What's on this week: 4 June

While relatively unknown in his native Flanders, Paris-based artist Johan Creten is a big name abroad. His work can be found in collections around the world, where it tends to evoke strong reactions. His sculptures look innocent enough, perhaps even naive at first glance. But the figurative images bring up complex metaphors that mask an underlying political comment or charged symbolic meaning. Creten combined new and existing works to piece together The Storm, a new exhibition scattered about the Middelheim Museum’s flower garden. Creten reflects here on the emotional storms associated with personal development and the larger storms that rage within society.
Until 14 September at Middelheim Museum, Antwerp

It may not be summer quite yet, but Antwerpenaars couldn’t care less. They’re throwing the summer party of the year on their flashy Badboot, one of the world’s largest floating swimming pools. The pool on the river sets the scene for the city’s first hip-hop, reggae and world music pool party, featuring New York living legends Tony Touch and Jeru the Damaja. There is a main stage on the upper deck where artists from Trinidad, Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela, Mexico and Barcelona promise to heat up the dance floor. Next to the swimming pool (don’t forget your suit and towel), chill out in one of the lounge areas and enjoy complimentary cava and tapas (12.00-13.30) and free massages (all day).
15 June, noon to 1.00 at Badboot, ’t Eilandje, Antwerp

It wouldn’t be summer in Leuven without Terrace Films. This 32nd edition features free movies in the courtyard of STUK three nights a week. The programme features a fine mix of art-house, cult, short, documentary. Catch, for example, the Coen brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis, which follows a week in the life of a young, struggling folk singer in 1961 Greenwich Village (pictured). Or Wadjda, the first film made by a woman in Saudi Arabia. Then there’s Les géants (The Giants), a moving Belgian drama, with music by young Ghent musician The Bony King Of Nowhere. The films begin around 22.30 when the sun goes down. In the unlikely event of rain (ahem), screenings move inside to the cosy STUKcafé.
4-20 June at STUK, Leuven

Photo by Richard Phibbs

Graham Parker & The Rumour: Concert by the British singer-songwriter and his band, best known for their energetic performances and late 1970s-early ’80s rock and New Wave sound.
10 June, 20.00, Ancienne Belgique, Anspachlaan 110, Brussels

75 Years of Albert Canal: The Albert Canal, the 130km waterway that connects Antwerp and Liège, is celebrating 75 years of service with a unique exhibition on board a boat, filled with authentic objects, photographs and film material to give a nice picture of the past, present and future of Belgium’s most important canal.
10-11 June, Albertkanaal, Vossenkuilstraat, Eigenbilzen (Limburg province)

Out Loud! 2014: Free movies, concerts and parties on the rooftop terrace (with a view) of one of the city’s most outstanding multi-disciplinary arts centres.
4-28 June, Beursschouwburg, August Ortsstraat 28, Brussels

Brussels Film Festival: Twelfth edition of the festival dedicated to European cinema, featuring more than 70 shorts and features from various genres, plus workshops, DJ sets and open-air exhibitions.
6-14 June, Flageyplein, Brussels

Intergenerational Debate: Symposium on the representation of women in media, theatre, film and performance, featuring a series of debates animated by images and movie stills. You also get live streaming of the Belgium-Algeria football match on a big screen, followed by a debate on Arts, Gender and Activism featuring Belgian peace activist Simone Susskind, politician Joëlle Milquet, professor Marleen Temmerman and members of a Russian feminist art collective.
17 June, 10.00-20.30, Bozar, Ravensteinstraat 23, Brussels

Eel Festival: Annual celebration of the eel, a local delicacy in Mariekerke, a former fishing village on the Scheldt, with restaurants offering the traditional dish paling in ’t groen (eel in green sauce), or meatballs with warm cherries for those less eel-inclined.
7-9 June, Kouterplein 1, Mariekerke (Antwerp province)