Brussels launches the Art Deco Year 2025
28 January 2025
Ans Persoons, Brussels Secretary of State for Urban Planning and Heritage, and Rudi Vervoort, Minister-President of the Brussels Region, officially launched the Art Deco Year 2025 this morning in the Royal Salon at Bozar, one of the capital's finest Art Deco temples. This year, 2025, marks the centenary of the creation of this artistic movement, which finds its origins in the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts held in Paris in 1925. Following the success of the Art Nouveau Year 2023 and its nearly 2 million visitors, urban and visit.brussels are this time inviting the people of Brussels, Belgium, and the international public to rediscover the different aspects of the Brussels Art Deco world through a rich programme of events. Exhibitions, conferences, guided tours and openings of normally closed buildings, Heritage Days, Banad, Art Deco Pass, etc. will allow everyone to immerse themselves in the splendour and decadence of the ‘roaring twenties’.
"In 2025, Brussels will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of art deco in style. And rightly so. We want to bring the exuberant atmosphere of the ‘Roaring Twenties’ back to life for Brussels residents and visitors, in the magnificent decors and buildings created by this iconic artistic movement. During this thematic year, we will be introducing Brussels residents and visitors to the origins of this artistic movement, how it characterised our society in the 1920s and 1930s, and how art deco continues to define the landscape of our city today. It's an opportunity to showcase and promote our exceptional heritage and to reclaim a part of our collective history," says Ans Persoons, Brussels secretary of state for town planning and heritage.
"The aim of making the magnificent sites created by this emblematic and characteristic architectural movement even more accessible is an undeniable asset for the people of Brussels, Belgians, and foreign visitors alike. The renewal of interest in art deco is vital for the image of Brussels and the Region's tourist industry. It is obviously vital that we continue to preserve and promote it, so that the history and aesthetics of this exceptional heritage can be passed on to as many people as possible," says Rudi Vervoort, Minister-President of the Brussels Region in charge of the Image of Brussels.
More than a programme, a rediscovery of Art Deco
In 2025, Brussels will pay tribute to this iconic architectural movement with a special programme featuring tours, activities, and events celebrating the city's movable, decorative, architectural, and intangible architectural heritage. The Art Deco Year 2025 will be run jointly by urban and visit.brussels under the coordination of Commissioner Paul Dujardin and in partnership with many of the capital's museums, cultural, scientific, and artistic institutions. To mark the occasion, a special new logo has been unveiled to unify all the activities of the Art Deco Year 2025 under a single visual identity.
Over the coming year, the Region's ambition is not only to promote Art Deco, but above all to help the general public rediscover it through new and critical eyes. The many activities will aim to highlight the civic issues raised by Art Deco in the 1920s and 1930s, a period that saw the liberation of morals and the threat of economic, social, and political crises.
"With the unveiling of the Art Deco 2025 programme, we want to build on the momentum of the highly successful Art Nouveau Year 2023 by offering Brussels an exceptional thematic cultural year. The programme has multiple ambitions and aims to deal with a diversity of essential themes: access to heritage, its promotion, the design of public spaces, today's architecture, decolonisation and the challenges of intangible heritage, etc., and to find a prism that will enable us to approach art deco in a cross-disciplinary way, with the limited resources that we have," says Paul Dujardin, Curator of the Art Deco Year 2025.
GUIDED TOURS OF THE ART DECO TREASURES OF THE CAPITAL:
The Brussels Region boasts a unique Art Deco heritage. Sometimes discreet, sometimes monumental - the streets of Brussels are brimming with treasures waiting to be discovered or rediscovered.
To this end, numerous guided tour associations, such as Pro Vélo, ARAU, Arkadia, Korei, Bruxelles Bavard, Itinéraires, Brussels Art Deco Society, Explore Brussels, as well as municipal partners like the communes of Anderlecht, Schaerbeek, Forest, Ixelles, and the City of Brussels, will offer a rich and varied programme throughout 2025. A unique opportunity to discover several iconic buildings that will be open to the public year-round: the Flagey Building, Bozar, Wiels, Villa Empain (home to the Boghossian Foundation), van Buuren Museum and Gardens, Tenaerts House, Riez House, UGC de Brouckère with its Eldorado cinema hall, Forest Town Hall, the House of European History, the Basilica of Koekelberg, Sainte-Suzanne Church in Schaerbeek, …
Most of these buildings, and many more, will also open their doors for the Brussels Art Nouveau Art Deco Festival (BANAD Festival) from March 15 to 30. The 2025 programme will be 90% dedicated to Art Deco buildings, featuring numerous never-before-seen locations!
Finally, the Heritage Days, organised annually by urban.brussels, will align with the theme “Art Deco - Roaring Twenties, Crashing Thirties” offering a free programme of tours and discoveries showcasing this style throughout the Brussels region.
PASS ART DECO
Some of these venues will be accessible via the Art Nouveau Pass, which is evolving to become the Art Nouveau Art Deco Pass and, in addition to the nine Art Nouveau venues on this combined ticket, will now include several Art Deco venues in the capital.
“Throughout 2025, Urban’s ambition is to revisit Art Deco through the lens of urban planning, architecture, sociology and humanity. We want to highlight the civic issues that Art Deco addressed in the 1920s and 1930s, which echo the challenges that we face today. It goes beyond a mere programme: Urban will also approach Art Deco from a critical perspective, examining the past in the light of today’s architecture,” says Sarah Lagrillière, Urban’s Deputy Director General.
NUMEROUS EXPOSITIONS
Whether you’re already familiar with the style, or ready to discover it, the many cultural and museum partners are staging 14 expositions during the Year on varying subjects, sometimes accompanied by a programme of guided tours or workshops for young and old. Here’s a selection:
- VILLA EMPAIN
“Echoes of Art Deco” invites visitors to explore the iconic architecture of Villa Empain, a paragon of Art Deco with a tumultuous history. The exhibition offers an immersive experience into the lifestyle of the roaring twenties.
- MARINUS CENTRE
“Opalescents” features a selection of over 100 opaline glass creations from the collection of Philippe Decelle, an engineer and visual artist. A publication will accompany the exhibition.
- VAN BUUREN MUSEUM AND GARDENS
This exhibition will spotlight interwar sculptures set against the enchanting backdrop of the museum’s gardens, offering visitors a unique immersive experience.
- AUTRIQUE HOUSE
“Art Deco 2025: Posters and Magazines” (translation of FR working title) will explore societal evolution during the interwar period through posters and magazine covers.
- BELVUE MUSEUM
“ART DECO. The style of a society in the throes of change” examines the shift from Art Nouveau to Art Deco and the social changes of the time, showcasing pieces from the King Baudouin Foundation collections.
- THE DESIGN MUSEUM BRUSSELS
This exhibition will feature an archive collection received in 2024 from the estate of René Baucher and Sylvie Feron, known for their projects in furniture, lighting, textiles, and interior decoration.
- HALLES SAINT-GÉRY
Halles Saint-Géry will be dedicating their entire 2025 programme to Art Deco, featuring three major exhibitions (« Art Deco cinemas in Brussels » - « On the Art Deco Table Menu » - « Fashion and Art Deco: contemporary resonances ») and a diverse lineup of events. These will include partner exhibitions, celebrations of intangible heritage (such as gastronomy), conferences, explorations of Art Deco beyond Belgium, and more. Accessibility will be a key focus, with free exhibitions, occasional guided tours, and guaranteed wheelchair accessibility.
- THE ART & HISTORY MUSEUM
The Art & History Museum is also planning to inaugurate two permanent exhibition rooms in 2025, dedicated to its Art Nouveau and Art Deco collections.
“Following the resounding success of the Art Nouveau year in Brussels, we are delighted to unveil the programme for the 2025 year of Art Deco. This emblematic architectural style can be found in many of the capital's landmark monuments, such as BOZAR and the Koekelberg Basilica. As well as adding to the appeal of our destination, the Year of Art Deco offers a varied programme: original guided tours, glimpses of the lifestyle of the period during events and an exploration of Brussels at its most beautiful. This initiative will play a key role for visitors, whether they come from Brussels, Belgium or elsewhere, offering them a new way of (re)discovering the capital. By highlighting the architectural richness of many districts, it will also contribute to decentralisation while boosting the impact of tourism in our capital.”says Patrick Bontinck, CEO of Visit.brussels.
CONFERENCES:
In addition to the exhibitions, many partners will be introducing the public to specific aspects of Art Deco through a series of themed conferences.
- BRAFA will host an Art Deco BRAFA Talk featuring Werner Adriaenssens during its event;
- urban.brussels will organise an Urban Lunch in January dedicated to this iconic style;
- the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg – in collaboration with the Luxembourg National Museum of History and Art (MNAH) - will host a conference on Art Deco in Luxembourg, which will tie in with a recent publication on the subject.
A selection of other museum partners, including BELvue, the Museum of Fashion & Lace and the Pierre Majerus Belgian Stained Glass Centre, will also stage Art Deco-themed conferences.
The Brussels Art Deco Society is programming a year of meetings, debates, and lectures on Art Deco, in collaboration with Belgian and international experts, and in partnership with key Art Deco landmarks.
PUBLICATIONS
Some museums will be publishing works as part of their temporary exhibitions. Additionally, Racines is developing a new book on “Art Deco Homes” by author Cécile Dubois and Demeures Historiques et Jardins de Belgique will be releasing a spring issue dedicated to Art Deco. The summer edition of the Natrimoine journal will also be dedicated to the theme.
ART DECO WEEK
A variety of partners will come together for Art Deco Week, offering an event every evening of the week. Activities will include lectures, exhibition openings, festive events, and guided tours, designed to connect visitors with the various locations featured in the programme.
This event will be coordinated by the “Art Deco at Home” consortium, which includes the Brussels Art Deco Society, the Boghossian Foundation – Villa Empain, Van Buuren Museum & Gardens, Autrique House and the Horta Museum.
GREEN SPACES
The capital’s green spaces will also be taking part in the festivities! The cemeteries of the City of Brussels will be participating in the Printemps des Cimetières and CIVA will be hosting its annual Garden Tales festival, which encourages the public to (re)discover Belle Époque green spaces
CLASSES DU PATRIMOINE
In parallel, the Classes du Patrimoine will be partnering with Van Buuren Museum & Gardens to organise activities for schools. Several museums will be adapting their programming to make exhibitions accessible to young audiences and families.
The year’s full programme is available at:
Art Deco, omnipresent modernism in Brussels
With its geometric lines and sense of ornamentation, Art Deco was the artistic movement of the 1920s and 1930s. A true icon of the roaring twenties, its aesthetics thrived in furniture, decorative arts, and architectural facades alike. Characterised by geometric forms, lustrous materials, warm and contrasting colours with golden or silver accents, and a penchant for precious materials or their imitations, Art Deco also demonstrated a strong fascination with exoticism. Inseparable from Art Deco was the concept of modernity, omnipresent in this era, imbued with a spirit of renewal that permeated all aspects of society. It aimed to achieve democratic emancipation, technological comfort, and enhanced leisure and mobility.… Art Deco was used in architecture and urban planning as well as in other artistic disciplines, including the applied arts.
In Brussels, it was the Centre for Fine Arts (1922-1929), designed by the great Victor Horta, which launched the trend. In its wake, private mansions, townhouses, and apartment buildings, as well as numerous public buildings, were inspired by this unique aesthetic, making the Belgian capital one of the jewels of Art Deco in Europe.Several Brussels architects, including Michel Polak (1885-1948), Jean-Baptiste Dewin (1873-1948) and Adrien Blomme (1878-1940), contributed to the rise of Art Deco in the urban landscape.
