Art exhibitions to see in Belgium this winter 2026

From national museums to independent institutions, there is a strong exhibitions programme this winter across Belgium. Highlights include the first major retrospective in Belgium of Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide, a significant presentation of site-specific works and performance-based pieces by South African artist William Kentridge, and the largest exhibition to date, worldwide, of Philip Aguirre y Otegui. Here are FLO London’s top picks of what to see:

Antwerp

Philip Aguirre y Otegui at KMSKA

KMSKA - zaalzicht Aguirre © Sanne De Block

#FLODown: This is the largest retrospective yet of the Belgian sculptor’s work, featuring more than 100 artworks from the 1980s to the present. Aguirre y Otegui’s practice revolves around humanist themes, from migration and displacement to war and water security. Informed by his family’s heritage, notably his father's flight from the Basque Country to Belgium during the Spanish Civil War, he boldly approaches global issues and brings them to the foreground through simple, yet often monumental sculptures. In this exhibition, the origins of his practice are unveiled through works dating back to his student days, and his development is traced up to the present day. 

Date: 3 October 2026 - 17 January 2027. Location: Leopold de Waelplaats 1, 2000 Antwerp. Open daily, 10am to 5pm on weekdays, 10am to 6pm at weekends and on public holidays, and until 10pm on Thursdays for KMSKA LATE. Price: €20 adults, €10 under 26, free under 18. kmska.be, @kmska_museum

Ossip Zadkine and Belgium at KMSKA

Installation view: Ossip Zadkine en België © Fille Roelants

#FLODown: This important exhibition examines, for the first time, the relationship between the 20th-century sculptor Ossip Zadkine (born in Vitebsk, Russia, now Belarus) and Belgium. Although Zadkine studied in England and France, his experimental, expressive style did not find early support in these more conservative artistic spheres. It was in Belgium that he was invited to exhibit, and the patronage of Belgian galleries, museums and private collectors effectively launched his career in the 1920s. In the artist’s own words “My life was very uncertain in those days; I sold virtually nothing until the day I was able to sell to Belgian art lovers.” Zadkine’s close artistic relationship to Belgium continued throughout his life, a trajectory closely traced by the exhibition, which also reveals the networks of Flemish artists, critics and collectors in whose milieu Zadkine thrived.

Date: 31 October 2026 - 18 April 2027. Location: Leopold de Waelplaats 1, 2000 Antwerp. Open daily, 10am to 5pm on weekdays, 10am to 6pm at weekends and on public holidays, and until 10pm on Thursdays for KMSKA LATE. Price: €20 adults, €10 under 26, free under 18. kmska.be, @kmska_museum

Léonard Pongo: Dialogue with the Source at FOMU

Léonard Pongo - Dialogue with the Source, FOMU Antwerpen, 18.09.26 - 17.01.27 © FOMU/We Document Art

#FLODown: This solo exhibition of Belgian-Congolese artist Léonard Pongo brings together video installations informed by nine years of research and collaboration in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He has been “roaming” the country with a particular question in mind throughout this time: What do you hear when you listen to the earth? This exhibition responds in a non-linear way, querying the supremacy of the visual realm through a multi-sensory, layered presentation. Pongo's work is also on show at this year's Venice Biennale.

Date: 18 September 2026 - 17 January 2027. Location: FOMU, Waalsekaai 47, 2000 Antwerp. Open Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 6pm, closed Monday. Price: €12 adults, €5 under 26, free under 18. fomu.be, @fomuantwerp 

Graciela Iturbide: Eyes to Fly With at FOMU

Mujer ángel, Sonora-Wüste, Mexico, 1979 ® Graciela Iturbide

#FLODown: This is the first major Belgian retrospective of the acclaimed Mexican photographer, made with her involvement and encompassing around 160 works. Her work explores nuanced themes of identity, relationships and temporality, rooted in specific communities and approached with care. From Zapotec women in Oaxaca to the Seri people, photographs taken in Frida Kahlo's bathroom and rarely exhibition pictures from India and Bangladesh, the exhibition is wide-ranging. It was curated by Sophia Greiff and Melissa Harris as a project of the C/O Berlin Foundation, where it was shown earlier this year. 

Date: 18 September 2026 - 17 January 2027. Location: FOMU,  Waalsekaai 47, 2000 Antwerp. Open Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 6pm, closed Monday. Price: €12 adults, €5 under 26, free under 18. fomu.be, @fomuantwerp 

Lee Bul: From 1998 to Now at M HKA

Lee Bul, Monster: Black, 2011 (reconstruction of 1998 work). Collection of Leeum Museum of Art. © Lee Bul. Photo: Jeon Byung-cheol. Courtesy of the artist.

#FLODown: This upcoming exhibition, opening on 13 November, is a survey of four decades of work by one of the most influential artists to come out of Asia in that period, shown across both floors of the museum. It brings together more than 150 works, from the performances she made in the late 1980s to large installations about utopian ambition and its failures, and it follows presentations at the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul and M+ in Hong Kong, the two institutions that co-organised it with M HKA. The Antwerp presentation is organised by Nav Haq, Associate Director at M HKA. After Antwerp, the exhibition travels to the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.

Date: 13 November 2026 - 7 March 2027. Location: Leuvenstraat 32, 2000 Antwerp. Open Tuesday to Sunday 11am to 6pm, closed Monday, and until 9pm on the last Thursday of the month for Nocturnes. Price: €14 general admission, €8 reduced, free under 18. muhka.be, @mhkamuseum

Brussels

William Kentridge: I am not me, the horse is not mine at BOZAR

Bozar, William-Kentridge. Exhibition View. Courtesy of Artist. Image credit Yannick SAS.

#FLODown: This major retrospective of South African artist William Kentridge offers a comprehensive overview of his practice, from the early 1980s to the present day. Kentridge has created site-specific works in the large halls of BOZAR, which was the location of his first solo exhibition in Europe in 1998. Kentridge has long-standing ties to Brussels and it was the city where he premiered his first opera, Faustus in Africa!, in 1995. In this exhibition, there is a particular focus on Kentridge’s stage productions, highlighting the participatory nature of his work and his use of theatre to reckon with apartheid histories and legacies. It is accompanied by an events programme that ranges from musical performances to screenings and opportunities to meet the artist. 

William Kentridge: I am not me, the horse is not mine. 18 September 2026 - 7 March 2027. BOZAR, Rue Ravenstein 23, 1000, Brussels. Open Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 6pm, closed Monday. €20 adults, €14 under 26, free under 18. BOZAR.be,  @bozarbrussels

Portia Zvavahera: Kuzviramba Mamuri at WIELS

Portia Zvavahera, Ndirikukutsvagai ndirimugomo, 2024. Photography Jack Hems. Courtesy Stevenson and David Zwirner. © Portia Zvavahera.

#FLODown: This exhibition traces the development of Zimbabwean artist Portia Zvavahera’s pictorial language up to the present day. While she experiments widely with materials, including paint, ink, wax, printing blocks and, most recently, ceramic tiles, her subject matter is consistent: her dreams. However, her paintings are not just visual representations of those dreams, but an embodiment of the processing of those visions, experiences and feelings. The result is highly emotive, touching on themes of motherhood, pain, grief, care, and healing. Recurring motifs such as a veil and crowds of angels serve as protective forces, guiding the artist towards the light. 

Date: 31 October 2026 - 7 March 2027. Location: WIELS, Av. Van Volxem 354, 1190, Forest, Brussels. Open Tuesday to Sunday 11am to 6pm, closed Monday. Price: €12 adults, €8 concessions, free under 18. WIELS.org @wiels_brussels

By Sofia Carreira Wham