For the occasion, thirty-three Brussels museums will open their doors from 7 pm to 1 am. In each of them, emerging artists will take over the space and collections to put on original shows.

In the hall of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts, opposite Gustave Wappers' monumental painting of the Belgian Revolution, Belgium-based Argentinian artist Juani Rossi is doing a final scouting. This Saturday, he and his troupe will take over the Forum.
"We're going to present a 35-minute performance. We'll be mixing contemporary dance with circus acrobatics," he says with a smile, standing next to a statue of contemporary art.
Accompanied by lights and sounds, the seven dancer-acrobats will be in costume, almost as if they'd stepped out of paintings, and will tackle the theme of identities.
"The idea is to inhabit each space, to feed off everything around us: paintings, sculptures, culture, history... to take the spectators with us," explains the artist who conceived the number.

The metamorphosis of a Brussels museum night

In the corridors of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts, other activities will be offered to visitors.
"There will be a whole musical program," adds Myriam Dom, the person in charge of artistic events for the institution.
"With young musicians from the Kunsthumaniora Brussel school. They will be accompanied by fashion students who will be parading around in magnificent costumes inspired by the world of art."

It's been ten years since the Royal Museums of Fine Arts took part in this event. "It's an opportunity to bring in visitors who don't come to the museum," enthuses Hélène Lebailly, in charge of communications. "Because the atmosphere will be nocturnal and festive. It's an opportunity to discover the museum in a slightly more informal, relaxed way, in a very different setting."

Thirty-three participating museums

A total of thirty-three museums are taking part in the event. Among them: Autoworld, Bozar, la Centrale, iMAL, Halles Saint-Géry, Institut des sciences naturelles, Train World, Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, etc. The full list is available on the event website.

Shuttle buses operated by the STIB will be deployed to take visitors to the participating museums.
"Visitors usually do four, five, even six museums per edition," explains Elo Breyne, one of the event organizers from Brussels Museums. "There are several museums in the city center. Two shuttles will criss-cross the center and another will link Schaerbeek and its Train World."

To get in on this Saturday evening cultural fever, expect to pay 17 euros per person in advance and 21 euros on the day of the event. The ticket will give you access to all participating museums all night long, and, as a bonus, for a month after the event.

Source: www.rtbf.be/