RendezVous – Brussels Art Week returns from 4–7 September 2025 with a city-wide programme celebrating Brussels’ contemporary art scene. Galleries, museums, artist-run spaces, and studios will synchronise their openings, reaffirming Brussels as one of Europe’s most vibrant cultural hubs. This year, in collaboration with the Finnish Cultural Institute for the Benelux and Frame Contemporary Art Finland, RendezVous invites curators Sakari Tervo and Max Hannus to explore Brussels’ artistic landscape, cultivating new connections and inspiring creative exchange.
RendezVous – Brussels Art Week
Thursday, 4.9., 17:00–21:00 – Gallery Opening Night.
Friday, 5.9. to Sunday 7.9. – Collective opening hours, 11:00-18:00
Discover the full programme: https://rendezvousbxl.com
“For us and for many, Brussels is a unique place. Conveniently central, discreetly humble – surrounded by big sisters such as London and Paris, but brimming with a creative energy that is ferocious.”
RendezVous founders Laure Decock and Evelyn Simons have both been operating in the Brussels’ art field and beyond for the past 10 years. Laure has worked for galleries such as Almine Rech Gallery, Albert Baronian and Axel Vervoordt, and served as a consultant with focus on fundraising for WIELS, La Loge and Netwerk Aalst. She was a founding member of Elders Collectief.
Evelyn has been active as a curator, both freelance (for Fondazione Prada, Casino Luxembourg, KANAL, FOMU and others) as well as in artistic directional roles at Horst Arts & Music and Fondation CAB. She regularly writes artist statements, exhibition texts and exhibition reviews for national and international magazines. In 2024, she took part in a residency realised in the context of HICP – Helsinki International Curatorial Programme, a collaboration between Frame Contemporary Art Finland and HIAP – Helsinki International Artist Programme.
In collaboration with the Finnish Cultural Institute for the Benelux and Frame Contemporary Art Finland, RendezVous is inviting two Finnish curators to Brussels. The visit aims to immerse them in the city’s vibrant art scene, encourage the discovery of new practices, and foster lasting international collaborations.
Finnish curators visiting Brussels
Sakari Tervo
Sakari Tervo (he/him) is a curator and a former artist who works as a university teacher at Aalto University. He has co-directed the artist-run spaces Titanik (2012–2014) and Sorbus (2014–2019) and has curated a series of online exhibitions. In 2023, he founded the exhibition platform Pitted Dates, whose program brings together emerging and established artists in thoughtful, carefully curated group exhibitions. Each show is accompanied by a poem, which serves both as a press release and as an artwork in its own right, placing each exhibition within a poetic framework. For Tervo, art is a social weave where other possible worlds exist.
“I have visited Brussels a few times before and have been surprised by how lively this European bureaucratic capital is. However, I don’t have a good overview of the city’s art scenes, so I am looking forward to visiting various art spaces, experiencing all kinds of art, and meeting lots of people.
I haven’t had a chance to go through the whole programme yet, but I noticed that Thomas Jeppe is having a show at Galerie Conradi, so that’s on my bucket list. Overall, though, I am hoping to discover new names and places, so I’ll just go with the flow once I know more about the programme.
I hope to establish connections in Brussels that will naturally evolve over time, such as showcasing works by Brussels-based artists or collaborating with an interesting venue or curator. It would also be nice to find something to bring back as a souvenir for my kids. I always try to find something interesting, but it’s usually just airport sweets.”
Max Hannus
Max Hannus (they/them) is a curator, working independently and at Kiasma Museum, Helsinki. Their research explores the interfaces of desire, human relationships and making of art, and aims at highlighting the subjective characteristic of curatorial practices, while still actively pursuing the ethical position of a curator and stressing the politics of representation. Their recent curated exhibitions include Essi Kuokkanen (opening in October 2025), Sarah Lucas (opening in October 2025) and Dreamy — Queer Imaginaries (2023) at Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, as well as Moon in your Mouth (2023) at UKS, Oslo, which considered consent, intimacy and emotional labour in the realm of exhibition making.
“It is my first time visiting Brussels, and I’m excited to get inspired by the vibrant art scene and the multitude of interesting art practices. To be surprised and challenged! Projects that question the status quo are integral to our collective effort at re-imagining the future.”
Images: Sakari Tervo, photo provided by Sakari Tervo. Max Hannus, photo by Venla Helenius.