Kunstenfestivaldesarts

What it is

The Kunstenfestivaldesarts is an international arts festival with no single genre. Its programme takes in theatre, dance, film and visual art, and it has run every May in Brussels since 1994. The Kaaitheater is its main hub, but events spread across roughly thirty places in the city: theatres, cultural centres, museums and public spaces, some of them not well known to the public. Artists come from abroad, from Brussels itself, and from both the Flemish and the French-speaking communities. Programmes are printed in French, Flemish and English, and shows in other languages carry subtitles in French and Flemish.

Origins and history

Frie Leysen founded the festival in Brussels in 1994, the year after the European Union was established, with its headquarters in the same city. She wanted Brussels to be a cultural and intellectual capital as well as a political one. The city is the only place in Belgium where Flemish and French-speaking people live side by side, and the festival was meant to serve both and to loosen the barriers between them. Leysen worked with co-directors: first Guy-do Minne, then Roger Christmann. Christophe Slagmuylder joined in 2002 and led the festival from 2007 until 2018, describing Brussels as urban and cosmopolitan. In October 2018 Daniel Blanga Gubbay and Dries Douibi took over as co-artistic directors, beginning with the 2019 edition.

Venues and projects

Nothing is staged in one hall alone. Over about three weeks each May, the festival spreads through the city, with the Kaaitheater at its centre. Alongside the performances there is a Free School, where knowledge and artistic practice are shared, and a set of Communities projects that bring together students, associations, performing arts professionals and anyone else who wants to take part. A board of directors is drawn equally from the French-speaking and Flemish communities, each side with its own president, and all of them politically independent. Over the years the festival has given Brussels audiences their first sight of artists such as Toshiki Okada, Bruno Beltrão, Milo Rau and Kris Verdonck.

Two language communities

Brussels is a city where Dutch-speaking and French-speaking Belgians share the same streets, and the festival was built to belong to both. Its governing board is drawn equally from the two communities, with a president from each, and all members are politically independent. Programmes appear in French, Flemish and English, and foreign-language shows are subtitled in French and Flemish. The festival also reaches outwards: its artistic directors from 2019 said they wanted to rethink the link between the local and the international, and to use buildings that had not served as venues before, so that new communities in the city could be drawn in.

Recent editions

Each edition leaves a record of what the city saw. In 2014 the festival ran from 2 to 24 May and included a discussion with the Taiwanese filmmaker Tsai Ming-liang. The 2019 programme featured the Egyptian instrumentalist Islam Chipsy, whose music mixes traditional Arabic wedding sounds with electronic instruments. The 27th edition came in May 2022, after a pause caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and used more than thirty venues. Two years later, the 2024 festival was held from 10 May to 1 June. In 2023 many shows explored queer identity, including the world premiere of Prophetic (We've Already Been Born) by Nadia Beugré, inspired by the transgender community of Abidjan in Ivory Coast.

How Kunstenfestivaldesarts is kept

For about three weeks each May, the festival takes over venues across Brussels, with the Kaaitheater as its main hub. Audiences move between theatres, cultural centres, museums and public spaces to see theatre, dance, film and visual art. Belgian and international artists take part, and programmes are published in French, Flemish and English, with subtitles for shows in other languages. A Free School shares knowledge and artistic practice, and Communities projects link students, associations, professionals and members of the public. A board drawn equally from the two language communities guides the festival.

When and where

The festival is held every year in May. The 2022 edition ran across three weeks, and the 2024 edition lasted from 10 May to 1 June. Its dates shift from year to year rather than falling on fixed days, and the 2022 edition followed a break caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It belongs to Brussels, Belgium, and happens in several locations across the city. The Kaaitheater is its main hub, and events also take place in about thirty other venues, including theatres, cultural centres, museums and public spaces, some of them little known to the public. It is the only Belgian city where Flemish and French-speaking people live side by side, which is central to the festival's purpose.

What Kunstenfestivaldesarts means

For the city, the festival carries an idea rather than a doctrine. Frie Leysen founded it so that Brussels would count as a cultural and intellectual capital and not only a political one, and so that its two language communities would meet. The board is split evenly between them, and the programme is offered in both languages as well as English. It also stands for openness to the world: international artists and local ones share the same stages, and the festival has often used buildings the public does not usually enter.

Questions people ask about Kunstenfestivaldesarts

See also

Gnawa musicA spiritual musical tradition of Morocco that blends West African rhythms with Islamic ritual to heal and connect communLast PostA bugle call sounded at military funerals and remembrance services across the Commonwealth to honour those who died in sCandlemasA Christian feast of candle blessings marking the end of the Christmas seasonCamino de SantiagoA Christian walking pilgrimage across Europe to the shrine of Saint James in Spain

Good reading and sources

• Kunstenfestivaldesarts on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-09.