Charlotte von Thaden of explore.brussels highlightsyearly  some of the many events of the 6th edition of the BANAD Festival, the celebration of Brussels' Art Nouveau and Art Deco heritage.

Kasia Redzisz, the artistic director of the KANAL-Centre Pompidou Brussels Museum tells us her plans and the challenges she faces to transform the 48,000m² ex-Citroën garage into a world-leading contemporary art museum.

Do you ever go to an art exhibition and think you could do just as well? Belgians got the chance to prove that when Museum Pass put out a call last September for anyone who wanted to send them a photo of a work they had made themselves. The result is called L’Expo Nationale, and it is being staged in 15 museums all across the country.

In the final instalment of our weekly podcast, we hear about an award-winning initiative by the Musée d'Ixelles, we meet the makers of a new public art piece on a bridge crossing the Brussels canal - plus events ideas aplenty for the last week before Christmas.

Living and working in another country can be difficult - and this time of year can be a challenge for some. Parminder Shah discusses expat mental health with Alessia and Nikki, two experts from the clinical team at CHS Belgium.

The Musée d’Ixelles has just won the 2021 European Art Explora Award which rewards museum projects that are conceived to attract visitors who don’t normally frequent cultural institutions. The winning Ixelles project is entitled Musée Comme Chez Soi (Museum at Home).  Claire Leblanc, director of the Ixelles Museum explains the project.

http://www.museumofixelles.irisnet.be/en?set_language=en

Beliris and Kanal have collaborated to equip the new pedestrian/cycling bridges over the canal linking Brussels city and Molenbeek with art pieces. They chose LAb(au) (Laboratory for architecture and urbanism) to create an interactive work on the Loredana Marchi bridge entitled Kontexte.

Els Vermang of LAb(au) tells us what it's all about.

This week: Christmas festivities, brewing nuns, a recap of some of our favourite stories from this past year, and our pub quiz.

The Brussels Beer Project is nearing the completion of their new brewery along the canal. In the meantime they have turned their original brewery on Dansaert Street into a lambic brewery, the first new lambic brewery in Brussels in 50 years. Co-founder Sébastien Morvan tells us why lambic is "the most magical of beers", how they are making the beer in the traditional way but are breaking some rules at the same time and how the brewery exemplifies modern cosmopolitan Brussels with two lambic brewers, one American and one Brazilian, while celebrating Brussels' traditions.

www.beerproject.be