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Culture beat: 6 November

11:40 06/11/2015
There’s no denying that Brussels is a melting pot of cultures: Ireland, India, Turkey and Sweden are all featured in our weekly round-up of arts and events

While Belgian ceremonies take place next Wednesday on Armistice Day, the Irish in Europe organisation gathers at the Anglo-Belgian war memorial in Place Poelaert on Saturday at 12.00 for its annual remembrance event. In addition to honouring Irish losses in the first and second world wars, it pays tribute to those lost when the Lusitania went down in the Atlantic in 1915 and in particular, the pioneering and heroic Belgian nurse Marie Depage.

The Indian festival of lights, Diwali (pictured), is the biggest and brightest of Hindu holidays. Taking place every autumn in the northern hemisphere, the Diwali Celebrations 2015 at College St Pierre in Brussels on Saturday evening are a celebration of Indian culture, food and dance. Members €5, non-members €10. Organised by Bharatiya Samaj Brussels and Art Lounge 9.

Italian bookshop café Piola Libri (Schuman), welcomes Cristiano Godano (Marlene Kuntz) for a solo concert on Saturday at 18.57 precisely! The eclectic singer, songwriter, book writer and professor has a reputation for poignant and intense live performances. Free entrance.

On the eve of the public holiday, electro music fans can party until the small hours at Bozar Night on 10 November from 20.00. With DJs, live sets and access to exhibitions, the popular late-nighter showcases the current multidisciplinary arts festival Europalia Turkey. A highlight is a world-première performance by French producer Débruit who enjoyed a 10-day residency in the city of Istanbul. Julio Bashmore, Blondes, Golden Teacher and The Space Lad also appear on the line-up.

Promoting alternative sexuality and gender, the Pink Screens Film Festival offers ten days of screenings and colourful events at Cinema Nova from 12 to 21 November. Launched in 2001 by the non-profit film club Genres d’à côté, this lively event offers 80 films from around the world. Among them, poetic coming-of-age The Summer of Sangailé by Lithuanian Alanté Kavaïté, Jacques Accordé’s forest-fantasy exploration Amor Eterno and a series of shorts by German Jan Soldat. Plus talks, performances and the famous pink night closing party.

While Swedish comic Magnus Betnér’s show in his native language is sold out (16 November), tickets are still available for his English-language performance on 17 November presented by English Comedy Brussels. Flagey pub The Black Sheep welcomes the stand-up superstar for his first appearance in Brussels. Betnér has been a familiar face on Swedish TV since the early 2000s, appreciated for his political satire and his firm belief in freedom of expression. He is supported by fellow Swede and UK comedy circuit regular, Tobias Persson, comedian and radio host Fritte Fritzson and Sweden-based Canadian Joe Eagan.

If you’re not suffering from Waterloo fatigue, take note that The Royal Military Museum has extended its exhibition Waterloo 1815-2015. Europe challenged until January 31. Reflecting on the end of the Napoleonic era, the exhibition explains the build-up to the bloody conflict, recounts the stories of ten participants and looks at how the battle site inspired numerous artists. The commemoration of the bicentenary also highlights three exciting aspects of the battle in the arcades, the exhibition space on top of the arc of triumph in the Jubilee Park.

Written by Sarah Crew