history

2000

Moussem began in 2000 as a broad, participatory local cultural project with objectives that were as clear as they were ambitious. It sought to reveal the full richness of Moroccan culture, which at that time was being reduced to mere superficial manifestations. Stereotypes were to make way for a narrative rooted in substance, created by artists with links to North Africa or the Middle East. Under the name ‘Moussem festival’, friends, families, volunteers and a wide range of organisations worked on an accessible programme of poetry, film, music, visual arts and literature.
From 2003 to 2007, Moussem was based at CC Berchem (later c o r s o). The same period also saw the start of a long-term collaboration with BOZAR, sharing the same ambitions and outcomes: challenging the canon, and enabling the audiences of cultural centres to reflect the diverse urban reality. A key moment from this same timeframe was undoubtedly the exhibition Zonder Titel (Untitled) at M HKA in 2007, during which, for the very first time in the history of this Flemish institution, work by North African contemporary artists was exhibited and subsequently acquired for the permanent collection.

2008

Moussem is recognised by the Flemish Community as an arts centre with (inter)national activities, without a permanent home – nomadic, in other words. With this recognition, Moussem’s activities have expanded into the Flemish and European arts scene, with international (co-)productions and collaborations in theatre, literature and music. Across all activities, the Arab world and its relationship with the diaspora in Flanders remain an artistic guiding thread, as does the search for new forms of creation and curation through formats such as the Moussem Club, the Flemish-Moroccan writers’ caravan, multilingual Arabic literary salons, family days, or the ‘Nuff said evenings (2008–2010), where volunteers, experienced professionals and young emerging artists alike could showcase their work in literature, music, video and stand-up comedy.

2011

Moussem organises various annual concert formats such as Sufi Night and Moussem Sounds, and thematic series such as Tarab or Qanun Dialogue.
They introduce new artists and musical styles to the Flemish and Brussels music scenes, thereby showcasing the diversity of non-Western, contemporary musical expressions outside the mainstream, which resonated strongly with the various diaspora communities.
Through the moussem.eu project, Moussem exports its vision beyond national borders, in collaboration with international partners. The project has a significant output: international productions and premieres on various European stages, tours from The Hague to Belgrade. 
At the same time, Moussem remains rooted as a community platform in Antwerp, engaging young and old in film screenings, concerts, performances, workshops and poetry readings through various Moussem Festivals. The bimonthly youth event named Boom Boom Pow (2010–2013) featured rap, hip-hop, slam poetry, and urban dance performances; with De Deugdzame stad (The Virtuous City), Moussem organised a series of discussion evenings between 2013 and 2014 on living together in the city with its diverse communities and beliefs – the programme featured philosophers, young people and directors. 

2014

After 15 years in Antwerp, the lure of Brussels became too strong and Moussem moved to the capital of Europe in 2014, at the same time the funding for its local operations came to an end. This set a new transformation process in motion. Over the years, an ever-growing network of artists, programmers and other key figures from the cultural sector both within and outside Belgium has been established. Moussem developed a well-thought-out support policy for artists whilst continuing to seek dynamic forms of presentation for a wide audience.

2016

Recognising that cities around the world are the engine of innovation, Moussem launched the multidisciplinary festival Moussem Cities in Brussels. The first edition was a collaboration with Bozar and the House of Cultures and Social Cohesion in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek. Tunis is invited to Brussels. Following the ‘Jasmine Revolution’, Tunisian artists bear witness to the state of democracy in their country. Tunis thus heralds a first series of urban cultural explorations and encounters, in which the context of a global city is used to shed light on an artistic scene in collaboration with permanent and rotating Brussels-based partners. Subsequent editions of Moussem Cities bring Beirut (2017), Casablanca (2018), Damascus (2019), Algiers (2020), Dakar (2022), Tehran (2023) and Istanbul (2025) to Brussels.

2018

Moussem receives the Flemish Culture Prize, the Ultima for Performing Arts. Together with M HKA and Mu.Zee, the Moussem Collection collaboration was established, driven by questions regarding the colonial plunder of art, the power of art institutions, and representation in the canon for the future. Exhibitions by artists were linked to the acquisition of their work for the permanent collection, building on the Untitled project from 2007. With Moussem Vitrine and Moussem Gallery (2017–2021), Moussem’s office space in the Ravenstein gallery in the heart of Brussels is used to display visual art to the thousands of city dwellers who pass through the atrium every day.

2019

Moussem acquires its own workspace in the Kuregem neighborhood of Anderlecht. Moussem continues to operate in a nomadic manner through partnerships, but can now also focus more on local engagement with immediate neighbors, with a special emphasis on a diverse urban youth. Together with various partners, Moussem produces youth theater productions, responding to the need for new content and role models in youth theater as well.
Through Moussem Repertoire, Moussem introduces Arabic theater texts to the Dutch-speaking theater scene by translating and publishing them in Dutch. The series Islam and Critical Thinking highlights the diversity of critical voices within Islam.

2020

Moussem’s focus is shifting from the SWANA region (North Africa and South-West Asia) to the hyper-diverse reality of Brussels. The organisation no longer focuses on artists and content ‘with an openness to or a link with the Arab world’. We focus on substance-based international exchange while approaching it from the metropolitan context of Brussels, Flanders and Belgium. The city’s composition, with its various diasporas, is the starting point for thinking about this exchange and selecting artists and thematic content. This translates, among other things, into a programme focused on the development, production and presentation of visual and performing arts. Through an extensively developed residency programme and long-term partnerships with (inter)national art institutions, Moussem invests in the structural development of artists and their work.

2024

Global mobility – links with migration and the worldwide diaspora, particularly that of the Maghreb – lies in Moussem’s DNA. Fifteen years after the exhibition RENCONTRE, in collaboration with M HKA in Rabat, Moussem Belgica – Transnational Stories is being presented in both Tangier and Oujda to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the labour migration agreement between Belgium and Morocco.
Moussem has chosen to focus on transnational stories and venues in Morocco’s two historically most significant migration regions. The programme comprises visual art, literature and film by artists with Moroccan transnational roots. In addition to the exhibitions, meetings and discussions are organised in both cities.

2025

Moussem on the Move: our own workspace and residency are undergoing a thorough renovation and expansion. The Ghent-based architectural firm Studio Moto is responsible for the design, and the Brussels-based Bauclub is overseeing the construction. During the renovations, all aspects of Moussem’s artistic activities will be spread across two different locations: we will continue our intercultural and connecting role in a nomadic manner, literally situated between the center and the periphery of the Brussels arts scene. Under the name Communities, the various community activities that Moussem has organized with local residents in Anderlecht are being consolidated into a permanent project. Local community participation in cultural processes is becoming a key part of the Moussem’s story: a natural extension of its mission, centered on urbanism, contemporaity, and multiplicitous narratives.