For its 9th edition, the PhotoBrussels Festival continues to push artistic boundaries with “A Public Affair,” an evolving exhibition curated by Bayo Hassan Bello. Hosted at Frédéric De Goldschmidt’s private collection space, the show has now been enriched with an entire floor of new photographic works, further dissecting the porous frontier between public and private spheres.
Initially featuring twenty compelling photographs, “A Public Affair” now broadens its scope by integrating pieces from renowned artists such as Robert Mapplethorpe, Shirin Neshat, and Danh V?. Their works converse with a younger generation of visual storytellers, including Brussels-based Léa Belooussovitch and Yoel Pytowski, whose in situ installation adds a dynamic layer to the exhibition. The collection is further expanded with contributions from David Armstrong, David Brognon & Stéphanie Rollin, Edgar Martins, Musa N. Nxumalo, and Hank Willis Thomas, all of whom bring unique perspectives to the festival’s central theme.
This expanded iteration of “A Public Affair” strengthens its conceptual depth, offering a broader reflection on how photography captures, distorts, and redefines the tension between what is intimate and what is exposed to the world. By bridging generations and artistic styles, De Goldschmidt’s initiative cements itself as a pivotal moment in this year’s PhotoBrussels Festival—one that invites viewers to reconsider their own relationship with visibility and privacy in an increasingly mediated world.
