Brussels Illustration Festival

Great news for the creative community in our city, a brand new Brussels Illustration Festival is coming! The first edition of the festival will take place in the emblematic building of the Bourse on 12 October 2024.

Brussels Illustration Festival aims to be a celebration of visual storytelling in the capital of Europe. Set in the heart of the city, this brand-new festival will offer an exciting platform for both emerging and established illustrators to showcase their talents. For this first pop-up edition, the focus will be on the art market inside of the Bourse, offering a chance to see the illustrators at work, exchange ideas and purchase some of the exhibited illustrations.

Announcing this new addition to the Brussels festival scene, hosts Facundo and Jesse underline the vision behind this initiative: “Our purpose is to push up local creators, promote La Bourse as an open space, and overall have a good time while showcasing a diverse types of illustrations”.

The festival organisers want it to grow and bring together a diverse range of illustration styles, from traditional hand-drawn sketches to cutting-edge digital designs. There are plans for numerous activities in the future such as live drawing sessions, and interactive workshops, providing a hands-on experience for visitors while fostering an environment of collaboration and learning for the illustrators.

One of the key elements that makes this idea stand out is its focus on offering illustrators a centralized space to present their work. The mission of the Brussels Illustration Festival is to consolidate a wide variety of artistic voices from this sector into one cohesive event, giving artists a great visibility and a platform to engage directly with potential clients, publishers, and fellow artists, sparking new opportunities for collaboration and growth.

For illustrators, this festival wants to be more than just a showcase – it aims to offer a true celebration of creative work and a practical gateway for illustrators looking to expand their professional networks and secure new projects.

WeLoveBrussels is happy to support this new initiative and we invite all of illustration aficionados to visit the Bourse on 12 October (from 11 to 19h) to meet and support the local creators.

For the latest festival updates, you can also follow @artistcoworkingbxl on Instagram.