Art for All: Amateurs and established artists participate in annual Brussels Carte de Visite art exhibition  

Launched in 2014 and financed by the City of Brussels, collaborative, free participatory art exhibition Carte de Visite | ArtOpenkunst has been showcasing hundreds of amateur and established artists every year. It has made art creation, exhibition and appreciation accessible to all. Since 2020, artists have competed for the Prix de la CENTRALE, with jury-selected winners for 2024, 2025, and 2026 set to exhibit their work together at CENTRALE’s contemporary art space. 

Promoting cultural participation through open exhibition 

Hosted at Espace Vanderborght, a key civic cultural venue, the event welcomes over 300 artists each year—more than 80 of them exhibiting for the first time. The diversity of media is wide-ranging: from sculpture, painting, and photography to textiles, installations, and mixed media. Artists use this platform to experiment, debut work, or share their creative journey with new audiences. And they forge new links with other artists, forming a stronger cultural ecosystem for the city. 

Strengthening cultural infrastructure 

The project contributes directly to Brussels’ cultural infrastructure by reinforcing the visibility and sustainability of grassroots artistic practice. It forms part of a broader city cultural strategy that supports accessible spaces, community-led programming, and public engagement in the arts. 

A jury of professional visual artists selects one participant each year for a special opportunity: a solo exhibition at CENTRALE for contemporary art, one of Brussels’ most important venues for international and local contemporary art. In 2026, CENTRALE will mount a collective exhibition featuring the winners from 2024, 2025, and 2026 – ensuring long-term visibility and continued engagement for local talent. 

Inclusive practices and sustainable design 

Inclusivity is at the heart of the Carte de Visite model. A long-standing partnership with the I See Foundation ensures that blind and partially-sighted visitors can engage with the exhibition through trained image translators. This commitment to cultural participation for all audiences aligns with Brussels’ inclusive urban policy goals. 

In 2024, a new collaboration with the Haute Ecole Francisco Ferrer, saw textile and fashion design students reimagine garments from Oxfam’s sorting centre. These upcycled pieces – transformed through disassembly, printing, and dyeing – brought a circular economy lens to the art world and demonstrate innovative, sustainable practice in a cultural setting. 

A model for equitable cultural policy 

Carte de Visite – ARTopenKUNST is more than an exhibition – it’s a living example of inclusive, locally rooted, and future-facing cultural policy. By enabling open access to artistic expression, investing in long-term infrastructure, and partnering across education, sustainability, and accessibility sectors, the City of Brussels is building a cultural ecosystem where access for all and cultural participation are not just aspirations – but realities.