h: While Europe’s major art capitals—Paris, London, Venice and Berlin—jostle for our attention, what makes Brussels distinct? What are the defining characteristics of its creative scene?
LD&ES: We’re smaller in scale. Brussels isn’t that big. And it’s also a bit dysfunctional: there are nineteen municipalities, each with their own legislations. It creates this patchwork that makes up the Brussels region, all operating within Belgium’s federal system. This dysfunctionality can be frustrating, especially considering how we didn’t have a Brussels government for the two years of our first two editions. But it also creates gaps and glitches that create possibility and allow us to somewhat self-organise. This is heavily reflected in the creative scene.
We have stellar galleries representing international artists who are based here, Belgian artists based abroad, and a range of experimental artist-run spaces, some of them operating nomadically. All of this creates a lot of opportunity for artists living here. Though we can’t be too celebratory. Budget cuts in culture are increasingly aimed at these grassroots organisations, which substantially puts an entire avant-garde and experimental scene (for which Belgium is so known) at risk.
h: This year, you will be releasing Brussels City Guide for Art Lovers, published by MER. Books. With that in mind, how important is it for the Brussels Art Week programme to reflect the city’s architectural and historical fabric?
LD&ES: Brussels Art Week takes place in the city. With nearly one hundred venues across uptown, downtown and midtown, the city itself becomes part of the experience. We also have partnerships with hotels, and want to highlight and celebrate the city’s independent bookstores, vinyl shops, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, parks and architecture.
Our City Guide, created in collaboration with Glean, takes visitors on walks through the city, pointing you towards interesting art spaces and artworks, and includes tips on where artists love to hang out. Like that, you can organise your own Brussels Art Week throughout the year.
h: You mentioned The Salon de RendezVous, the social epicentre of RendezVous. What does The Salon de RendezVous represent? What kind of energy animates the space? How does it help to galvanise a sense of community?
LD&ES: The Salon is many things. It’s our beating heart. It’s an exciting temporary timespace where people can gather, discuss, have a drink, experience performances, learn and exchange. We definitely wanted to have a programme of our own, but decided against organising another exhibition to be added to the broad offer we already have.
Instead, each year, The Salon offers the opportunity to an artist or collective—a kind of commission that can actually contribute to or hopefully expand an artist’s practice. It is the setting for Salon Encounters, a hybrid space. It is at once an art installation, but simultaneously also a décor for performances, DJ sets, and talks. Salon Encounters is curated by us, but in close collaboration with our various stakeholders. We organise themed conversations for which we invite artists exhibiting elsewhere in the city to collaborate, perform, host a listening session, or something else.
h: RendezVous is only two years young. Each year’s event will never exist in isolation, but will contribute to a collective understanding of Brussels’ scene. With this in mind, what responsibilities do you feel you have to the people of Brussels as curators? What is it like to build a legacy in real time?
LD&ES: We feel the work is never finished. There is so much potential. We constantly think of new connections we can make, people we can introduce to each other, and shared agendas that different organisations might have without realising.
We’re building an organisation from the ground up. We inherited nothing from the previous structure, and we had to do so with no public funding, because there was no government.
We remain faithful, motivated, and encouraged by people’s growing enthusiasm: both from our participating organisations and from the audience—both local and international. It takes a specific kind of stamina to work year-round on a four-day event, but the energy during those days—post-summer, everyone well rested—is magic.
Brussels is also the place we both call home. After having worked for years for other people, we’re confident in the belief that our complementary backgrounds allow us to create a meaningful and exciting platform for a city that’s so often overlooked, but has so much to offer.
h: Reflecting on these first few years, what have the opening editions taught you? Looking to the future, where do you hope to take RendezVous next?
LD&ES: We sometimes have to temper our ambitions, because we’re hungry and impatient to grow. So it’s a constant balancing act between investment and carefulness. On the surface, everything needs to seem impeccable, top-notch, professional—but behind the scenes, it’s a lot of DIY, overextending ourselves and counting on the goodwill of many of our collaborators.