Culture beat – May 16

New York-based English painter Malcolm Morley returns to the Xavier Hufkens gallery with Recent Paintings from May 17 until June 15. The series comprises eight new oil paintings and a painting-installation by the 1984 Turner Prize winner. Morley presents here signature subjects such as old ships and aeroplanes and epic wartime scenes from British and American history (he was a child during the London blitz) in what he terms his 'superrealism' technique.

There is no limit to the number of foodie feasts in Belgium, this time a new international concept called Restaurant Day. On Saturday anyone can open their home, friend’s house (best to ask first), indoor or outside location as a restaurant, bar or cafe, serving anything from cocktails and snacks to a six-course dinner. First served up in Helsinki, it has now been adopted by almost 20 countries.

It’s Pride Day on Saturday with the city centre preparing to parade and party until the wee hours. The 18th edition is highlighting the diversity of Rainbow Families with the traditional parade, Pride Village (and family gathering in Rue Orts) and colourful activities in and around the Bourse. Late-night parties at Salle Magdalena and Catclub.

Two Belgian pianists (Yannick Van de Velde and Stéphanie Proot) are competing in the semi-finals of the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition, which run until Saturday. Each of the 24 semi-finalists performs a Mozart concerto accompanied by the Royal Wallonia Chamber Orchestra at Flagey. The 12 finalists will be announced after the last session on Saturday evening. The programme of final rounds from May 27 to June 1 at Bozar includes a performance of a sonata by Haydn, Beethoven, Mozart or Schubert, followed by an unpublished work written specially for the competition. There’s a reason why this event has a global reputation for being a marathon of a musical journey.

Following a preview at Bozar earlier in the month, a fascinating documentary on Belgian filmmaker Thierry Michel is touring the country in a series of screenings followed by a showing on French-language public broadcaster RTBF. L’homme de sable (The Sandman) by José-Luis Penafuerte traces Michel’s career from the slag heaps of his native Charleroi to the River Congo and mines of Katanga in the DRC, via the plight of street kids in Brazil. It’s a fascinating portrait of a diffident yet accomplished director who has taken personal risks to present social documentaries that spotlight overlooked corners of the world. See the film at Vendôme in Brussels on May 29.