Culture beat – January 28

The cultural centrepiece of the Hellenic presidency of the Council of the European Union is the wide-ranging exhibition Nautilus: Navigating Greece, which ties together millennia of Greek history with the common thread of maritime exchange. Nobody will be surprised to learn that the Mediterranean has impressed itself on this seafaring people’s imagination from the start. So ancient ceramics are exhibited at Bozar alongside contemporary photographs, paintings and installations.

World music centre Art Base is also celebrating the Greek presidency with a months-long programme of concerts and related events. Greek singer/songwriter Martha Mavroidi and her trio perform songs from their most recent album Portaki throughout the weekend. On Sunday, Mavroidi and drummer Vangelis Karipis preside over vocal and percussion workshops.

Brussels’ newest social club hosts its monthly salon this Thursday. Full Circle’s evening symposia take place around a well-laid dinner table but, as good as the food and drink are, the main attraction is the conversation. Guest speakers are invited from across Europe to present different, often provocative perspectives on policy. This month it’s Jakob von Uexkall, former Green MEP and founder of the Right Livelihood Award (known also as the Alternative Nobel Prize). Non-members are welcome to register and try the club on for size.

Bookbinding museum Bibliotheca Wittockiana fetes the opening of its new exhibition Serge Chamchinov—The Art-Book Laboratory. The contemporary French visual artist doesn’t create books about art; his books are art. Indeed, more than half of his editions are unique, hand-painted artefacts in the tradition of William Blake and, later, Dada.

Speaking of Dada, Zürich’s wacky theatre duo Zimmermann & de Perrot are in town to stage their latest production Hans Was Heiri. This smart blend of theatre, dance and music comes with a heavy dose of circus whimsy too, thanks to its gravity defying set design. Hans cuts to the heart of the human condition: despite our focus on individual personality, we humans are basically all alike in our needs and desires.

The annual Henry van de Velde Awards and Labels are among the highlights of Belgium’s design calendar. The prize, established twenty years ago by Design Flanders, rewards sustainable, functional and elegant design. Although the ceremony is over and done with, the exhibition of winners and honourable mentions (including a full-sized concept car) remains on display—free of charge—at the Flemish Parliament through March 8.

Finally, Flagey brings Andy Warhol’s Factory back to life with the multimedia performance Factory Happening 1964-2014. The original Factory was a drug-fuelled NYC laboratory filled with genuine talent, like filmmaker Paul Morrissey and experimental rock group The Velvet Underground, as well as would-be artists and parasitic hangers-on. Nevertheless it set the bar for modern art for a half-century. This nostalgic romp combines film, live music and poetry (but not, one presumes, the psychedelic drugs).