Above: Pablo Picasso, The Friendship Bouquet, at the Oud St. Jan’s Museum of Bruges, which just exhibited Rider on Horse – an experimental cloud/sun photograph by me – November 26 through December 1,  2018.

Bruges is the exquisite canal-lined city in Belgium that tourists love, just a half hour from Ghent, another old Flanders city, and I’m a dual national. Bruges is one of the loveliest cities in Europe, a little Venice. The event is the Flanders International Biennal of Contemporary Art. And I will be among 60 artists.

Right in the middle of the city, all that is best about Bruges and about life in general comes together in a unique cultural site: art, culinary delight, elegant meeting and function rooms, stylish interiors and spacious outdoor terraces with a magical view of the picturesque canals. Whoever enters the Old St. John Site will be amazed by the almost tangible presence of the rich history of Bruges. This is the spot where one of the earliest infirmaries in medieval Europe once stood. During the 19th century, it was home to the St. John’s Hospital, with its large communal wards. Following the closure of the hospital in 1976, these spacious wards were restored and since 1989 have formed part of the Old St. John Congress and Event Centre. The different halls are ideally suited for the organization of congresses, trade fairs, events and social functions of all kinds.

 

 

A permanent Picasso exhibition is a big draw. It has 300 works of this famous 20th century Spanish artist – mostly graphic art, with one of the most extensive collections in Europe. At the moment, there is also an exhibition of the work of Andy Warhol. In 2015, the Centre was the location for Body Worlds (Körperwelten), in 2016 it was Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Last year, in 2017, it had the exhibition “Da Vinci, the inventions of a genius.” From March 31 on, it became the venue for the exhibition “Mummies, The Secrets of Ancient Egypt.”