On Saturday, 22 October, the 15th edition of Museum Night Fever welcomed 16.000 visitors, this is 4.000 more visitors than in 2021, a year still heavily marked by the pandemic measures.
“Up until the last days before the event, it is always a surprise to see so many people show up, especially the young people!” This year, 75% of visitors were under 35, a confirmation that enthusiasm for Brussels museums is not waning, especially when original, unexpected and festive activities are on offer.
In the 34 participating museums this year – the largest number ever! – young artists once again took inspiration from the permanent collections and temporary exhibitions and created performances, installations or other surprising creations. Visitors, who visited an average of three to four museums between 19:00 and 01:00, could enjoy, among other things: a trip to the 1980s through illustrations, fashion design and poetry slam at the art et marges museum, a Flower Fever evening with ambient DJ sets and a herbarium workshop at the CIVA, circus performances through 10 centuries of history at the Royal Army Museum or a hypnotic musical performance in the underground spaces of the Sewer Museum.
All participating museums had a nice visitor turnout with a total of 55.222 visits. The three most visited museums were the BELvue Museum with 9.525 visits, the CINEMATEK with 3.935 visits and the Coudenberg with 3.516 visits.
Museum Night Fever is an initiative of the asbl Brussels Museums which central mission is to make culture accessible. In addition to a democratic entrance fee, this year extra attention was paid to inclusive artistic programming and artists, both collectives and individuals, with multiple identities and diverse backgrounds. For this edition, Museum Night Fever also conducted a full accessibility audit for people with specific needs through the independent organisation Access-i. Its recommendations will be used to further improve the event in future years and offer adapted routes for all.
The next edition of Museum Night Fever is already set for 21 October 2023!