UCityGuides.com Travel News Blog » Brussels

WHAT’S NEW AND HAPPENING IN BRUSSELS

UCityGuides.com Editor — Mon, 10 May 2010 09:43:40 +0000

The biggest art news in Brussels over the last few months was the inauguration of the (Uward-nominated) Magritte Museum but there was another recent opening worth noting for culture-vulture visitors. The Boghossian Foundation opened a cultural center in the Art Deco Empain Villa which underwent a two-year renovation to operate as a space promoting artistic dialogue between the East and the West. The first exhibition will be shown until the end of October and will display works from private collections rarely seen on public display.
Another exhibition of note is “Isabelle de Borchgrave, I Medici: A Renaissance in Paper” which has been showing since last November and was originally scheduled to run until April, but has been extended until September. It’s the first exhibition of Belgian artist Isabelle de Borchgrave in her home country, presenting 29 paper costumes completely made by hand which were previously shown in Florence’s Palazzo Medici. Borchgrave’s creations imitate the rich textures of genuine Florentine attire in the 15th century and can now be seen at the Cinquantenaire Museum.
Yet another current highlight in the city is the exhibition showing works by Hervé Van der Straeten, a total of fifteen pieces using industrial and raw materials like stainless steel, wood, marble, and bronze. The designer known for bold jewelry has also been creating stunning mirrors, lighting, and cabinets, and collectors will want to check out this exhibition whose pieces will be sold by Pierre Bergé‘s auction house.

-See the complete Brussels city guide.
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THE WORLD OF FRIDA KAHLO NOW IN BRUSSELS

UCityGuides.com Editor — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:06:34 +0000

The largest collection of Frida Kahlo’s work is naturally found in her native country in the Museo Dolores Olmedo. Now thanks to a special festival celebrating Mexican culture in Brussels, you can see many of the artist’s most important works in Europe. The European Union capital’s Bozar Centre for Fine Arts is showing the exhibition “Frida Kahlo y Su Mundo” (“The World of Frida Kahlo”) now until April 18, consisting of 19 paintings, six drawings, an etching, and several photographs lent by the Dolores Olmedo Museum. These works reflect the artist’s Mexican culture but also her life after a tragic bus accident and a turbulent marriage, in a style that can be described as a mixture of surrealism and symbolism. This combination was in part what attracted the attention of the Louvre Museum which in 1939 made Kahlo the first Mexican artist of the 20th century to have her work purchased by the museum.

DESIGN AND EXCLUSIVITY: THE NEW GREY GOOSE BAR, BRUSSELS

UCityGuides.com Editor — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 11:48:48 +0000

There are private clubs and members-only bars, and then there’s the new Grey Goose Bar in Brussels’ Barcardi-Martini headquarters. Officially open to employees only, it has also unofficially been adopted by a lucky few of the city’s most sophisticated crowds as a favorite hotspot. While the drinks and exclusivity are the most obvious attractions, it is the spectacular Puresang-designed interior that truly stands out. The Antwerp designers created a wall of triangular blue mirrors that add depth to the relatively small area, and since it is also to be used as a meeting room, the high gloss bar extends into a conference table. The atmospheric lighting was made to reflect ice sparkles, and bottles were strategically placed to look like an ice wall.

There is no website but you can see what it all looks like on the photo above by photographer Frank Gielen, and find it all in Brussels on Rue Vandenboogaerde 108.

BRUSSELS OPENS THE MAGRITTE MUSEUM

UCityGuides.com Editor — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 08:12:23 +0000

The Secret Player, 1927, oil on canvas, 152 x 195 cm
© Charly Herscovici, with his kind authorization – c/o SABAM-ADAGP, 2009

Last week Brussels opened a long-overdue cultural attraction in the city. Housed in a neoclassical building close to the Royal Palace is now the Magritte Museum in a 2500 m² space.
It’s part of a complex of buildings that make up the Royal Museums of Fine Art and the renovated interior displays about 200 works, from paintings to drawings, to photographs, advertising posters, and sculptures.
In addition to presenting Magritte’s works, the 10-million-euro building also shows the surrealist spirit of the artist by replacing windows with paintings of clouds on a blue sky.
The collection (the largest of the artist) is the result of loans by public and private institutions in addition to purchases by the Royal Museums of Fine Arts, and visitors can also get access to archives through an online research center presenting the painter’s life and art. And starting in 2011 there will also be space for temporary exhibitions relating to the different aspects of Magritte’s work, including his connections to other artists such as Miró and Dali.

TRAVEL GAYDAR – GAY DESTINATIONS FOR 2009

UCityGuides.com Editor — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 18:01:34 +0000

This weekend Brussels will show the final films of its 10-day Gay and Lesbian Film Festival that takes place every January. It’s the first major gay event of 2009, a big year for gay travel.

If there is one travel market that doesn’t seem to ever be affected by global economic crisis is the gay market, as gay and lesbian travelers tend to always have more disposable income.

The two major international gay events this year will be the EuroPride taking place in Zurich in May, and the World Outgames in July in Copenhagen. This year is also the 60th anniversary of Stonewall, so expect special celebrations in every gay pride march around the world this summer. One to see to be believed is São Paulo’s, with an estimated 3.5 million participants making it the city with the biggest gay pride celebrations in the world.

Other cities not exactly known for a happening gay scene are slowly opening their closet doors and becoming major gay hotspots to be discovered this year. If you go to São Paulo’s gay pride, be sure to take the opportunity to also visit Buenos Aires which is only a short flight away. Its Axel Gay Hotel is one of the best (and most stylish) gay hotels in the world, and the city’s reasonable prices are just as attractive as its people.
In Europe, choose one of its sunniest destinations, the very pink Lisbon with its beaches and lively street life.

If you prefer to stick with the always-popular Mykonos, be sure to also spend some time in the Greek capital — Athens has much more to explore than just the Acropolis and ancient ruins.

UCityGuides offers you a list of the 9 gay destinations you should experience in 2009, and you can find what they are in the travel gaydar page.