The Antwerp Queer Arts Festival (AQAF) returns in August 2026 for a month of queer arts and performances in Antwerp. Sometimes you can take a name at face value. Exact dates aren’t published yet. But with Happy New Queer, AQAF holds events in Bruges in West Flanders, and in Leuven in Flemish Brabant. 

Bruges, 17 January

On Saturday 17 January 2026, Bruges will welcome the new year with ritual, performance and collective imagination during Happy New Queer, a festive and thought-provoking event at the Koninklijke Stadsschouwburg. At the heart of the afternoon programme is ‘Rollend ritueel‘ (‘Rolling Ritual‘), a free participatory workshop that invites audiences to co-create a new queer New Year’s ritual together with artists Kapinga Joséphine Muela Kabeya, Anna Schlooz and Romy Vermeulen.

The workshop takes place from 13:00 to 15:00 in the foyer of the Koninklijke Stadsschouwburg, Vlamingstraat 29, and is open to everyone who is curious about ritual, community and shared transformation. Participation is free of charge, but registration is required. The workshop is conducted in Dutch.

Revolution

Rollend ritueel grows out of ‘Omwenteling‘ (‘Revolution‘), an ongoing artistic project developed by Kapinga Joséphine Muela Kabeya and Anna Schlooz since 2024. 

Working at the intersection of performance, ritual, participation and queer community building, the duo explores how collective practices can support moments of change. For Happy New Queer, they are joined by facilitator and storyteller Romy Vermeulen, whose work centres on slowing down, connection and the natural world through tea rituals, myths and shared reflection. 

Together, the three artists invite participants to imagine what a queer New Year’s ritual might look like today, drawing on stories, care practices, spirituality and collective creativity.

A trio

Kapinga Joséphine Muela Kabeya is a multidisciplinary artist whose playful and intuitive work explores spirituality, femininity and ritual as ways of claiming space and belonging as a queer woman of colour. Her practice includes performance, ritual objects, writing, women’s circles and a developing Reiki practice. 

Anna Schlooz, trained in theatre education and performance art, creates multimedia and participatory works that question how we live, think and care together, always inviting audiences to reconsider norms and structures from a place of curiosity. 

Romy Vermeulen brings a background in art and cultural mediation and agogic sciences, weaving together sustainability, storytelling and facilitation to create encounters rooted in awareness and connection.

What begins in the afternoon does not end there. The ritual created during the workshop will be carried forward into the evening performance of Happy New Queer, where it will be tested and activated live on stage. In this way, participants become co-creators of the night itself, blurring the line between audience and performer.

Evening show

The evening show starts at 20:00 in the Koninklijke Stadsschouwburg and marks the return of Happy New Queer to Bruges with a vibrant, carefully curated programme of performance, music, dance and humour. 

Hosted by actor Anne-Laure Vandeputte, the night brings together emerging queer talent and established voices. The line-up includes intimate piano songs by Jelle Denturck under his solo project Dressed Like Boys, the playful chaos of drag-clown duo Haas & Idiot, powerful and sensual dance by butchibou, poetic and resistant movement by Alexandra Bierlaire, and a bold performance by writer and performer Nata Mandaria exploring womanhood, migration and motherhood. 

Kapinga Joséphine Muela Kabeya, Anna Schlooz and Romy Vermeulen also appear as part of the evening, presenting the newly created queer New Year’s ritual.

Happy New Queer takes place on stage with both standing and seated options. Seating is available for everyone, but audience members who want to be sure of a chair are advised to contact the box office in advance. After the show, the celebration continues in the foyer with an extended programme curated by Dwaalzin, turning the theatre into a warm, festive meeting place for friends, chosen family and the wider queer community.

Who?

The event is part of PRISMA Queer Arts Festival and is a production of Antwerp Queer Arts Festival, in collaboration with CC Brugge, Het Entrepot and Diversiteit Brugge, with the support of the Flemish Government. 

While Happy New Queer in Bruges is primarily in Dutch, several performances are language-free, and non-Dutch speakers are warmly invited to come for the atmosphere, the music and the shared celebration.

With ‘Rollend ritueel’ in the afternoon and a sparkling performance programme in the evening, Happy New Queer offers a meaningful and joyful way to step into 2026 together: reflective, festive and unapologetically queer.

Leuven, 23 January

On Friday 23 January 2026, Leuven welcomes the new year with sparkle, tenderness and unapologetic queer joy as Happy New Queer returns to the stage of 30CC/Schouwburg on Bondgenotenlaan. Starting at 20:00, this festive live show brings together performance, spoken word, dance, stand-up and club energy in an evening that celebrates new beginnings, collective imagination and queer resilience.

Happy New Queer Leuven is a co-production by Antwerp Queer Arts Festival and 30CC, in close collaboration with Queer Leuven, and with the support of the Flemish Government. Once again, the partners join forces to create a warm, chaotic and generous space where celebration and reflection go hand in hand. Tickets are available via 30CC.

The evening is hosted by Georgy Gorgeous, a true force of nature and a familiar face in Leuven’s queer cultural life. A trained actor turned community figurehead, Georgy guides the audience through the night with humour, flair and an instinctive sense of connection. Under their guidance, performances flow seamlessly into queer New Year’s letters, lipsyncs collide with stand-up comedy, and the boundaries between genres dissolve.

On the menu in Leuven

The line-up brings together established voices and exciting new talent. Writer, performance artist and human-rights advocate Fleur Pierets contributes a New Year’s letter written especially for this occasion. Known for her deeply personal yet politically resonant work, Fleur reflects on boundaries, belonging and what truly connects us. Her presence adds a moment of collective pause and reflection to the festive evening, without ever losing sight of joy and hope.

Several performers present work developed during the summer residency programme A Night Called Quest. Nata Mandaria brings her powerful performance ‘gogo, gogo, gogona‘, inspired by the women in her family: small, fierce, broad-shouldered and unapologetically present. With vivid imagery, rhythm and high energy, Nata stretches the limits of what womanhood can mean, inviting the audience into a world where performance becomes a form of survival and self-definition.

Ju.j.u, the stage persona of Julian Gypens, bares it all both literally and figuratively. As a dancer and stand-up comedian, Ju.j.u effortlessly combines movement and conversation, humour and vulnerability. Their work opens space for stories about bodies that do not quite fit expectations, about breaking down and rebuilding, and about finding strength in honesty.

Circus company BEYONDSIEN, founded by Sien Van Acker, adds a touch of playful chaos with clownesque tightwire performance. Flirting with kitsch and extravagance, BEYONDSIEN invites the audience into a universe where vulnerability and bravado walk hand in hand, and where risk becomes something to celebrate rather than fear.

PUSS ACADEMY brings the energy of the ballroom to the stage, offering both spectacle and education by introducing the audience to the language, attitude and power of vogue. Together, the performers create a dynamic and diverse programme that moves fluidly between intimacy and exuberance.

After the show

After the show, the celebration continues in the foyer. Following last year’s success, DJ Philharmonic once again takes over the decks, transforming the theatre into a dance floor. 

There is cava, there are gifts, there is chaos and comfort in equal measure, and there is always someone ready to pull you into the dance. The side programme before and after the show ensures that Happy New Queer is not just something you watch, but something you experience together.

Happy New Queer Leuven is primarily in English, making it accessible to a wide and diverse audience. Whether you come for the performances, the party, or the feeling of starting the year surrounded by chosen family, this is an invitation to celebrate queerness in all its forms — loudly, tenderly and together.

Information and tickets.

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