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Etablissement d´en face

Etablissement d’en face is a space for contemporary art in the centre of Brussels offering physical space, time and financial support for the production and presentation of artistic projects to a wide spectrum of (international) artists. Founded in 1991 by the artists Alec De Busschère, Delphine Bedel, Christophe Draeger and Patrick Everaert, it was originally located in the Rue d’Artois and moved to the Rue Antoine Dansaert in 2002. Over the years it has been programmed by various individuals.

Currently, Ryan Cullen, Emeline Depas, Olivier Foulon, Jean-Paul Jacquet, Nina Janssen, Henrik Olai Kaarstein, Stefanie Snoeck, Robert Snowden, and Harald Thys operate Etablissement d’en face.

The Founding Years

The name Etablissement d’en face originates from its first location in the Rue d’Artois 52, nodding to the sign on the facade of the building across the street, which spelled Etablissement. 

At a time when the cultural scene in Brussels was largely underdeveloped, the non-institutional and non-commercial exhibition space of Etablissement d’en face was welcomed like an oasis in a desert. As such, it met the demands and necessities of artists and the general public of Brussels, who acknowledged the new initiative from the start with their attendance and enduring support. In the early years, the exhibition programme mainly focussed on young artists, for whom it would often be their first solo exhibition. The programming was mainly based on a system by which the exhibiting artists suggested the next in line. After six years, Christoph Draeger left to Switzerland and Delphine Bedel founded the publishing house Monospace Press in Amsterdam.

The Following Years

In 1998, the staff of Etablissement d’en face reconfigured under the artistic direction of curator Kurt Van Belleghem. It became a platform for young curators such as Philippe Van Cauteren and Eva Gonzalez-Sancho and a place for lectures by artists, architects and curators. In 1999, Etablissement d’en face founded the monographic art magazine A Prior in collaboration with Els Roelandt. Other highlights in this period were the large public intervention by Marin Kasimir and exhibitions by Koenraad Dedobbeleer, Manon de Boer and David Claerbout. Kurt Van Belleghem left Etablissement d’en face in 2000 and handed over the directorship to Eva Gonzalez-Sancho. As the new artistic director, Gonzalez-Sancho organized exhibitions with Michael Van den Abeele, Harald Thys, Imogen Stidworthy, and Dora Garcia and together with Sven Augustijnen published his print supplement intervention of the financial newspaper Tijd Cultuur. She also organized the one-year exhibition/documentary centre Legal Space Public Space, during which Etablissement d’en face changed location and moved to Rue Antoine Dansaert 161.

2003 to 2023

In 2003, Eva Gonzalez-Sancho left for the FRAC Bourgogne in Dijon, while Etablissement d’en face was taken over by a group of sympathizers who had been following the development of the space or had previously exhibited there. Thus Sven Augustijnen, Michael Van den Abeele, Harald Thys, Margot Vanheusden, Jan Verheyden, and Etienne Wynants initiated the current form of the collective, in which every member is free to propose exhibitions and collaborations. Since 2008, external curators such as Dieter Roelstraete, Nicolaus Schafhausen, Kathrin Jentjens, Anthony Huberman and Jennifer Teets have contributed to the programming. From 2006 onwards, Etablissement d’en face supported a lecture series in the cafes Greenwich and Daringman, a format initiated by NICC Brussels under the name Behind Green Curtains, ran by Koenraad Dedobbeeler, Ben Meewis, Willem Oorenbeek and Dimitri Vangrunderbeek.

In 2012, Etablissement d’en face relocated to rue Ravenstein 32, in the shadow of Belgian political, financial and cultural power institutions and opposite the headquarters of a bank and the Bozar museum. During this period, a rotating group of artists based in Brussels, among whom Danai Anesiadou, Zin Taylor, Steinar Haga Kristensen, Gijs Milius, Sophie Nys, and Peter Wächtler joined Etablissement d’en face.

In 2023, Etablissement d’en face moved to its current location on the Place J(e)an Jacobsplein 1, behind the Palais de Justice, a position literally en face of the largest of Etablissements.