Pilar brings art, music, and experimentation to Brussels

Pilar brings art, music, and experimentation to Brussels

Cultural Program 2025

Pilar, the open artistic laboratory affiliated with the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), presents its diverse program for the coming months. With a varied mix of music, visual arts, performance, and debate, Pilar continues to strengthen its role as a platform for emerging artists and innovative creators. Below is a selection from the program.

Nom de Dieu

From November 28, 2024, to February 15, 2025, the exhibition "Nom de Dieu: critique, blasphemy, satire...?" will be on display at Pilar Expo, curated by Willem Elias. The exhibition explores the boundaries of religious satire and blasphemy through works by 26 Belgian artists, including Félicien Rops, Marcel Mariën, Wim Delvoye, and Rob Vanoudenhoven. The exhibition is open from Wednesday to Saturday, from 2:00 PM to 8:00 PM.

Concerts

In Memoriam: De Nooit Moede – On January 30, 2025, artists such as Fixkes, Daisy Ray, Vieze Meisje, and Miaux will pay tribute to the Belgian cult band De Nooit Moede.

Soundcute x Antibody presents Nik Colk Void (UK) + GHOST DUBS (DE) + MT GEMINI – On February 13, 2025, Pilar welcomes these avant-garde artists for an evening of experimental electronic music.

Etiket records presents: Julien Tanghe & Friends – On February 20, 2025, the Brussels-based label will host an evening featuring emerging talents such as Helena Casella and Empty Apartments. This event is part of ‘Pilar & Friends’: buy a ticket and bring a friend for free.

Performance and Theater

PEEKABOO by Maxime Dreesen – On February 17, 2025, Maxime Dreesen presents a compelling performance exploring the boundaries of visibility and identity – this show is sold out.

Inland Island - A performative installation – On March 25, 2025, Tineke De Meyer presents a performative installation examining the relationship between humans and nature.

Pilar ASAP Festival

From March 6 to April 3, 2025, the Pilar ASAP Festival will take place, a multidisciplinary festival bringing together boundary-pushing music, cutting-edge performances, and interactive art installations. This year, the festival revolves around liminality: a physical and mental state of being—familiar yet strange, melancholic yet transformative. A space where change becomes possible. The lineup includes artists Elena Colombi + Naomie Klaus, Callahan & Witscher + Gyeongsu + Sans Âge, Valentina Magaletti x Upsammy + Pippin, and Puce Mary + CEM + Lamina. The opening concerts are curated by the Brussels-based In Vitro project space.

Medusa

Pilar's exhibition space will be taken over by Medusa. This young Brussels-based collective curates ‘Are We Nearly There Yet?’, exploring how playful imagery and visual humor not only convey themes of desire, liminality, and coming of age but also contain layers of critique directed at ‘adult’ power structures and the systems of modernity.

Discover the full program at pilar.brussels.


Contact

Gijs Ieven
​Coordinator Pilar
​gijs.ieven@vub.be

Eline Vancraeyveldt
​Communication & Public Pilar
​eline.jeanine.vancraeyveldt@vub.be

Astrid De Sterck
​Muziek Programmer Pilar
​astrid.de.sterck@vub.be

Practical information

All events take place at Pilar, located on the VUB campus, Triomflaan, Entrance 6, 1050 Brussels. For the full program, tickets, and more information, visit Pilar’s website.

About Pilar

Pilar is an open artistic laboratory for young people, located at the VUB. Music and visual arts are the primary disciplines, but theater, performance, debate, and inspiring talks also have a place in the program. Pilar serves as a discovery platform, offering performance and development opportunities to collectives, emerging artists, and creators. It is a testing ground where talent development and co-creation with young people take center stage.

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About Press - Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Vrije Universiteit Brussel is an internationally oriented university in Brussels, the heart of Europe. By providing excellent research and education on a human scale, VUB wants to make an active and committed contribution to a better society.

The World Needs You

The Vrije Universiteit Brussel assumes its scientific and social responsibility with love and decisiveness. That’s why VUB launched the platform De Wereld Heeft Je Nodig – The World Needs You, which brings together ideas, actions and projects based on six Ps. The first P stands for People, because that’s what it’s all about: giving people equal opportunities, prosperity, welfare, respect. Peace is about fighting injustice, big and small, in the world. Prosperity combats poverty and inequality. Planet stands for actions on biodiversity, climate, air quality, animal rights... With Partnership, VUB is looking for joint actions to make the world a better place. The sixth and last P is for Poincaré, the French philosopher Henri Poincaré, from whom VUB derives its motto that thinking should submit to nothing except the facts themselves. VUB is an ‘urban engaged university’, strongly anchored in Brussels and Europe and working according to the principles of free research.

www.vub.be/dewereldheeftjenodig

 


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