This was RHIZOMA 2025
RHIZOMA 2025: a successful first edition!
The first edition of RHIZOMA – biennial for contemporary art, took place from 25 May to 13 July 2025 and was an immediate success. Both the public and the press responded with great enthusiasm, and we are therefore delighted to announce that preparations for the second edition – scheduled for summer 2027 – are already underway.
Titled Our Future Is To Live With Bruises, the inaugural edition took its name from a line in the poem Diaoptasia – Our Future Will Be (2015) by artist Otobong Nkanga. Spread across five indoor and outdoor venues within walking distance of each other, RHIZOMA offered a diverse experience connecting multiple disciplines, ranging from video and installation to printmaking, painting, text – and more.
Themes of vulnerability, self-expression and resilience were central throughout the exhibition. Over half of the works presented were new creations, shown alongside recent and historical pieces that had never before been exhibited in Belgium. This mix of premieres and rarely seen works made RHIZOMA 2025 a journey of discovery for both seasoned art enthusiasts and curious newcomers.
With contributions by artists such as Amalia Ulman, Amar Kanwar, Andrea Büttner, Clara Spilliaert, Corita Kent, Eva & Franco Mattes, Jeremy Deller, Michel François, Otobong Nkanga, Pei-Hsuan Wang, Sawangwongse Yawnghwe, Vaast Colson and Wim Cuyvers, the biennial brought together a rich international selection that was both artistically engaging and socially relevant.
RHIZOMA 2025 clearly demonstrated the need for a biennial that places dialogue, reflection and experience at its core. We are already looking forward to 2027.
More info: rhizomabiennial.art
Pictures: We Document Art, Sam Gilbert, Benjamin Boogers
