What's on this week: 15-22 July

Brussels cultural centre Recyclart was born in 2000 from a combination of city initiative and European funding. Its objective: to turn Bruxelles-Chapelle rail station into a grassroots urban arts centre. Recyclart’s summer programme unfolds every Thursday and Friday for six weeks. In addition to concerts and other performances, there are barbecues, bread-baking workshops, film screenings and interactive neighbourhood walks as well as a communal plant garden, a DIY market and a massive temporary scaffolding installation titled “Dear Pigs”. And it’s all for free. Some events require online registration.
Until 5 August, Recyclart, Brussels

TV veteran Scott Capurro (who made his film debut alongside Robin Williams as Aunt Jack in Mrs Doubtfire) headlines the English comedy night at the Black Sheep on Tuesday. He will be joined by Belgian Manu Moreau and Russian Sergej Lopouchanski.
19 July 20.00, Black Sheep, Chaussée de Boondael 8, Ixelles

On the eve of Belgian national day, the Bal National is a big annual summer party on Place du Jeu de Balle, featuring Filip Jordens’ tribute to Jacques Brel, concerts by Les Vedettes and Kate Ryan, among others, and a rocking DJ set by Daddy K. See this article for all the details about the national day celebrations.
20 July 19.00-2.00, Place du Jeu de Balle, Brussels

Now in its 173rd edition, the Gentse Feesten is the most anticipated annual event in Ghent – possibly even all of Flanders. For a fortnight the streets of the historic city centre come alive with music, street theatre, comedy, exhibitions, food, drink and nonstop revelry. Several open-air stages accommodate national and international music stars while every street corner serves as a stage for local performers. Every year the largely free festival welcomes over one million visitors. This year’s musical highlights include an open-air concert by Flemish blues veteran Roland Van Campenhout and daily performances by up-and-coming neoclassical duo Pigeon.
15-24 July, across Ghent

Bozar presents Facing the Future: Art in Europe 1945-68, comprising some 160 works – most of them paintings – by 150 artists. It’s divided into six chronological sections, some with an artistic link, others philosophical. Its power lies in the fact that it’s not limited to Western Europe but showcases many visual artists from behind the Iron Curtain, most of whom will be familiar only to art historians. Read more about the exhibition here…
Until 25 September, Bozar, Brussels

Belgian band Turdus Philomelos offer a combination of rural folk chamber music and accordion-heavy, klezmer-type arrangements on violin, melodica, sax, bass and drums, resulting in a dreamy, southern sound, melancholic yet melodic.
16 July 16.00, Place de la Bourse, Brussels