There are only a few days left to catch it. Until Friday 30 October, the Gare Maritime at Tour & Taxis is hosting AfriConnections free of charge, an exhibition of contemporary African art that travelled across the continent before landing in Brussels for the fifth and final stop of its 2026 tour.
A journey in five stops
Launched in April by Brussels Airlines, the exhibition was first shown in Kinshasa, at the Texaf Bilembo cultural centre, then in Abidjan, at the Rotonde des Arts, before moving on to Yaoundé and Dakar, where it was on display in September at the IFAN museum. Brussels completes the route.
The idea is simple: to circulate the works along the air routes that have linked Belgium and Africa for decades, and to take them across borders within the continent itself. That was one of the starting observations: contemporary African art often travels more easily to Europe than between African capitals. Curator Michèle Desmottes welcomes an initiative that partly reverses this logic.
Fifteen artists, a collection on the move
AfriConnections brings together works by fifteen artists from different African art scenes, including several internationally recognised figures. The pieces come from the collection of Ifitry, an artists’ residency devoted to exchange and experimentation. The exhibition offers a glimpse of the vitality of an art scene that refuses to be pigeonholed.
A bridge for the diaspora
For Brussels residents from African diasporas, the exhibition has a special resonance. It offers a view of the continent free of exoticism and clichés, and is a reminder that the ties between Belgium and Africa are also woven through culture. A great opportunity to bring the whole family.
Practical information
AfriConnections, Gare Maritime, Tour & Taxis, Avenue du Port / Havenlaan 86C, 1000 Brussels. Until Friday 30 October 2026. Free admission.
Sources : Brussels Airlines, BruxellesToday, Travel360, Air Journal
Photo: Guy Delsaut / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
