At this year’s Art Brussels, our Communications Manager, Ela Suleymangil, had a front-row seat to a dynamic conversation featuring three key voices shaping the Benelux art scene: Antwerp Art Weekend, Amsterdam Art Week, and RendezVous − Brussels Art Week.
The panel made up of Laure Decock and Evelyn Simons (RendezVous − Brussels Art Week), Martina Halsema (Amsterdam Art Week), Tim Verherstraeten (Antwerp Art Weekend) delved into how each of these vibrant events uplifts their local art scenes while uniting around shared ambitions: making art more accessible, encouraging international collaboration, and strengthening community ties in the face of an ever-evolving cultural landscape. The conversation was facilitated by curator and writer Zeynep Kubat, who currently works as curator at FOMU in Antwerp.
Antwerp Art Weekend: community-driven and locally rooted
Tim Verherstraeten, Coordinator of Antwerp Art, emphasised the strength of Antwerp’s close-knit artistic community and that Antwerp’s approach centres around being locally anchored before branching out internationally. This grounding allows the team, which is small (but wow, are they effective!) and supported significantly by public funding, to stay fluid and public-focused, without the heavy pressures of private stakeholders.
Antwerp benefits from strong collaboration with the city and like the other Art Week(end)s is part of the newly established The Spider, an innovative network designed to connect and unite some of the most influential Art Weeks, Weekends, and Gallery Weekends across Europe. Still, the challenges of bringing in international visitors remain. “It’s expensive and takes time to build up that audience,” Verherstraeten shares, but the hope is to continue strengthening the internal structure and growing the team in the coming years.
Amsterdam Art Week: bridging institutions and building momentum
Martina Halsema, Director of Amsterdam Art, described a different but equally complex environment. With a large and diverse art ecosystem, Amsterdam faces challenges in cross-institutional collaboration. “There’s a real gap between residencies, galleries, and museums,” she explained, “and Amsterdam Art Week helps bridge that divide.” Acting as a connective tissue, the platform provides a moment each year when the entire city’s art world aligns, creating momentum and combating event fatigue.
The initiative offers a clear, accessible program (over 220 events in one week!) and works year-round through newsletters and ongoing communication to keep audiences informed. “We want to be the city’s art calendar,” Halsema said, noting how this centralised platform invites people to discover institutions they might not otherwise engage with.
Financially, the picture is more precarious. Each year is a puzzle of ticket sales, sponsorships, and individual support. “It’s hard to plan long-term, but the focus remains on keeping the platform open, curious, and strong enough to protect the arts community.”
RendezVous: playful accessibility in Brussels
RendezVous − Brussels Art Week, founded by Laure Decock and Evelyn Simons, brings a lighthearted yet purposeful energy to the table. Their mission is to make contemporary art more accessible to local and international audiences alike. With a focus on lowering the threshold of entry, it doesn’t take itself too seriously. “We want to open things up and have some fun,” Decock remarked, highlighting the cute lighters with ”Can I show you my portfolio?” on them, that were part of their merch last year.
RendezVous is also thinking strategically about sustaining its audience. The hope is that their programming and timing will be like the ”Indian summer” edition of Brussels Art Week, inspiring spin-off events and extend visitors’ stays in this diverse capital.
Shared dreams and shared struggles
All the speakers acknowledged the balancing act of working with stakeholders. Verherstraeten shared the importance of reminding stakeholders of the why and the how of the work, adding that it’s essential to “bring stakeholders on the journey, but make clear who is steering the ship.” The importance of mutual trust, staying curious, and maintaining open conversations was a common thread.
Despite different models and scales, all three organisations share a belief in the power of collaboration. Whether it’s through shared press efforts, co-promotions, or city-wide calendars, their efforts demonstrate that unity across a sector can amplify impact.
They also share a common desire: to attract new audiences and help them navigate the art world that can often feel closed off. Extensive visitor surveys in Antwerp have shown that regardless of size, be it a gallery or artist-run space, the number one priority is reaching more, and new, people.
Any last messages to Finnish artists considering the Benelux region?
The Benelux offers a uniquely rich ecosystem. As Decock noted, Brussels is home to a vibrant network of artist-run spaces. Verherstraeten added that in Belgium and the Netherlands, everything is close, making it easier for artists and audiences to engage across borders. It’s an environment where intimate community energy meets international ambition.
As these Art Weeks continue to evolve, one thing remains clear: the future of art in the Benelux depends on openness, collaboration, and the ability to invite the public not just into art spaces, but into the stories and structures that sustain them.
Personally, I am looking forward to attending as many of the Art Week(ends) as I can, and a question to the RendezVous team, where can I get one of those lighters?
The Institute will be taking a group of Finland-based visual art professionals to Amsterdam Art Week, as part of a visual arts study trip to Amsterdam, 20.-23.5.2025. The tailored programme aims to offer participants knowledge and inspiration to develop their digital operations and implement new ways of operating in the visual arts scene in Finland.
Amsterdam Art Week celebrates the diversity of the Amsterdam art scene. Artists, galleries, collectors, experimental project spaces, and renowned residencies come together, complemented by fresh perspectives from both domestic and international sources. For one week, the city is alive with contemporary art, featuring more than 300 artists, across over 70 locations, and nearly 250 events and exhibitions, spread throughout the compact and charming capital. With exhibitions in galleries and presentations of both private and museum collections, this 13th edition promises to be versatile and inspiring. The 2025 edition takes place from 20.-25.5.2025.
https://amsterdamart.com
Since 2014, Antwerp Art highlights and connects Antwerp’s vibrant contemporary art scene by promoting and communicating the programs of its members via antwerpart.be, our social media, monthly newsletter, and through organizing the annual Antwerp Art Weekend: a four day citywide manifestation where art spaces in and around Antwerp join forces to celebrate contemporary art. The 2025 edition takes place from 29.5-1.6.2025.
https://antwerpart.be
RendezVous — Brussels Art Week is a yearly recurring event, celebrating the richness and variety of the Brussels contemporary art scene, connecting galleries, institutions, artist-run spaces and collective artist studios. Each September, after the summer pause, RendezVous demarcates the starting point for all these dynamic art forces to come into play again. In 2024, RendezVous launched its first edition from 12 to 15 September, supported by 53 galleries, with a weekend of openings performances, and spontaneous get-togethers throughout the city’s many contemporary art galleries, downtown, midtown and uptown. The 2025 edition takes place 4-7.9.2025.
https://rendezvousbxl.com
Art Week(ends) in Conversation took place during Art Brussels, 24.-27.4.2025.
https://artbrussels.com