From 5 March to 2 April 2026, Pilar — the House for Art and Science on the VUB campus — and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel will host the eleventh edition of the multidisciplinary festival ASAP HEARTBREAK. For a month, visitors will be immersed in art, performances, music, film and community activities centred on the theme of heartbreak — a universal yet deeply intimate experience that lies at the heart of this year’s programme.
According to Pilar, heartbreak is “a quiet form of disruption” — an experience that can feel both weighty and unexpectedly tender. Through art, the festival invites visitors to reflect anew on loss, grief, anger, relief and fresh starts. The programme highlights how shared vulnerability can foster connection.
Throughout the festival, Bar Pilar will be transformed into the Heartbreak Hotel: a space for solace, reflection and creativity, where students, artists and Brussels residents come together. ASAP stands for As Slow/Soft/Sincere/Steady As Possible and, for one month, turns the VUB campus into an open laboratory for reflection, encounter and artistic renewal.
Programme highlights
Opening concert — 5 March
Featuring experimental and boundary-pushing performances by Farida Amadou, bela and Leila Bordreuil.
Exhibition: All That Was Left Was The Ache — 5 March to 2 April
Free exhibition with work by, among others, Julie Vanlook, Aurélie Bayad and Manon Teirlynck.
Communal dinner — 5 March
To All My Past and Future Lovers, a shared meal centred on connection and emotional openness.
Film screening: Julian — 9 March
The debut feature by Cato Kusters, based on the memoir of author and LGBTQIA+ activist Fleur Pierets, which previously opened Film Fest Ghent.