What's up in 2024
James Ensor in Ostend, Antwerp & Brussels, Frans Hals in Amsterdam, Bruegel in 's Hertogenbosch
9 Iconic Cycle Routes
4 Festivals of contemporary art in West-Vlaanderen
Opening of the new Fenix museum in Rotterdam
9 ICONIC CYCLE ROUTES
Discover the best of Flanders by bike.
An accessible network of 2.500 km of high quality cycle routes for a cycle holiday in Flanders
• on the existing cycle node network
• comfortable and safe cycling experience
• completely signposted in 2 directions: no GPS needed
JAMES ENSOR
James Ensor (1860–1949) grew up in Ostend, the son of a Belgian mother and an English father.
His family ran a souvenir shop selling carnival masks that would later feature so prominently in his paintings. He went to Brussels to train at the academy.
He is widely recognized as the most important innovator of modern art in Belgium.
In 2024, you can learn about the painter and his contemporaries in several art cities (Ostend, Antwerp and Brussels).
4 FESTIVALS OF CONTEMPORARY ART IN WEST-VLAANDEREN
• Beaufort at the coast - 30.03.2024 - 05.11.2024
Theme: lines, patterns, connections
• Triennal Bruges - 14.04.2024 – 1.09.2024
• Arts Festival Watou - 6.07.2024 – 1.09.2024
• Triennal Kortrijk 2024 - 29.06.2024 – 6.10.2024
15 artists at various indoor and outdoor venues with a focus on heritage sites.
Emphasis on immersive and interactive art installations, so visitors are part of the art.
UPCOMING EXPOSITIONS
16/02-09/06/2024 - Rijksmuseum Amsterdam:
Expo Frans Hals, one of the most important painters of the 17th century.
The Rijksmuseum will show you 50 masterpieces by Frans Hals, many of which are from foreign collections.
STRAAT, Amsterdam's museum of street:
art and graffiti in a former 8,000 sq m shipping shed, displays works by both big names and up-and-coming talent.
24/02 - 02/06/2024 - Museum Hof van Busleyden (Mechelen):
Knights of the Golden Fleece: a myth unravelled.
In the revamped permanent display, experience the heyday of the Burgundian Renaissance.
Re-opened to the public - Winter garden of the Ursuline nuns (near Mechelen):
This fairy-tale Winter Garden from 1900 with a colourful stained-glass dome was the calling card of their then girls' boarding school.
FENIX: IMMIGRATION MUSEUM IN ROTTERDAM
(opening Q3 2024)
The Fenix warehouse opened its doors on Katendrecht in 1923, it was the largest warehouse in the world. After extensive renovation this building will host the city’s story of migration.
Once the biggest warehouse in the world, the Fenix is a striking example of Rotterdam’s compelling harbor architecture. Millions of people left Europe from these docks to build a life in the New World.
The entire first floor of the warehouse will be devoted to the story of these migrants.
TIP: combine this new Fenix museum with the Red Start Line Museum in Antwerp.
You will visit 2 very interesting museums that tell the story of millions of people with only 1 dream.
At the same time, you can also be amazed by the art, architecture and life in Western Europe's 2 most important port cities: Antwerp and Rotterdam.