What’s on this week: 5-11 June

Ixelles meeting place See U, home to projects that promote sustainable and social innovation, is going ahead with its 1 Year See U anniversary party. Come along for some finger food, drinks and distance mingling. Be sure to reserve ahead of time as space is, naturally, limited. See U is also rebooting its Thursday after-work Feed U organic market. Anniversary party: 10 June 15.00-18.00, Rue Fritz Toussaint 8

Au Bassin – formerly the Via Via café – is bringing back its Flower & Plant Market. The eatery and bar offers its space to the Van Malder family-owned nursery, which used to sell its wares on the Grand Place but gave it up after 160 years. Come to check out the plants, or just to have a drink in their midst. 7 June 14.00-20.00, Quai aux Briques 74

The Brussels-based Kroma Ensemble, a group of international musicians, will be live-streaming a concert on Saturday night. The programme includes Jaques Ibert’s Cinq Pieces en Trio and Alexandre Tansman’s Suite pour trio d’anches. 6 June 19.00-19.30

Brussels by Foot is back, with alternative tours for day-tripper and Brusseleers alike. The themed tours take place several times a week in English, French and Dutch. Tours in English coming up include BXL: 1,000 Years of Struggles and Celebrity Brussels. You pay what you want for the tour, but you do need to sign up in advance.   

Are you Tempted to Touch? Then check out this online apero mixer and dance party to tide you over until dating is allowed again. It’s hosted by Rebody Your Life of Zaventem, which uses traditional dance to boost your mood and increase your energy. 6 June 20.00-21.30

Friday is World Environment Day, and social justice organisation 11.11.11 is hosting the free webinar Rights of Nature. In English, the talk brings together several international experts to discuss whether ecosystems should have legal rights in the same way humans do. It’s a concept that exists in a handful of countries around the world – should Belgium be one of them? 5 June 15.00-16.00

The Smurfs are working with the United Nations on a campaign regarding the 17 development goals – one of which is gender equality. Ironic, you might think, considering that the smurf village consists of one and only one female – and she isn’t even a ‘smurf’ but a ‘smurfette’. The Smurfette Principle was coined by a New York Times reporter to describe the underrepresentation of women in movies and TV series. And now the Atomium is taking on the subject, with an exhibition devoted to the gender equality goal and the Smurfette Principle. Visitors will see clips from films and series such as Stranger Things and the Marvel universe, accompanied by panels from the Smurfs comics, where the Smurfette is often underestimated and excluded by her (male) friends. So get to the Atomium and start smurfing for gender equality. Until at least 30 September

While Bozar’s big Singing Brussels event – in which perfectly ordinary people learn to carry a tune and eventually get onstage for an audience of some 6,000 to see (and hear) – of course had to be cancelled, it has turned into a day-long digital event. Everyone is invited to take part in the workshops, will be given live throughout the day. All the workshops are provided in English and either French or Dutch. Just after 20.00 that evening, 11 radio stations will play The Beatles’ ‘Here Comes the Sun’, and everyone can sing along – whether they took part in workshops or not. Sing from your front stoop or terrace to entertain the neighbours, and don’t forget to film yourself. Recordings will be spliced together to create a big, virtual choir. 7 June, from 10.00

The Comics Art Museum is finally back open, which means we get the chance to see an exhibition meant to open in March. Juanjo Guarnido: The Workshop Secrets of a Master. Guarnido is the creator of the popular graphic novel series Blacksad, which sees a black cat private eye and his weasel (literally) assistant tackling the underbelly of 1950s America. The exhibition introduces visitors to his other work and his creative process. Until 8 November, Rue des Sables 20

The late Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman would have turned 70 on 6 June. Film archive Cinematek is marking the day with an online screening of her short Family Business. A commission from the British TV programme Visions, the 18-minute result is a brilliantly comedic tour de force, seeing Akerman herself playing the lead – a filmmaker searching for a rich uncle in Los Angeles to fund her next movie. Don’t dawdle: It’s only online on 6 and 7 June on Cinematek’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. Akerman’s feature-length masterpiece, Jean Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, is also available to stream right now on Avila and Cinema at Home.

Photos, from top: Courtesy See U, courtesy Brussels by Foot, courtesy Atomium, courtesy US Gamer