The Reiefestival offers opportunities to both emerging and established talent. We invite artists of all ages, nationalities, and orientations to share their artistic practice with us. We are open to all forms of artistry, individual or collective. The result does need to be a stage-related performance, and it must be possible to perform it outdoors at venues near or on Bruges’s canals.
The Reiefestival in Bruges is a triennial, multiday, multidisciplinary arts festival that connects heritage with contemporary performing arts. The second edition will take place from 28 to 30 August 2026 at various open-air locations on and around the canals of Bruges. The festival will programme six existing productions alongside the same number of new creations selected from this open call. The festival is partly free and partly paid.
Flow: these are the physical forces of water, a river, low and high tide, human flow, an electric current – which we have become so dependent on, or the blood pulsing through our veins.
Flow is also a powerful metaphor for immeasurable but often equally powerful forces inside a person or in the world and universe that surround them, the eternally changing (Heraclitus’s Pantha Rhei), the stream of consciousness in our brain, the social counter-currents as the engine of world history, etc.
Flow, in all its forms, is essential for progress. It allows us to push boundaries and reach new heights.
Bruges and the people of Bruges are proud of their tangible and intangible heritage; it forms the cultural and economic lifeblood of our city.
But even a city steeped in history like Bruges is constantly evolving. If we lock its heritage in a hermetically sealed viewing box, it dies a slow death. That’s why the Reiefestival is looking for artists who will work with the combination of the festival theme (flow) and Bruges’s heritage (linked to the theme) in an innovative way. Your creation demonstrates a new approach to what has been preserved from the distant or more recent past.
An inspirational document is here on the website to lend a helping hand in this challenging task.
We collected some interesting tips for anyone who wants to participate in the open call. Download the document below to get an idea of which entries will be selected and which will be rejected, as well as some tips on how to get started.
The Reiefestival offers a co-production budget to 5 to 6 selected projects depending on the scale of the project.
The organiser Brugge Plus is not a workshop or production house. We do provide on-site production and technical support for performances. Depending on the needs, the partners can potentially support by offering rehearsal space, a workshop for set construction, etc.
We encourage participants to seek additional resources.
Submit your project proposal no later than 15 May 2025 by filling in this form. Do you know any interested parties? Feel free to forward this call to them.
A shortlist will be compiled by 30 May 2025. Those selected for the shortlist will be contacted for an exploratory interview (online or otherwise). Those who are not selected will, of course, be notified as well. The final selection will be announced by the end of June 2025.
After the announcement of the selection, we will contact those selected to discuss further production planning. Site visits can be scheduled. Co-production agreements will be drawn up.
The exact performance days and hours, as well as the number of performances, has not yet been determined. We are aiming for at least two performances per creation. The organisation reserves the right to decide whether or not the audience has to pay to attend the performance.
Complete the online entry form via this link before 15 May 2025.
If you have any questions, please contact project manager Peter Grymonprez by e-mail or by calling +32 50 44 20 09.
For general questions about the Reiefestival and the open call, you can also mail reiefestival@bruggeplus.be.
We would like to thank you our colleagues at Bosch Parade (NL) for inspiring us with their open call.
Follow the link below to order tickets for one or more Reiefestival performances.
While booking, please check that you have chosen the correct performance, day and/or timeslots.