I have mentioned the event in several other articles, so you can guess I am enthusiastic about Beaufort on the Belgian coast.
Every 3 years, international artists are commissioned to create a sculpture on that year’s theme, with the sea and the coast in mind. In addition to new work, work from previous editions is also present at the event.
Sometimes we go to the Netherlands to visit family and friends, making it easy to have a detour and enjoy this great event.
In the Netherlands, we lived 5 miles from the Belgium border. Crossing the border really meant crossing a frontier, despite that small distance.
As soon as you are in the neighbourhood of the border you can see that the street is different (ask any professional cyclist – Belgian cobblestone roads are famous), the houses are built with materials we don’t use in the Netherlands and on a back road it even shows that nature looks different. In the Netherlands everything is clean-cut, Belgium is cozier.
For Tom and me, Antwerp was closer than Amsterdam, so if we wanted to sniff some culture we usually went there. What to see in Antwerp? There is a lot of variety and the terraces are great!
When Tom and I still lived in the Netherlands we often visited Belgium. When we were young we were attracted by the cafes and the amazing variety of Belgian beers as much as by the rich history.
Later we mainly visited museums like the Art Museums of Brussels and Antwerp or the Designmuseum in Gent (unfortunately closed until 2026).
As we live in Spain now, we can’t go that often and have to plan a visit to see art in Belgium, yet 2024 will be a time to go. The main reason is the Triennale Beaufort but our visit will also include the Verbeke Foundation and probably Bruges.