Venue: Centre for Fine Arts
Town: Brussels, BE

The Centre for Fine Arts is a multi-purpose cultural venue in the Royal Quarter of Brussels, Belgium. It is often referred to as BOZAR (a homophone of Beaux-arts) in French or by its initials PSK in Dutch. This multidisciplinary space was designed to bring together a wide range of artistic events, whether music, visual arts, theatre, dance, literature, cinema or architecture. The building housing the Centre for Fine Arts was designed by the architect Victor Horta in Art Deco style, and completed in 1929 at the instigation of the banker and patron of the arts Henry Le Bœuf. It includes exhibition and conference rooms, a cinema and a concert hall, which serves as home to the Belgian National Orchestra (BNO). It is located at 23, rue Ravenstein/Ravensteinstraat, between the Hôtel Ravenstein and the headquarters of BNP Paribas Fortis, and across the street from the Ravenstein Gallery. This site is served by Brussels-Central railway station and Parc/Park metro station on lines 1 and 5 of the Brussels Metro. The idea of a Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels dates to the mid-19th century. In 1856, a government commission explored a venue for concerts and major exhibitions. By 1866, a law allocated one million Belgian francs for a hall for exhibitions and public ceremonies. The authorities even considered using the Bourse Palace or other sites, including the Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark, the Botanical Garden, and the Avenue Louise/Louizalaan, but none of these plans came to fruition. In 1871, the Royal Academy of Belgium initiated a commission to explore a building for exhibitions and public ceremonies. The architect Alphonse Balat presented plans for a Palais des Beaux-Arts on the Rue de la Régence/Regentschapsstraat, approved in 1872. Construction began in 1874, and the building opened on 1 August 1880 with a major exhibition of Belgian art. It hosted events until 1887, when the Museum of Ancient Art's collections reduced available space, leaving a gap for contemporary a