Wiels

Wiels is a contemporary art centre situated in Forest, in the Brussels Capital Region, Belgium in a former brewery. The centre opened in 2007.[1] It has three exhibition platforms with a total exhibition space of 1,800 m2 (19,000 sq ft), an auditorium, studio workshops for artists-in-residence, and a café/foyer and bookshop in the former brewing hall. Wiels has no collection, instead putting on temporary exhibitions by national and international artists.[2]

Wiels
Wiels is located in Brussels
Wiels
Location within Brussels
Established2007
TypeArt museum
Websitewww.wiels.org/en/

Wiels hosts nine artist-in-residency studios, for which it receives hundreds of applications every year.[3]

For its tenth anniversary in 2017, Wiels organized a group exhibition called the Absent Museum, a reference to the incorrect assumption that Wiels is an art museum.[4]

Building history

In 1931, the Wielemans-Ceuppens built the Blomme building (named after its architect Adrien Blomme) to expand its brewing business. At the time, it was the largest brewhouse in continental Europe. In 1988, the brewery closed, and in 1993, the building was given protected status, saving it from demolition. In 2001, the Brussels Capital region acquired the building and began renovating it to open Wiels.[5][6] The name Wiels was derived from Wielemans-Ceuppens. It is one of the few examples of modernist industrial architecture in Belgium.[2]

References
  1. "Wiels | The history of Wiels". Wiels. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  2. "Gallery Wiels". ArtRabbit. Retrieved 2017-02-17.
  3. Rachel Donadio (2015-07-17). "Brussels Making a Strong Bid for Art". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-02-17.
  4. "WIELS | The Absent Museum". WIELS. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  5. "Brasserie Wielemans-Ceuppens // A Battle for Brussels' Soul". Brussels Beer City. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  6. Starikova, Anastasia (2015-12-07). "A Brief History of WIELS Art Centre in Brussels". Culture Trip. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
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