Ans Persoons, Brussels State Secretary for Urbanism and Heritage, Rudi Vervoort, Brussels Minister-President, Sarah Lagrilli\u00e8re, Deputy Director-General of urban.brussels, Patrick Bontinck, CEO of visit.brussels and Paul Dujardin, Commissioner for the Art Deco Year 2025 announce that the Art Deco Year in 2025 was a great success. A total of over 755,000 participants were recorded, spread across 24 exhibitions in 17 different institutions and more than 1,050 guided tours in 19 municipalities. Thanks to a rich programme and close collaboration across the entire Brussels region, the Art Deco Year became a cultural highlight.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWith more than 755,000 visitors, Art Deco Year 2025 has exceeded expectations. Brussels was already the \u201ccapital of Art Nouveau\u201d, but it is now also one of the leading cities for Art Deco. By uniting a large number of partners around this common project, we have strengthened the cultural, tourist and economic appeal of the region. Brussels is a city full of history. This success also shows that we are making heritage more accessible to everyone. It is therefore our responsibility to preserve it.\u201d <\/em>tells Ans Persoons<\/strong>, Brussels State Secretary for Urbanism and Heritage.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis year's Art Deco success illustrates our citizens\u201d hunger for culture and beauty. It was our ambition to make this exceptional heritage accessible to everyone, and the visitor numbers show we have succeeded. This success also underscores the international appeal of our Region and its positioning as a first-rate cultural destination. This closing is not an endpoint, but a next step in our mission to highlight and protect the architectural gems that are so characteristic of Brussels.\u201d<\/em>, thus Rudi Vervoort, <\/strong>Brussels Minister-President responsible for Tourism and the Image of Brussels.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Following the enormous success of Art Nouveau Year in 2023, the Brussels Region has decided to dedicate 2025 entirely to that other art movement: Art Deco. One hundred years after the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris in 1925, it became clear that Brussels' architectural and cultural heritage can attract a great deal of interest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Art Deco Year 2025, under the guidance of urban.brussels and visit.brussels, in close collaboration with a broad network of cultural and municipal partners, offered a new perspective on this post-war art movement. A period during which the world was changing significantly on social, economic and cultural levels, and a period that brought its own challenges in terms of social change, decolonisation, or sustainable development. Above all, we recognise Art Deco in Brussels through its iconic buildings such as Villa Empain, the Forest Town Hall, the Flagey building, or the Van Buuren Museum and Gardens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWith the Year of Art Deco 2025, Brussels confirms its status as both a cultural and a European capital. This success is the result of exemplary joint effort and opens up a perspective: making heritage a catalyst for influence, cohesion, and confidence for the years to come.\u201d, <\/em>explains Paul Dujardin<\/strong>, Commissioner for the Art Deco Year 2025.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Exhibitions, festivals, tours, lectures, film screenings, celebratory events and publications provided variety to the programme. The Art Deco year highlighted both iconic and lesser-known buildings and attracted visitors to various Brussels districts, museums, private estates and public spaces. Art Deco events took place in all 19 municipalities of the Brussels region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was primarily the numerous guided tours that gave the public privileged access to places not often open or viewable. For example, the Brussels Art Nouveau Art Deco Festival (BANAD), which took place in March 2025, attracted nearly 23,000 participants. The Brussels heritage days were also seen as one of the highlights of the year, with more than 200 participating locations and activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of the 24 exhibitions organised at various locations, the Art Deco was explored from different angles, such as architecture, design, fashion, leisure, or even gastronomy. They were a great success, with several exhibitions attracting large numbers of visitors. This was particularly the case at the Villa Empain, the Museum and Gardens of Buuren, the Basilica of Koekelberg, the BELvue Museum, the Halles Saint-G\u00e9ry and Train World.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Art Deco Year 2025 was able to count on broad mobilisation from cultural and museum institutions, various associations such as Pro V\u00e9lo, ARAU, Arkadia, Korei, Bruxelles Bavard, Itin\u00e9raires, the Brussels Art Deco Society, CIVA, and numerous partner municipalities, including Anderlecht, Schaerbeek, Forest, Ixelles, Koekelberg, Ganshoren, and the City of Brussels. Together, they ensured a multilingual and widely accessible programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Visitors to Art Deco 2025 could also make use of the \u2018Art Nouveau Art Deco Pass\u2019. In 2025, 6,949 passes were sold and scanned 12,840 times. This is a further development of the existing Art Nouveau Pass and grants access to dozens of Art Nouveau and Art Deco sites that are accessible throughout the year, allowing these iconic buildings and places to continue to be discovered in 2026. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are honoured by the exceptional public interest in the Art Deco gems of our heritage, sometimes subtle and sometimes extravagant, which form the soul and charm of Brussels. The enthusiasm of the visitors rewards the work carried out by Urban and its partners concerning the knowledge, preservation and enhancement of the heritage that Urban and its partners have undertaken. The Art Deco year 2025 is drawing to a close, but the efforts to showcase the richness of our surroundings will leave a lasting and positive impression.\u201d<\/em>, believes Sarah Lagrilli\u00e8re<\/strong>, Deputy Director-General of Urban.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The final balance of Art Deco Year 2025 is very positive and has brought about a significant domino effect. Several institutions have seen a clear increase in visitor numbers, and some exhibitions have been extended due to their success. New conferences and tours focusing on the art deco movement are already planned for 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It shows that a coordinated approach and support truly pay off. Thanks to the international attention that initiatives like these bring, cultural and economic players will be able to reap the benefits for a long time to come. Thanks to these two themed years in 2023 and 2025, Art Nouveau and Art Deco are now inextricably linked to the identity of the capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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Iconic buildings<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
The successful Art Deco 2025 in numbers<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Events in all 19 municipalities<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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A lasting legacy<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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