Tag: Brussels

Art

The Word magazine

Back To School party: the video

It seems like only yesterday that we stormed the elementary school Les Mouettes for our Back To School themed bash. After giving you our cheese-tastic Yearbook pictures, here is a video of the night, courtesy of Sep Stigo Films. More photos (including classroom invasions, Professor Biche‘s lecture, dance floor action and the infamous playground toilet […]

Art

The Word magazine

Back To School party: the yearbook project

As soon as we got the go-ahead from the powers-that-be to invade public elementary school Les Mouettes for our Back To School party, we simply couldn’t resist the idea of having our very own yearbook studio. Here are some of the photographs we got during the night, but you can view the entire album on our […]

Neighbourhood life

The Word magazine

hallelujah!

Down on Rue Antoine Dansaert comes a new store that’s answering a lot of prayers with its eco-friendly and fashionable wares. Brought to us by Sonja Noël, the owner of the street’s stalwart Stijl, is Hallelujah. An eco-friendly take on luxury high fashion, this boutique is far cry from the hippy uniform of tie-dye, rainbow […]

Neighbourhood life

The Word magazine

The paper box

Before Press Shops and the ubiquitous free paper stand, downtown dwellers used to go to cubed newsagent booths for their daily news needs. Scruffy and shabby, these kiosks often enjoyed primed retail spots and a close contact with their clients. With only a handful of them left on the city’s sidewalks, we thought to catch […]

Neighbourhood life

The Word magazine

A shoe called Faguo

A collective sigh for yet another sneaker claiming to save the world, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d already seen Faguo. A discreetly designed and simple sneaker which looks like something we’ve all owned at some point in our lives, although there is something hidden beneath that sober and humble exterior. Encapsulated in the trademark […]

Art

The Word magazine

Tour operator

It’s only been a year now, but Brussels can finally pride itself on having a collective reopening of art galleries worthy of a true art capital. Simply labelled Brussels Art Days, two days of intense gallery hopping and openings just took place this past weekend, with no less than 30 new exhibitions, among which some held […]

Art

The Word magazine

The Word x De Nieuwe Brasserie

Recent downtown descends have seen our usual paths veer somewhat off track, our urban instincts for discovery somehow enticed by murmurs of renovation and rumours of regeneration. Steering away from the usual Chartreux-Dansaert-St Catherine triangular hotspot of hipness, our latest wanderings have brought us to place du Samedi/Zaterdagplein, located just behind place St Catherine/Sint-Katelijneplaats. A […]

Art

The Word magazine

This Saturday, we go back to school!

Ahh, September. Time to sharpen your pencils and get your rulers out. Time to say bye bye to that summer crush and hello to another school year.Time to party one last time before academic angst sets in and your teacher’s moralising musings get the better part of you. Taking over the indoor playground of Ixelles’ […]

Art

The Word magazine

Its all in the name: Hunting and Collecting

With autumn comes the new season’s arrivals at Brussels’ most talked about concept store, Hunting and Collecting. As the name suggests this is about sourcing the very best of fashion, design and art around, and is a labour of love for owners Neils Radtke and Aude Gribomont. Joining their collective experiences of not only the […]

Neighbourhood life

The Word magazine

The writing’s on the (toilet) wall

With our Rough Edges issue hitting the streets this week, we thought we’d accompany what is, in our opinion, our loveliest issue to date with a gritty series on some of Brussels most recognisable toilets and their art-school doodles, drunken graffiti, neighbourhood gossip, worrying personal ads and misspelt existential musings. Photography Jochem Thyssen

Neighbourhood life

The Word magazine

Inside the Glorybox

Newly opened and already making its presence felt on the fashion thoroughfare of Dansaert, Glorybox is a bastion of Belgian and French design. Stocking new designers solely from Belgium and France is a primary and appealing feature of the boutique, distinguishing it from other shops in the area. Another somewhat atypical quality is the friendly, […]

Art

The Word magazine

Naked and bare

Cultural life in Brussels might shift into lower gear during the summer but contrary to popular belief, it does not die and disappear into a vortex of oblivion. Amongst the recommendable activities available to those whom, by choice or by necessity, will spend the better days of the summer in the city, the opening of […]

Art

The Word magazine

Vulnerable moments

Sofie Vandam’s work caught our eye at Narafi’s final year students’ exhibition held at the begining of the summer at Tour & Taxis. “Photography and psychology are often closely related. Get your camera up and people will often adopt an attitude or behave differently.” Her Vulnerable Moments series portrays people in their own environment, exposing their […]

Art

The Word magazine

Sealed anguish

We first stumbled upon Melika’s work when she started interning for The Word back in April. She managed to come up with a teaser for our Breakthrough Issue, portrayed dance sensation French Horn Rebellion when we met them for an interview, and immortalized the opening of our Skin exhibition and party, whilst wrapping up her […]

Art

The Word magazine

Brussels: where we sleep

Whether visiting town for a weekend or simply seeking a change of scenery for the night, below are some of our favourite alternatives to the rather impersonal globalized five star lodging chains. Hotel Pantone Topping our list is the recently opened and buzz-worthy Hotel Pantone. Designed by Michel Penneman and architect Olivier Hannaert, the spanking […]

Neighbourhood life This is Belgium

The best for food in Brussels

The best for food in Brussels

After sharing our favourite places to have a drink we share our adressess for the best food in Brussels and morem, from Delecta to Yamoto.

Art

The Word magazine

Brussels: where we shop

Sales have kicked off – which means we can finally indulge in some of our favourite brands without fear of ending up blacklisted by all the country’s banks. Scroll down for a selection of boutiques and stores that have become inevitable stops in our retail therapy marathon route. Mapp Store (Men and Women) © Mapp […]

Art

The Word magazine

Brussels: where we peruse art

Dog days like these – when meagre desk fans just won’t cut it and the prospect of being in closed quarters has your forehead dripping – are ideal to seek refuge in the vast and deliciously chilled premises of the city’s art centres and galleries. Below are some of our locations of choice when it […]

Art

The Word magazine

Brussels: where we drink

Together with the start of the summer comes the cringe-inducing ‘city guides’ we’ve all grown accustomed to, from American broasheets’ “36 hours in…” roundups to glossy magazines’ “10 things to do in…” selections. Directories of the usual suspects, these guides hit all the right (touristy) chordes, without ever delving deep into the city DNA. And […]

Art

The Word magazine

Must See: Wangechi Mutu at Wiels

Today sees the opening of a great new retrospective exhibition of the works of Wangechi Mutu at the Wiels Centre of Contemporary Art. The exhibition is a wonderful array of installation, painting, collage and video, which together represent Mutu’s incredible perception of the world around her. Born in Kenya and currently based in New York, […]

Art

The Word magazine

Skin, the videos. Skin, the pictures.

The lovely folks at Sep Stigo Films directed and produced two short films for the photography exhibition and after-party we organised back in April. The first, shot at Delvaux, was projected during the party, greeting and entertaining guests whilst waiting to get in. The second, shot during the exhibition’s Collectors’ Brunch, gets some of the exhibiting artists talking. […]

Art

The Word magazine

On our corner

A Brussels landmark as soon as its doors opened eight years ago, the iconic Café Belga has become the social hub that transformed a neighbourhood. It was just a matter of time until this local institution made it in our pages and the Breakthrough theme was simply the perfect fit. Photography Merel ‘t Hart Located on Place Flagey, […]

Neighbourhood life

The Word magazine

Rolling rolling…

We’re quite often given cars to test out and toy around with, but very rarely do they warrant a mention on these here pages. Given the sheer power of this one, the unbelievable amounts of envious looks we were given (yes, even we were suprised how much cachet people seem to attach to four-wheelers) and […]

Art

The Word magazine

To conduct and entertain

Symphony orchestra conductors occupy somewhat of an intriguing place in the collective psyche of the uninitiated. Seen as the towering and commandeering figures passionately gesticulating to a loyal band of string, brass, woodwind and percussion followers, conductors (more so than the superstar soloists they often invite) have come to embody contemporary music in all its […]

Art

The Word magazine

Blow the horn, rebels have arrived.

Consider this. An opening slot on a Kitsuné Maison compilation. A live gig at a Jean-Charles de Castelbajac catwalk show. A ‘Record of the Week’on BBC Radio 1. Heck, this band even had Les Inrockuptibles’ editor championing it as if his own mother was the drummer. And we ain’t talking your usual one-hit-wonder, I’m-a-celebrity-dj-get-me-out-of-here band […]

Art

The Word magazine

There’s a party going on, and we’ve got tickets!

It is no secret that the world of fashion, music and celebrity intertwine like an expertly woven pair of denim jeans. Coco Sumner (daughter of Sting and his wife Trudie Styler) has appeared in a Burbery campaign, Rosin Murphy recently was much more than just a catwalk DJ at Viktor & Rolf’s 2010 show whilst […]

The Word magazine

A message to you Rudy…

This isn’t to say that our respect for Rudy, our local postman, has dimished. Quite the contrary: he is the perfect embodiment of a neighbourhood postman (chatty, smily and even a little flirty with the street’s older women) and we only wish he could instill a little of his profesionalism and loveliness on his colleagues […]

Art

The Word magazine

Our second exhibition!

So you have it, our second exhibition. This time, we’ve gone for something a little closer to home, presenting the works of five of the magazine’s photographers: Ulrike Biets, Sébastien Bonin, Kris De Smedt, Sarah Eechaut and Sarah Michielsen. The show opens on Friday 23rd April, from 18h00, in the centre of Brussels. Strong work, […]

Art

The Word magazine

Waiting for The Skin Issue

Hard at work on our March edition, themed The Skin Issue (our Friday 5th March 2010), we’re on the lookout for stuff (rude boys, art history/curating/events interns, DJs submissions, etc…) and wanted to remind you of other stuff (more Morning After posts to look forward to, concert tickets to win, Tweets to follow). Here’s a […]

Art

The Word magazine

The unprintables – The Word On

To some, the morning’s first rolling stock means blurry eyes, out-of-pocket trips and last stop wake up calls. To others, it means the start of the daily grind, a last chance for inner peace before the routine begins. To Ulrike, it really is just a chance for morning voyeurism. Hazy, absent and unobstrusive. First off, […]

Art

The Word magazine

Days before The Morning After Issue

With three days to go before our first edition of the year comes out, a little treat courtesy of Sarah: three morning after shots of, as she put it, “the débris the new years eve party people left, in the city…” With a piece on how going cold turkey affects talent (put together by Randa), […]

Art

The Word magazine

Christmas Kitsch

Its been a long year, and, despite it being halved, an apparently even longer week. Stylists with egos the size of cathedrals (we won’t kick and tell), distributors who want more (not that we’d complain) and readers we disappointed (our Charleroi series seems to have rubbed one or two locals the wrong way) mean we’ve […]

Art

The Word magazine

Follow the Guide – The Video

Over two months after, it’s high time to refresh your memories and remind you of the interactive design exhibition we organised early September with a three minute video directed by Gaetan Saint-Remy of Sep Stigo Films. The three opening nights were as good a success as we had hoped for (this being our first truly […]

Art

The Word magazine

Christmas kitsch

We’ve given our new photography intern, Maren, a somewhat seasonal assignment for her first week with us: to capture the gaudy kitschiness of Christmas. From Made in China plastic baubbles and diluted Christmas glühwein to synthetic reindeers and like-for-like window displays, we’ve given up reminiscing on the good old days of hand-knitten Christmas stockings and […]

Art

The Word magazine

Brussels given the Wallpaper* treatment

With Antwerp having aquired the W* cachet a while back now, it was high time for the global style bible to take a closer look at our capital city, in the shape of its Wallpaper* City Guide Brussels edition, which launches this Friday from 19h00 at Brussels’ Sterling Books. Edited by Brussels-based journalist Guy Dittrich, […]

Art

The Word magazine

On the way to the office – part three.

Given the visual treats we’ve been getting from Arnaud and Adrien, Veerle’s wandering photography series has taken somewhat of a back seat. Bringing her back to the fore, here’s part three of her world in images:

Art

The Word magazine

On the way to the office – part two.

Here’s the second installement of our intern Veerle‘s continuing series captured on her way to work. Landscapes, portraits, still lifes and architecture. A little something something for everyone…