For its 9th edition, the BANAD Festival will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Art Deco. As always, the Brussels Art Nouveau Art Deco Festival is a unique opportunity to visit places that are usually not accessible to the public and to (re)discover various neighborhoods of Brussels through the lens of architecture and its iconic styles.
As a natural part of the Art Deco year 2025, organized in the Brussels-Capital Region, and in honor of the centenary of the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris, the program of this edition shines a spotlight on this iconic style phenomenon.
Spread over three weekends (March 15 & 16, 22 & 23, and 29 & 30, 2025) and three geographical areas of the Brussels-Capital Region, the BANAD Festival will include visits to more than sixty interiors (some of which are accessible for the first time ever), thematic walking or cycling tours, original lectures, inclusive and family-friendly activities, and not to forget the famous Object Fair and the Salon of restorers and experts.
The municipalities you can (re)discover during BANAD weekends:
– Weekend #1 (March 15 & 16): Anderlecht, Jette, Koekelberg, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, Laeken, and Brussels (Pentagon)
– Weekend #2 (March 22 & 23): Forest, Ixelles, Saint-Gilles, Uccle, Brussels (Avenue Louise and Avenue Franklin Roosevelt)
– Weekend #3 (March 29 & 30): Etterbeek, Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Schaerbeek, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, Brussels (Square District)
The interior visits program includes many ‘Essentials’ (must-sees that you should experience at least once in your life), as well as several ‘Classics’ (some of which, such as public buildings, schools, and museums, can be visited regularly but not from an architectural perspective). Under the ‘New’ category, there are also buildings that have never been opened to the BANAD audience, and finally, there are the ‘Previously New’ locations (new buildings from previous years, reprogrammed for visitors who may have missed them in earlier editions of the festival).
Never opened as part of the BANAD: the Averbouch, Van Eycken, and Slagmolder houses are part of the novelties of this ninth selection, as well as the former headquarters of Electrorail and the Orthodox Synagogue of Anderlecht. Also, very popular with the public are the iconic Solvay, Tassel, and Max Hallet hotels, the Saint-Cyr house, the Villa Empain, Collart-Van Gobbelschroy, the Forest town hall, the Résidence Palace, the Sainte-Suzanne and Saint-Augustin churches, and more.
Spread across three geographical areas of the Brussels-Capital Region, around sixty buildings with various typologies will open their doors: townhouses, private homes, office buildings or apartments, as well as public buildings (places of worship, museums, town halls, …) and former production units or artists’ studios.
Organized by the team at Explore.Brussels*, the content of this 2025 edition focuses primarily on an Art Deco program with 60% Art Deco locations, 25% Art Nouveau, and 15% modernist buildings. Following the success of the Art Nouveau year in 2023, the international recognition, and record attendance, Urban and Visit.Brussels are celebrating the centenary of the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris by initiating an Art Deco year 2025 in the Brussels Region.
Enthusiasts will have access to no less than a dozen Art Nouveau and Art Deco works by Victor Horta. Other renowned architects are also featured, such as Adrien Blomme, the Brunfaut dynasty, Antoine Courtens, Stanislas Jasinski, Henry Lacoste, Gustave Strauven, and Henry Van de Velde, among others. However, two names stand out in this Art Deco-focused selection for 2025: Jean-Baptiste Dewin and Joseph Diongre. Modernism enthusiasts can also look forward to some hidden gems, such as the Marit, Grégoire-Lagasse, and Anciaux houses, the Woluwe-Saint-Lambert town hall, the former Freemasons’ lodge of Le Droit Humain, and possibly the former Postcheque office.
Led by professional guides and offered in multiple languages, these tours provide enthusiasts the opportunity to better understand the architectural style and the state of conservation of these exceptional places, to learn about their history – how they were once inhabited and how they are used today – and to appreciate their many qualities.
Additionally, the festival, with its inclusive approach, also organizes customized guided tours for Alpha and FLE audiences, as well as adapted tours for individuals with visual or hearing impairments, reduced mobility, or mental disabilities.
The BANAD Festival is organized by *Explore.Brussels, a network of quality guided tour associations active in the Brussels-Capital Region (ARAU, Arkadia, Bruxelles Bavard, Pro Velo). For about fifteen years, these four member associations have been initiating heritage events such as the BANAD Festival, the Brussels Biennale of Eclectic Architecture (BBEA), and the Brussels Biennale-Neoclassic (BBN).
The festival takes place from 15 to 30 March, 2025. The full program is available on BANAD website.
