVous has also set up their own Salon, a central meeting point in Brussels with an information desk, pop-up bookstore, bar and gathering space, where Salon Encounters, their programme of talks, performances, music sessions and a small curated exhibition are available for free.

In 2026, the Salon will be hosted in the former space of CLEARING Gallery, a 400 m2 space with architectural interventions by Koenraad Dedobbeleer and a central inner courtyard. A site-specific installation by Espace Aygo, an art collective founded by Salomé Sperling, Line Murken, Sijmen Vellkoop and Jaime le Bleu, who met while attending the Design Academy in Eindhoven. Their installation will double as the scenography for Salon Encounters and will feature a constellation of towers that rise and fall, creating an interactive landscape that explores the cycle of “climbing, falling and getting back up again,” an apt metaphor for working as an artist. Espace Aygo explains, “We build towers. We always have. Towards knowledge, power, wealth, toward something greater than ourselves. These structures that pierce the sky have always been humanity’s most honest confession: we are creatures of ambition, restless and reaching. But towers fall. And in the falling, something true is revealed. This exhibition is built from both – the standing and the fallen. Because the climb matters as much as the collapse.”

Some highlights include: Soul Witness by Ali Cherri at WIELS, Lost and Found, Hans Op de Beeck at Almine Rech, Jean-Michel Othoniel at Fondation Boghossian and Spazio Nobile Gallery which presents Echoes of Wa, a duo show with Japanese master ceramicist Matsubayashi Hosai XVI and Dutch-born, Kyoto-based textile artist Mae Engelgeer, which will showcase a fresh perspective on Japanese craftsmanship and contemporary creation. Two workshops will take place at the gallery on the 12th. Modesti Perdriolle Gallery presents Philippe Jaccard, a self-taught Franco-Swiss painter whose work has rarely been exhibited before. Jaccard will host a guided tour of the exhibition on Sunday, 13th. Chiquita Room, originally from Barcelona, which is opening its first Brussels space during RendezVous, with an exhibition by Pieter Laurens Mol and Laía Argüelles Folch. BS Galleria, from São Paulo, is also establishing itself in Brussels, bringing Brazilian art and design practices to the city. Lodovico Corsini is likewise opening a new space in Brussels.

As Laure Decock & Evelyn Simons, founders of RendezVous state: “The fact that RendezVous has grown from 67 to 98 participating venues in just one year does not, in our view, simply reflect the initiative’s success. It also shows just how much Brussels remains in motion despite a difficult economic climate. New spaces are opening, international players are coming to the city, and existing galleries continue to evolve. Brussels’ strength lies precisely in this diversity: private foundations, galleries, institutions and a strong network of artist-run spaces coexist here, all while looking far beyond the city’s borders. With RendezVous, we want to make this openness visible and further establish Brussels on the map as an international arts ecosystem.”

Brussels continues to develop its art scene thanks to its wide range of international and local galleries, but also the public and private institutions and its strong network of artist-run spaces. It’s offers opportunity and exhibitions for emerging artists as well as established names, creating an engaging dialogue and platform. Throughout the four days, participating venues will host exhibitions, artist talks, performances, screenings, workshops, breakfasts, guided tours, and opportunities to meet artists and curators.

For the full programme visit: RendezVous Brussels 

@rendezvousbxl