The Belgian city of Bruges is set to inaugurate a new art gallery for old, modern, and contemporary art on 8 May 2026, with two major exhibitions linking ancient and up-to-the-minute works lined up for the launch.
BRUSK, in the heart of the UNESCO city, is designed by Robbrecht en Daem architecten, the firm that previously designed the iconic Concert Hall. With strong eco-credentials, the new museum boasts “monumental exhibition spaces” that will “host Musea Brugge’s exhibitions of ancient, modern, and contemporary art, always in dialogue with current themes,” a press release reveals. The in-house collection and the Bruges context will usually serve as the starting point, the museum states, while masterpieces and loans from renowned institutions and museums around the world will complement the offer.
Starting on 8 May, the art gallery opens with a digital art experience titled Latent City, by Turkish-American artist Refik Anadol, as well as a “cultural-historical exhibition” named Bigger Picture. Connected worlds of Bruges 900-1550. Introducing the two shows, the museum notes that Latent City will be “Refik Anadol’s first solo exhibition in Belgium, an international pioneer in AI-powered art. At the same time, Bigger Picture will shed new light on Bruges as a medieval metropolis.”
Running from 8 May to 8 November 2026, Refik Anadol Studio brings the fruits of its bespoke trained AI models: transforming the idea of the metropolis with over five million images of global cities and unique algorithms.
Bigger Picture meanwhile engages museum goers with the notion of the metropolis in the Middle Ages, looking at Bruges as a “world city, a hub in global networks of trade, culture and politics.” The exhibition materials draw attention to the way “Bruges seemed to be the epicentre of the world. But the city was never isolated. Bruges was constantly in contact with other regions and cultures through trade, travel, faith and ideas. And it was precisely these connections that gave it an important role in world history.” Visitors will experience “five chapters full of unique, historical objects and stories from different ages and continents” that “highlight the interactions between medieval Bruges and the rest of the world.”
BRUSK’s opening weekend (8-10 May 2026) is being branded as an “unmissable city festival” called “BRUSK FEST” that will “unfold in and around the art gallery over the course of 3 days.” The programme includes free performances, workshops, theatre, live performances, and music for all ages. One ticket allows guests to discover all the current exhibitions in BRUSK in one day, for a standard price of €20.
