Agenda

Full calendar

The Rubettes Ft. Alan Williams

Kursaal Oostende
Sun 3 Dec 2023 20:00
With British pop group The Rubettes ft. Alan Williams we bring the 70s back to Ostend and we return to 1974 when they scored a world hit with their first single 'Sugar Baby Love'. This song spent weeks at No. 1 on the charts and was the start of an impressive string of hits.

Carmina Burana

Kursaal Oostende
Sat 9 Dec 2023 20:00
Carl Orff’s monumental musical masterpiece is brought to life as a spectacular dance-theater adaptation.

Great Art for Great Kids - James Ensor

Fort Napoleon
Sat 16 Dec 2023 to Sun 14 Apr 2024
On the occasion of the Ensor Year, Thaïs Vanderheyden transformed several iconic paintings by grandmaster James Ensor into works of art tailored to kids. Discover them at the interactive exhibition in Fort Napoleon.…

New Year's concert

Kursaal Oostende
Sun 14 Jan 2024 15:00
The Belgian National Orchestra treats you to a dazzling New Year's concert led by conductor Antony Hermus. He starts 2024 with music that festively looks ahead to the year to come. As is customary, the concert ends with Johann Strauss Senior's well-known Radetzky March.

Zelfportretten

Thu 21 Mar 2024 to Sun 16 Jun 2024
Self-portraiture is of essential importance in Ensor's work and holds a special place within his body of work. The first three known painted self-portraits by James Ensor date back to 1879. Undoubtedly, his most famous self-portrait is "Self-portrait with Flowered Hat" (Mu.ZEE, Ostend), painted in…

Elle adore le noir

Tue 26 Mar 2024 to Sat 21 Sep 2024
During the Ensor Year, embark on an artistic quest through 40 shop windows of Oostendse traders. By bike or on foot! Along this route, you'll discover artworks created by Oostendse artists inspired by Ensor. For children, there's a grand puzzle game, and if they find the solution, they can collect…

Camerata Ostendia : Ensor's colour in sound

Sat 1 Jun 2024 16:00
Ensor's colour in sound, that immediately pricks up your ears, doesn't it? This is a concert in which James Ensor's oeuvre is translated into a colourful choral palette. With projection of paintings and atmospheric images throughout the songs, the perfect fusion of ear and eye.

Camerata Ostendia : Ensor's colour in sound

Sat 1 Jun 2024 20:00
Ensor's colour in sound, that immediately pricks up your ears, doesn't it? This is a concert in which James Ensor's oeuvre is translated into a colourful choral palette. With projection of paintings and atmospheric images throughout the songs, the perfect fusion of ear and eye.

Ensor's imaginary paradise

Venetiaanse Gaanderijen
Sat 15 Jun 2024 to Mon 30 Sep 2024
Discover the unique connection between James Ensor and his birthplace Ostend in the surprising exhibition 'Ostend, Ensor's imaginary paradise' at the Venetian Galleries. As Ostend developed as a tourist and cultural destination to become the Queen of seaside towns, Ensor developed his artistic…

James Ensor: Satire, parody, pastiche

Thu 19 Sep 2024 to Sun 12 Jan 2025
The body of work of James Ensor is characterized by humor and satire. Various works attest to his talent for paraphrasing themes or specific works of other artists. Some works result in parodies or pastiches, and stand out with humor, criticism, and/or caricature. He does not hesitate to denounce…

Arno. The Show of Life

Venetiaanse Gaanderijen
Tue 19 Dec 2023 to Tue 21 May 2024
Tussen 19 december 2023 en 21 mei 2024 ontdek je in de Venetiaanse Gaanderijen het ultieme eerbetoon aan Arno.

Expo 'In the shadow of the master, contemporaries of Ensor'

Stadsmuseum
Sat 15 Jun 2024 to Mon 14 Oct 2024
Ensor was a loner, but not alone. Besides the grand master himself, other artists worked and exhibited in Ostend. After all, the city by the sea has always attracted countless artists who, either occasionally or sometimes for a longer period, stayed in Ostend to work or to settle there permanently…

Ostend City Museum

The museum tells you Ostend’s fascinating life story and also casts light on its future. A host of objects, posters, documents and multimedia applications reveal the secrets behind the development of the city, its tourism, fishing industry and shipping. Discover the Ostend of former times and the…

Provincial domain Atlantikwall Raversyde

The Provincial Domain Atlantikwall Raversyde is a unique natural area located close to the sea. A diverse landscape invites visitors to a lovely walk. Raversijde is also a home to a rescue centre for birds and wild animals (VOC). Go On Time Travel (+6) in the provincial domain Atlantikwall…

Ensor walk

Download the app and take the brand-new Ensor-themed walk to visit all the locations that were significant to the life and work of James Ensor. You will be given information and will be able to see things for yourself at each of these places, using the latest high-tech. Young and older Ensor fans…

Museum Amandine

Currently closed. April 3rd 1995. On this day the Amandine entered Oostende harbour for the last time. On this day it dropped anchor for the very last time. The crew disembarked, swallowed hard and went home without looking back. The last page in Oostende's book on Iceland Fishing had been…

Mu.ZEE - Art museum at the seaside

Once a department store, now Mu.ZEE. Mu.ZEE is the only place in the world that focuses on modern and contemporary art in Belgium, from 1880 to the present day. Mu.ZEE would like to share its iconic building, its beautiful collection and the growing knowledge about it with you and as many others…

Venetian Galleries

In 1900, Belgian King Leopold II commissioned architect Henri Maquet to design the first royal gallery: an L-shaped, closed and covered walkway between the royal villa and a large octagonal salon. Nowadays it is known by the name ‘Venetian Galleries’, referring to Venice’s classicist architecture…

Kursaal Oostende

The building dominates the view at the Albert I promenade. The Casino, a design by Leon Stynen (1953) stands on the spot where in 1875 the first casino already stood. The latter was destroyed during WWII. After the war it would still be eight years before the current building was erected. This…

Children's farm 'De Lange Schuur'

The children's farm is located in the Schorre on the edge of Ostend, south of the centre. The children's farm aims to introduce children and young people to all aspects of farm life, so that they may rediscover the connection with nature and the biotope of farm animals. Much attention is paid to…

De Grote Post

De Grote Post is the cultural hub of the city. Not only does it fulfill an indispensable role as a supporter in the development and presentation of the professional arts, it also offers a hospitable platform for the many associations, art and culture organizations in Ostend and beyond. De Grote…

Ferry Visserskaai - Oosteroever

Free ferry service between the city centre (aquarium) and the 'Oosteroever' (Maritiem Plein) for max. 50 persons of which 20 bicycles. The new boat 'Raveel meets Ensor' is fully electric and is accessible for max. 100 persons, of which 40 bicycles. All boats are accessible for wheelchair users. …

Atlantikwall Raversyde

Atlantikwall Raversyde is een van de best bewaarde restanten van de Duitse verdedigingslinie, met meer dan zestig bunkers, open en ondergrondse gangen, observatieposten en geschutstellingen.

The James Ensor House

This newly created experience centre contains James Ensor’s original house and five interactive adventure spaces. Bring Ensor’s paintings to life, admire his interior decorations and carnival masks, look through his letters and photographs and then take a peek at his authentic home and studio. At…

Fort Napoleon

What if the walls of Fort Napoleon could talk? Well they do! Discover the brand new story trail about the history of the fort. Fort Napoleon was the setting for hundreds of years of history. The wide walls of Fort Napoleon were silent witnesses of all events in the fort. We now let them whisper…

Mercator

Arctic traveller Adrien de Gerlache designed this three-master which was built in Scotland. The Mercator had only two commanders and made 41 voyages. In 1956 it repatriated the remains of Father Damien from Molokai. In 1960, it sailed into the harbour of Antwerp and in 1961, it was equipped as a…