BRUSSELS.- From September 6-9, Brussels Gallery Weekend holds it’s 11th edition. This year, 40 galleries, a dozen institutions and several artists run spaces will open their doors to the public. Once again, Brussels Gallery Weekend is a highlight on the international arts calendar, reinforcing Brussels’ reputation as a global contemporary art destination and shining a light on the diversity of approaches and actors that contribute to this. In 2017, more than 7000 visitors attended the event and more attendance is expected this year. New in 2018 is a “meeting point,” which can be found in the Vanderborght building, which will also host an exhibition dedicated to local artists without gallery representation.

A BOLD SELECTION
Selected by a committee of renowned galleries (dépendance, Xavier Hufkens, Harlan Levey Projects, Jan Mot, Templon and Waldburger Wouters), participants are chosen for the excellence and audacity of their programs.

"Our goal is to offer a reflection of the abundance of artistic quality in Brussels. There is such a richness in our capital that it was essential to find it in the selection. This is an opportunity for the public to appreciate the work of emerging and recognized artists from around the world. For us, the organizers, there is a real pride in presenting a program of this level," explains Sybille du Roy, Director of the Brussels Gallery Weekend.

FIRST HIGHLIGHTS
New participating galleries include Alice Gallery, Damien and the Love Guru and Park View/Paul Soto. Early announcements of leading artists include Giancarlo Scaglia at Bernier-Eliades, a two-gallery exhibition by Sterling Ruby at Xavier Hufkens and Pierre Marie Giraud, Ed Adkins at dépendance, Tyrell Winston at Stems and Calder and Miró at Galerie de la Beraudière. Dutch architect Anne Holtrop, laureate of the prestigious international prize Iakov Chernikhov in 2014, can be discovered at Maniera.

In addition to this, the visitors will have the opportunity to discover art institutions as well as artists run spaces, always more flourishing in our capital. “The Brussels artistic landscape is changing, galleries are spreading out and artists run spaces are opening up all over the place. In the last few years Ixelles, St. Gilles, Molenbeek, Forest and downtown have all developed clusters of spaces. This expansion demonstrates the increase of actors and openness to local engagement that demonstrate the type of art hub Brussels is becoming,” added Sybille du Roy.

YOUTH IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Totally new this year, the exhibition “Generation Brussels”, curated by Louis-Phillipe Van Eeckhoutte and located in the Vanderborght building, adds a place for unrepresented artists to engage with the Brussels Gallery Weekend public.

Belgian curator Louis-Philippe Van Eeckhoutte worked for several years in a Belgian gallery and made his weapons in New York at Algus Greenspon, David Zwiner & Swiss Institute. "I contacted art schools, artists' studios and various artistic spaces in Brussels to present a selection, both qualitative and diverse, of young artists," says Louis-Philippe, "with this new initiative, we aim to build bridges between the old and the new generation, and to provide more visibility to these promising talents”. The names of the artists will be announced in September.

As Sybille du Roy explains, “Providing for younger artists is an objective of the event. It reflects how galleries work for and aid artists, in this case by creating opportunities, encounters and training for the next generation of local talent”.

In addition to this exhibition, a free pedagogical file can be downloaded from www.brusselsgalleryweekend.com and guided tours given by Art History students are available.

Participating galeries : Alice Gallery, La Patinoire Royale - Galerie Valérie Bach, Albert Baronian, Galerie de la Béraudière, Bernier/Eliades, Didier Claes Gallery, CLEARING, Damien and the Love Guru, dépendance, MLF | MARIE-LAURE FLEISCH, La Forest Divonne, Galerie Felix Frachon, Pierre Marie Giraud, Gladstone Gallery, Hopstreet Gallery, Xavier Hufkens, Victor Hunt Designaert Dealer, rodolphe janssen, Irène Laub Gallery, Harlan Levey Projects, LMNO, MANIERA, MARUANI MERCIER, Greta Meert, Meessen De Clercq, Mendes Wood DM, Jan Mot, Nathalie Obadia, Office Baroque, OV PROJECT, Park View/Paul Soto, QG Gallery, Almine Rech, Sorry We’re Closed, Stems, Galerie Templon, Vedovi Gallery, Waldburger Wouters