Feral is a festival that reflects on today’s urgent political and social issues, and how artists take them into their hands. It is a programme of artistic interventions and encounters that uses art to influence everyday life in Brussels. Feral can take place on a boat, on a farm, in a swimming pool or an old monastery. Feral is urban, interstitial, peripheral and feral.

Editorial

At demonstrations all over the world floats a pirate flag with a straw hat. This flag is from the manga series One Piece and has spread throughout struggles and revolutions as an international symbol of Generation Z, embodying the fight against corruption, inequality and authoritarian governments.It was precisely this image that inspired us to explore the figure of the pirate for Feral 2026.

As this flag appears at political demonstrations, what demands does it represent? What place does freedom of expression have in the public sphere? What practices, forms of organisation and values does it evoke today?

Historically, piracy was a movement of revolt and mutiny against authority. Fighting on the water, hiding on land as runaway maroons amongst escaped slaves, pirates formed communities of resistance that gave rise to other possibilities, to other versions of the world.

What remains of this legacy today? Who, in Brussels, are the contemporary pirates? From hacking practices to citizen-led initiatives, from forms of collective care to artistic and ecological experiments, we are seeing the emergence of practices that subvert existing frameworks to produce new knowledge, share resources and build community. We are witnessing new forms of engagement where artistic creation, collective action and the building of the commons intertwine.

Through our selection of speakers, who are artists, researchers, activists and practitioners on the ground, we will form a temporary assembly of pirates. Together, we will explore the places, practices and stories in Brussels that are experimenting with alternative ways of inhabiting the world, of caring for one another and of organising collectively.

We are going to:

Gather our crew

Sail the fringes of the “Empire”

Dream of sharing the spoils

Take action against the criminalisation of solidarity

Identify tactics of defiance

Infiltrate

Go undercover

Think from the sea

Reconnect what has been separated

Listen to the whistling

Tinker with radios

Chart our own maps and paths

Draw inspiration from the mole that knows no borders

Build rafts

Set sail

Sing the canal

Walk towards the clouds that were beneath our feet

And who knows, maybe write our own pirate code?

Echoing our programme :

Figures of Fascism and Anti-Fascist Solidarities - 17 > 19 Sept

As a prelude to Feral, a three-day study programme organised by Bojana Cvejić in collaboration with Kaaitheater, explores the globalisation of fascism and current anti-fascist responses. The programme features talks by La Candidate Sans-Papiers d’Europe, Dora García, Valeria Graziano & Tomislav Medak, and Sarah Schulman. The perfect warm-up for Feral.

Nyege Nyege - MIRROR WORLD - 25 & 26 Sept

Mirror World is an interdimensional bridge/portal that invites the public to immerse themselves in the world of Nyege Nyege for a weekend. Nyege Nyege is a hybrid and fluid platform based in Kampala which, since 2015, has been showcasing artists, DJs, performers and cultural figures active in various alternative Afrocentric scenes. To round off your day at Feral.

Venues:

Metarage

Rue du Métal 32, 1060 Saint-Gilles

Metarage is a research and creative organisation in the performing arts, dedicated in particular to emerging choreographers, located in a former printing plant in Saint Gilles.

From Woluwe Saint Lambert to Zanventem

Meeting point in Roodebeek.

Cercle de la Voile

Oostvaartdijk 52, 1850 Grimbergen

A century-old sailing clubhouse situated on the banks of the canal, the Cercle Royal de la Voile has retained its authentic, quaint charm. Its excellent acoustics make it a wonderful venue for concerts. Sport, culture, nature and fried seafood: sailors passing through forge all manner of connections here.

Languages

• From Pirate to Pirate Care: Discussions will be held in English and French with simultaneous translation.
• Let’s do it and Let’s do it again: Workshops will be given in their original languages, with rapid translation available.
• Walking on the fringes of the digital world: Interventions will be in English or French, with rapid translation available.
• Launch of The Book of Landscapes: The book launch will be held in English with rapid translation available.
• Let’s not forget that pirates were sailors: Discussions will be held in French, with rapid translation available.

Credits

Support: Cocof, FWB, Commune of Saint Gilles, WBI, Ville de Bruxelles

Coproduction: PLACE - Performing Landscapes - a project co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme, Nadine

Partners: Metarage, Cercle de la Voile, Kaaitheater, Nyege Nyege Arts & Music Festival Brussels, SITU - Master Design Urbain / Arba ESA

Thank you to: Klaus Reimer, Linda Presburg, Philippe Bernard, Maxime Braye, Maxime Arnoult, Agathe Voisin, Bojana Cvejić, La Bellone, and all the pirates who will recognise themselves.

Team

Marine Thévenet - Artistic and general direction

Anna Czapski - Dramaturgy

Emmanuelle Nizou - Dramaturgy

Charlotte David - Production and administration

fede fantini - Production

Juliette Framorando - Production

Beth Gordon - Communication

Marie Steinletz - Communication

Flore Herman - Coordination Feral Magazine