Summer 2026 in Antwerp
Newsletter - April 26
The summer of 2026 is all about fashion. In June, the brand-new Antwerp Fashion Festival brings together Antwerp designers and brands for shows and presentations throughout the city, while the fashion department of Antwerp's Royal Academy of Fine Arts is hosting its annual end-of-year debuts at Waagnatie. Add to this the MoMu exhibition on the Antwerp Six, and Antwerp is clearly the fashion city of the summer.
The Middelheim Museum will also be welcoming Monster Chetwynd with her first outdoor exhibition, which will combine installations, performances, and public activities in the art park. After four years, it's also time for another Tall Ships Races event, in which dozens of majestic sailing ships dock along the quays of Antwerp. On the culinary front, the city is also shining; the Handelsbeurs will host the MICHELIN Guide Ceremony Belgium & Luxembourg 2026. More on that in this newsletter.
Antwerp. Fashion Festival
From 4 to 7 June 2026, Antwerp and Flanders will join forces in a fashion festival that will highlight fashion and creativity in the city. Flanders District of Creativity (FDC) and the City of Antwerp hope that the Antwerp Fashion Festival will sustainably strengthen Antwerp as an international fashion city, and offer the unique talents of Antwerp fashion designers and brands, both new and established, a fantastic opportunity to showcase their work.
Antwerp fashion is all about whimsy and non-conformism. Over a number of decades, Antwerp has acquired a unique status as a cradle of creative fashion talent and built a strong international reputation. That position is the result of an exceptional ecosystem, sustained by the pioneering success of the Antwerp Six, the progressive vision of the Fashion Department of the Antwerp Academy, and the international appeal of the MoMu. The latter opened an exhibition on the Antwerp Six on 28 March, which will run until 17 January 2027.
SHOWS
- ACADEMY SHOW - On Friday 5 June and Saturday 6 June, the Antwerp Royal Academy of Fine Arts is organising "SHOWWW 2026", the annual end-of-year debut of its renowned Fashion Department. Visitors and professionals from Belgium and abroad flock to Waagnatie to check out the collections of Antwerp's fashion students.
- BRAND & DESIGNER SHOWS - Between 4 and 7 June 2026, eight Antwerp fashion designers and entrepreneurs will show their collections with a fashion show or dynamic presentation on location: Brandon Wen, Christian Wijnants, Essentiel Antwerp, FAÇON JACMIN, GMR - Garments by Max Reynders, Marcel Sommer, Marie Bernadette Woehrl, and Nadav Perlman.
FDC and the City of Antwerp are organising a press trip for the festival. Interested? Please contact us at press@visitantwerpen.be. You can find the press kit via the link below.
Antwerp.Fashion Festival PRESS FILE.pdf
PDF 371 KB
Monster Chetwynd – A Friends Making Machine
Middelheim Museum proudly presents: Monster Chetwynd. A Friends Making Machine. This first solo museum exhibition by Monster Chetwynd in Belgium, her first ever outdoor exhibition, combines installations, performances, and public activities in the art park. The exhibition will open with a festive event on 16 May, with an additional performance weekend on 12/13 September 2026.
A Friends Making Machine refers to the band of collaborators and performers with whom Chetwynd creates her works; family members, friends, artists, and creators. Some have been travelling with her for years, while others come and go in different combinations. Co-creation and conversations are an essential part of her practice.
Salamander Portal is Monster Chetwynd's design for a new gateway on the east side of the art park. This sculptural work literally welcomes visitors, and symbolically connects the museum with the surrounding community. That includes patients from the ZAS Middelheim hospital and UKJA (University Centre for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry), as well as students from the University of Antwerp.
Middelheim Museum and the City of Antwerp are organising a press trip for the opening of the exhibition on 12 and 13 April. Interested? Please contact us at press@visitantwerpen.be.
The Tall Ships Races Antwerp
Dozens of sailing ships will be taking over Antwerp from 11 to 14 July 2026, during the Tall Ships Races. Yachts of all sizes will anchor along the city's quays and docks, where thousands of visitors come to admire and visit these seagoing beauties. Thanks to the long history that the city and port share with the event, Antwerp has the honour of being the first "Anchor Port" to hold the title of permanent host city that welcomes the Tall Ships Races every four years.
The Tall Ships Races have been organised by Sail Training International (STI) since 1956. This non-profit organisation gives every young person the opportunity to learn to sail. During the races, these trainees sail past different cities. They take on various tasks and learn to work together aboard the sailing ships. Once ashore, trainees are free to explore the town where they dock.
Interested in a press visit to the Tall Ships Races in Antwerp? Please contact us at press@visitantwerpen.be.
And more…
- On Monday 4 May 2026, the Handelsbeurs in Antwerp will host the MICHELIN Guide Ceremony Belgium & Luxembourg 2026, where the new Stars, Green Stars, Bib Gourmand awards and prizes will be announced.
- From 30 May to 3 June, Antwerp Design Week brings together Belgian and international design in unique locations in and around Antwerp, ranging from hidden gems to impressive headquarters. The event consists of two complementary programmes that appeal to both industry professionals (B2B) and the broader audience of design enthusiasts (B2C).
- The MAS presents the Martial Arts expo, which immerses visitors in the amazing world of martial arts. This exhibition presents the power, philosophy, and beauty of martial arts, such as kung fu, karate, capoeira, kickboxing, and Nguni stick fighting, and highlights the traditions and stories behind the sport.
- From 11 April to 30 August 2026, the KMSKA presents the exhibition Singing Red, which takes visitors to the heart of Belgian modernism through masterpieces by Ensor, Wouters, and Schmalzigaug.
- Two important works of art from the Rubenshuis collection are temporarily moving to prestigious museums outside Belgium; the Silver ornamental set from Rubens's own collection will soon be on display at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, while the "Self-Portrait" by Anthony van Dyck will be exhibited at the Palazzo Ducale in Genoa.
- Live music and jazz in Antwerp; from 27 to 29 June, Live is Live takes over the Middenvijverpark in Antwerp for a series of unique outdoor concerts. The line-up includes Robbie Williams, Nick Cave & The Bad Steeds, and Iron Maiden. The Jazz Middelheim festival also returns from 23 to 25 May in beautiful Park Den Brandt, where the Buena Vista Orchestra, Marcos Valle, and Hunee will perform, among others.
- Antwerp's Zuidpark won the Green Cities Europe Award 2025, an annual prize that rewards European projects that demonstrate how greenery can improve climate resilience, biodiversity, and the quality of life in cities.