Girls Heart Brussels 2016 – A dive into Brussel’s vibrating scene
Wait is over! A year has already gone by, and the good news are that it’s time for the third edition of Girls Heart Brussels. The three-day event, dedicated to women who love women and anyone who wants to discover the Belgium capital from a queer and feminist angle, is taking place from the 22nd to the 24th of April. The intent, anticipated by the previous, successful editions, is to create a regular appointment that could be more intellectually stimulating than other gay gatherings throughout Europe.
As usual, Girls Heart Brussels 2016 coincides with Art Brussels, which makes the weekend particularly special and intriguing for anyone interested in the contemporary art scene, especially from a female prospective. Art lovers have the unique chance to explore both the mainstream and the underground vibes – to visit the art fair as well as a number of appealing collateral events (such us the Independent and Poppositions art fairs) .
Taking a closer look to Art Brussels, this year’s edition has found a new home, Tour & Taxis, and has been reduced in size, betting on quality over quantity. 141 galleries from 28 countries are distributed in three main sections: PRIME, DISCOVERY, that presents the work of a younger generation of artists and supports emerging galleries and a new section; REDISCOVERY, which aims at counteracting the ‘presentism’ inherent in contemporary art fairs displaying the works by important artists, living and deceased, from the historic avant-garde, who have been under-estimated, overlooked, or unduly forgotten. There will also be 24 galleries participating in SOLO, a section dedicated to the presentation of individual artists’ work.
Moreover, participants to Girls Heart Brussels 2016 will visit the first major retrospective by Belgian artist Edith Dekyndt at WIELS. Under Dirk Snauwaert’s wing, the show, evocatively entitled INDIGENOUS SHADOW, effectively embodies the combination of science and magic, technique and intuition that characterized Dekyndt’s work. Old and ad hoc pieces are called together in order to bring the post-industrial space of the museum to life, and highlight the energies that animate the world. With the attitude of a scientist, she makes underlying and intrinsic processes visible by using techniques such as fermentation, accumulation, extraction, reduction, or excess of energetic fluxes. She uses means such us copper, yeast, earth, water from the local river Senne, and the bacteria used to brew the Brussels specialty beer, gueuze, to question the possible result of the domination of man over his environment on the one hand, and the relation of interdependence regulating everything that inhabits this earth on the other.
Nevertheless, thanks to the selected must-sees, participants can enjoy the best experience of Belgian fashion, food, and dancing. Speaking of which, remember to save your energy for the Catclub party, always a success!
Girls Heart Brussels 2016, a project by Jessica Gysel with the support of Brussels Board of tourism, is the perfect occasion to visit this fascinating and increasingly gay friendly destination.
The package-price is 199 euro per person and 249 per couple.
Girls Heart Brussels: Brussels, various locations, Fri 22 – Sun 24 April 2016
by Arianna Bertolotti
in News
Apr 15, 2016