What’s on this week: 20-27 May

Annual architecture feast Banad Festival is back and places still remain for guided tours of some of Brussels’ finest examples of Art Nouveau and Art Deco design. Normally private interiors are open to the public, while outdoor visits can be conducted on foot, by bike or by bus. The programme runs over three weekends; it includes family activities, concerts and talks. For this fifth edition, new sites have been added, many opening their stylish doors to the public for the first time. 22 May to 6 June

Belgian Pride Brussels 2021 celebrates its final weekend with a digital edition on Saturday. The traditional parade is replaced by a livestream from the Grand Place: a glittering programme of music, spoken word, dance party, online drag show and DJ set. Since 1 May, the capital has been waving its rainbow colours to spread the diversity message in the project RainbowCity Brussels. Under this year’s banner ‘WeCare’, the event has been drawing attention to the mental and physical health of the LGBTQI+ community. 22 May 19.30

His name may not be familiar, but you have surely seen or driven under one of his monumental and striking sculptures. Jacques Moeschal's modernist concrete and steel structures grace Brussels’ urban landscape as well as motorways home and abroad. The pioneering Belgian sculptor and architect is currently honoured in a retrospective at Bozar. His public sculptures, dating from the late 1950s, include Signal Zellik at on the E40 motorway at Grand Bigard, Signe de Lumière at Porte de Namur, Campus Solbosch (pictured above) and paintings on the concrete walls and ceiling of Gare du Midi metro station. The exhibition also invites contemporary artists to demonstrate how Moeschal’s work remains relevant today. Until 21 July, Rue Ravenstein 23

French streaming platform LaCinetek and L’Agence du court métrage is offering a selection of 10 short films under the title Hidden treasures. The collaboration with six cinema institutions highlights a number of films by directors better known for their long features. They include Cédric Klapisch (In Transit), Marina de Van (Alias), Ingrid Grogny (Rouen, cinq minutes d’arrêt) and Henri-François Imbert (Sur la plage de Belfast; pictured above). Specialised in 20th-century film, LaCinetek has been available in Belgium and Luxembourg since October 2020. Films available from €1.99. From 27 May

Flagey’s latest Masters at Work virtual series features Belgian drummer Stéphane Galland in the performance lecture Roots and cultural interactions of rhythm in contemporary jazz (in English). The musician presents four compositions from his project ‘The mystery of Kem’, explaining how multicultural musical experiences have influenced his jazz rhythms. 21 May to 6 June (€5)

 Belgian art collective Hell’O explore their personal experience of confinement in This Must Be the Place at Alice Gallery. Taking its title from the upbeat track by Talking Heads, the song’s opening line Home is where I want to be is the perfect concluding message by graphic artist duo Antoine Detaille and Jérôme Meynen. Confinement obliging, the pair worked separately for the first time. The resulting 30 drawings nevertheless present a harmonious picture of furnished interiors and the people who occupy them; suspended images suggesting intimacy and resilience. Until 19 June, Rue du Pays de Liège 4

Photo art center Hangar brings together 10 ‘Made in Belgium’ photographers for the collective exhibition Regarde mon histoire/Kijk naar mijn verhaal. Véronique Ellena is joined by nine other artists - who have all similarly journeyed in the medium of photography - to present this series of intimate and individual visual stories. With Vincen Beeckman, Téo Becher & Solal Israel, Elise Corten, Anne De Gelas, France Dubois, Antoine Grenez, Katherine Longly and Hanne Van Assche. 21 May to 17 July, Place du Châtelain 18

Did you know that you can let go of stress or negative emotions by tapping your fingers on specific meridian points on your face or hand? It's apparently like acupuncture, but without the needles. Find out how at the Brussels Women's Club online workshop Find Your Balance. Expect a fun and highly interactive session with EFT coach Roshanak Zaredoost. 26 May 18.45 

OUTSIDE BRUSSELS

From May to November, concertgoers can visit the city and region of Sint-Niklaas in the multidisciplinary music festival PPPUSH-IT. Music-themed exhibitions include concert photos (Music For The Deaf II & One Minute After), the power of sound (High Voltage), the story behind Hooverphonic (Mad About Hooverphonic), and the wonderful world of fan magazines from past and now (BEING FAN). Creative labs provide music lovers an opportunity to experiment with sounds, while WWWALK-IT is a signposted ramble around the city starting at SteM (five-minute walk from the station). Until 7 November

Discover Liège’s recently-opened contemporary art venue New SPACE in this inaugural exhibition Gestes. Female personalities are brought together by curator Juliette Rousseff  to explore the concept of 'gesture'. Painter and embroider Rousseff displays her own works, along with Sophie Legros (above), Guy Vandeloise and Marie-Eve Maréchal. Staged by the Foundation for Art and Culture of the Province of Liège in collaboration with the Culture Department of the Province of Liège. 22 May to 27 June, Rue Vivegnis 234, Liège

Book today: Tickets are now on sale for the annual summer theatrical romp around the romantic ruins of Villers Abbey (Walloon Brabant). Del Diffusion presents an adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s classic tale Le Petit Prince. 13 July to 8 August

Photos (from top): Banad Festival, Taverne L'Ésperance © EB Lucie Burton; The Belgian Pride © Eric Danhier; Jacques Moeschal, Campus Solbosch 1968; Film ‘Sur la plage de Belfast’ by Henri-François Imbert; Hell’O Art collective, Alice Gallery; New SPACE ‘Gests’ En quete de formes © Sophie Legros & Fondation Art et Culture