Bruges Triennial 2024: Spaces of Possibility

Every three years the Bruges Triennial brings contemporary art and architecture to the historic city centre of Bruges: a unique setting and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Bruges Triennial

In each edition, the artistic team invites national and international artists and architects to submit new temporary installations.

For visitors, it is a free exploration, following a unique and inviting trail with a social aspect.
For this fourth edition, the Bruges Triennial will explore the city’s hidden possibilities with the theme of ‘Spaces of Possibility‘.

How can a UNESCO-protected historic city, where non-building is central, cope with change? And how can contemporary art and architecture be a catalyst for this sustainable change?

Sumayya Vally found inspiration in Bruges' trade history for Grains of Paradise. Reaching its peak in the 14th and 15th centuries with the import and export of goods, remnants to this past can still be found in the streetscape today, ranging from the nation houses to the hoisting beams on the waterfront and the rich collection of objects in the recently restored Gruuthuse Palace. Mustard pots, tapestries, and dyes serve as tangible reminders of the exotic spices, precious stones, and pigments that once traversed vast distances to reach Bruges.

Between 13 April and 1 September, get to know the temporary new interpretations that twelve artists and architects from around the world are giving to un(der)used or little-known locations in the city.

The History of Bruges Triennial

For more than twenty years, Bruges has been strongly committed to contemporary architecture in harmony with the existing city center. Concertgebouw Brugge, for example, opened its doors in 2002. More recently, the BMCC (designed by the Belgian architectural firm META, together with Pritzker Prize winner Eduardo Souto de Moura) opened its doors and in 2026 BRUSK will also be open for visitors. But attention to contemporary art and culture bubbled up much earlier, including in the minds of town alderman Fernand Traen and author Paul de Wispelaere. They therefore founded the Independent Cultural Forum Raaklijn in 1957.

Since 2015, Bruges Triennial has been building on the series of triennials around visual arts that were organized in 1968, 1971 and 1974.

Whilst the focus lay on contemporary Belgian art and a more museum-centric context in these early editions, when the concept was revived in 2015 the decision was made to add architecture to the programme as a second pillar.

Moreover, the event is no longer staged indoors, but in the public space. This has proven to be a successful formula.

De verdoken archeologische restanten van de eerste middeleeuwse stadsomwalling inspireerde Henrique Oliveira voor zijn installatie. De houten takken van Banisteria Caapi (Desnatureza 4) kruipen over de stenen rand tot aan het water. Het lijkt alsof de natuur achter de ommuurde tuinen vrij spel heeft, maar zijn installatie is misleidend. De takken zijn artificieel en bootsen de natuur op een virtuoze wijze na. Op een subtiele manier speelt de kunstenaar een spel met wat we dagelijks zien in de stad en wat achter die werkelijkheid schuilt. En hoe ons leven kan bepaald of gestuurd worden door zaken die onbewust in onze omgeving aanwezig zijn.

The first edition, at the time known as Triennial for Plastic Art in Belgium, took place in the illustrious year 1968 in the Bruges City Halls and featured 86 artists including Marcel Broodthaers, Jef Geys, Panamarenko and Roger Raveel. Two editions followed in 1971 and 1974, but these were the last.

In 2015 – 41 years later – City of Bruges picks up where it left off and stages the surprising Bruges as Megapolis.

With this theme, the curators depict the imaginary transformation of Bruges into a global city, in which its five million annual visitors didn’t leave but became residents instead.

The tree houses in the Beguinage garden are poetic sculptures that explore the boundaries between art, architecture and nature. They are a surprising presence: the childlike, playful and adventurous spirit of a treehouse. Especially, in the spiritual, quiet and serious context of the Beguinage. Children playing in the trees are not easily expected. And, this apparent dichotomy is exactly why the wooden constructions become an invitation to dream. High up in the trees, they seem like charming watchers, as though protectors of the residents and visitors. Even more, the tree houses were also little places of retreat, if only in the imagination. The unreachable sculptures make one long for a private, peaceful place all to oneself.

In 2018, with the theme Liquid City | Vloeibare Stad, the focus was on the uncertain aspects of contemporary society.

How flexible, fluid and resilient can a historical city like Bruges be in a time in which nothing seems certain anymore?

Installations in and around the water enrapture people in unexpected places.

In 2021, with TraumA, the curators shifted the focus from the public space to the hidden dimensions of Bruges and its residents.

A polyphonous tale in which ambiguity came into the picture, and the demarcation between public and private space was negotiated afresh.

Would you like to know more about the previous editions? Take a look here.

BRUGES TRIENNIAL

Contemporary visual art and architecture

Bruges is an outstanding example of a medieval historic settlement, which has maintained its historic fabric as this has evolved over the centuries, and where original Gothic constructions form part of the town’s identity.

In the streets of the UNESCO world heritage city of Bruges

International merchants built up Bruges into one of the largest Hanse cities. In the 15th century the city flourished as never before. Large parts of the medieval heritage remained practically intact. Therefore, it is only logical that UNESCO designated the entire city center as a World Heritage site.

The Historic Centre of Brugge is an outstanding example of an architectural ensemble, illustrating significant stages in the commercial and cultural fields in ...

National and international artists and architects

The medieval architecture in Bruges is mostly intact, making it one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Europe. The “Historic Centre of Bruges” has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.

HISTORIC DISTRICT, BRUGES, A UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE, WEST FLANDERS, FLEMISH REGION, BELGIUM, EUROPE

Commissioned temporary installations

In each edition, the artistic team invites national and international artists and architects to submit new temporary installations.

Where to stay in Bruges?

From the energetic historic center to the charming outer neighborhoods, there are plenty of options for where to stay in Bruges.

We suggest Booking in advance because of how many tourists Bruges attracts. To get the best deals and availability research and book early, you can always cancel later if your plans change. Many hotels have offers.