by Redazione 22/10/2026
Categories: Tourism / Disclaimer
In 2027, Flanders aims to present itself through a broader and more contemporary cultural lens: four contemporary art festivals in the western part of the region and celebrations marking the 450th anniversary of Rubens’s birth in Antwerp.
For Flanders, 2027 will be a year of taking risks, as the region’s tourism board describes it: showcasing the region through a broader and, above all, more contemporary cultural lens. In the collective imagination, as explained by the board during our meeting in Rimini at the TTG Travel Experience tourism fair, Flanders remains closely associated with its cities of art— Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, Mechelen, and Leuven, and to the great Flemish painters, from Van Eyck to Bruegel to Rubens. The goal is to introduce potential travelers to a more contemporary region, without losing sight of the artistic mastery these artists continue to convey, while remaining within the realm of culture and creativity.
In terms of the calendar,West Flanders will host four contemporary art festivals: the triennials in Bruges, Beaufort on the coast, and Kortrijk, as well as an arts festival. What’s new is that these events have been brought together under a single platform—also designed as a communication tool for international markets—whose acronym stands for Contemporary Platform Open Heart in Flanders. This year, the platform will host the triennials in public spaces, and in the coming years it will continue to showcase this narrative thread, which applies Flemish mastery to modern creativity. The events will engage with diverse settings, ranging from the seaside to a medieval city like Bruges.
Alongside the contemporary offerings is the historical legacy. The year 2027 marks the 450th anniversary of the birth of Pieter Paul Rubens, Antwerp’s most celebrated citizen, and the city will be at the center of numerous initiatives, complementing the existing offerings within the city’s museum network. The Plantin-Moretus Museum will present an exhibition dedicated to the cultural, intellectual, and artistic context in which the painter worked. The Snijders&Rockoxhuis will present an exhibition project exploring lesser-known aspects of the artist. The Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp, together with the Rubenshuis, will dedicate an exhibition to Rubens’s international dimension—not only as a great intellectual painter of his time but also as an ambassador who traveled extensively, leaving his mark in every European country, including Italy. Among the new developments at the Rubenshuis is the restoration of the gardens.
The tourism board speaks of two strands that Flanders intends to bring into dialogue: the great tradition of painting on the one hand, and on the other, a thread connecting to modernity and Flemish creativity, represented by the festivals in the west. It will therefore be a very busy year, and the region says it is eager to take on the challenge.
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| From the 450th Anniversary of Rubens to the Art Triennials: Flanders’ Proposal for 2027 |
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