Museum Night Fever is nearly upon us once again as Brussels prepares for 19 October 2024, when from 7:00 pm to 1:00 am, 28 museums across the city will be celebrating the yearly nocturnal event with special programmes including DJ sets, exhibitions, performances and concerts – all in the unforgettable settings of the capital’s cultural institutions lit by moonlight.
A chance to experience Brussels’ cultural offering in a different way, Museum Night Fever explores how we perceive things differently when the sun goes down, breaking down barriers between our expectations and the sides of history and art we do not always see, as well as the walls between different disciplines, as visual artists, performance artists, circus, video installations and dance come together to create a night of magic.
Newcomers and old friends
The 2024 edition of the event welcomes back some museums that have been absent from previous programmes, such as La Monnaie and the Fashion and Lace Museum, as well as embracing newcomers such as the MedexMuseum in Ixelles, telling the stories of exile and migration, and Belgian Beer World on Boulevard Anspach.
Some of the city’s most beloved museums are on the agenda. Art Nouveau gem Bozar is getting in on the action too, as well as the Royal Military Museum at Cinquantenaire Park, where uniforms and archive material rub shoulders with aircraft and military machines from days gone by. As it did last time round, the Tram Museum will be taking visitors back in time on historic bus rides, and the House of European History in Parc Leopold will be swinging back a whole century to the Roaring Twenties.
Afterparties at C12 and Botanique
And in the spirit of that jazz age, when the museums shut up at 1:00 am, the celebratory atmosphere will go on with two afterparties: at C12 deep in the heart the Horta Gallery next to the Grand Place and the Central Station, and at Le Botanique. In both these iconic venues, according to press releases, “the best DJs of the moment” will help you dance the night away
Organisers will be hoping for a turnout to match the thousands of participants who made the most of previous years’ events, 75% of whom were under 35 years of age, proving that museums are not just for relics. The full programme is not being announced until 30 September 2024, when the details of events at each participating museum will be released and ticket sales will be launched.
