ATOMA Art Center: Brussels’ Former Notebook Factory Reborn Through Art

In Forest, the former factory behind Belgium’s iconic Atoma notebooks begins a new chapter. Reimagined as a 5,000-square-metre contemporary art centre, the historic industrial site brings together art, architecture, experimentation and emerging talent.

Brussels has a particular talent for transforming its industrial heritage into new creative destinations. Just a short walk from WIELS, the former Atoma notebook factory is now home to ATOMA Art Center, a new space dedicated to contemporary art.

Opening to the public on 7 October 2026, the centre was founded by Belgian architect Gilles Dehareng and Brussels-based multidisciplinary artist Nina Anduiza. The two met while studying at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and have envisioned ATOMA as a collaborative platform connecting artists, curators, researchers, galleries, collectors and cultural institutions.

An industrial icon reimagined

Built in 1924 and extended in the 1940s, the former Mottart paper factory is closely connected to the history of Atoma notebooks, which have become an icon of Belgian design.

Following three years of careful renovation, the building’s original character remains at the heart of the project. Its concrete structure, metal-framed windows, pitch-pine partitions and original tiles have been preserved, while the distinctive sawtooth roof continues to fill the upper floor with natural light.

The renovation was led by architecture studio Unaa, with an approach combining heritage conservation and environmental responsibility. Reused furnishings and materials sit alongside bio-based insulation, removable partitions, heat pumps and photovoltaic panels. Even the new construction blocks were selected for a manufacturing process designed to absorb more CO₂ than it produces.

The result feels neither overly polished nor nostalgic. Instead, the building retains the raw energy of a former production site while adapting naturally to its new artistic purpose.

More than an exhibition space

ATOMA is conceived as a creative ecosystem rather than a traditional museum.

On the ground floor, 1,700 square metres of exhibition space are divided into three galleries. These can accommodate large group exhibitions, intimate curatorial projects, solo presentations and collaborations with galleries, collectives and independent organisations.

Upstairs, another 1,700-square-metre floor houses 15 artists’ studios, coworking areas, meeting rooms, a printing room and a shared library. Two adjoining houses can accommodate up to twelve international residents and visiting art professionals, encouraging encounters between the Belgian art scene and creative communities abroad.

A café is also planned, completing the idea of ATOMA as a place where visitors can spend time, meet and exchange ideas—not simply move from one artwork to the next.

Embodied Practices: when matter remembers

The centre’s inaugural exhibition, Embodied Practices, is curated by Yasmin Van ’tveld and explores the relationship between the body and the object.

Through painting, drawing, sculpture, ceramics, textiles and installation, the exhibition examines how gestures, repetition and touch can become forms of thought. It considers the way materials retain the traces of movement, memory, loss and personal experience – even when the body itself is no longer visible.

“Art becomes an object that preserves time in matter, like a vessel for what remains of us,” Van ’tveld writes in her curatorial statement.

The exhibition brings together work by Lucien Lyon, Juana Bustamante, Raf Thienpont, Maaike Leyn, Besnike Saraishta, Justine Taillard, Marina Gasparini, Muesli, Agathe Egret, Léa Belooussovitch, Felicien Umbreit, Juliette Kovács, Johan Dussart and Nina Anduiza.

Rather than imposing a single narrative, Embodied Practices creates a dialogue between gesture and trace, craftsmanship and instinct, presence and absence.

A temporary home for Botanique

ATOMA Art Center will also become an important new base for Botanique’s visual arts programme while the institution’s Orangerie and Rotonde spaces undergo renovation.

This partnership begins with the 22nd edition of ArtContest, an annual competition supporting Belgian artists and artists based in Belgium aged 35 or under. Ten selected artists will present their work at ATOMA, with four laureates chosen by a professional jury.

The programme also includes an exhibition featuring Lina Filipovich, Pablo Hnatow and Yosra Mojtahedi, three artists recognised by the 2025 Prix Carré sur Seine. Their presence continues a cultural exchange between Brussels and Paris, developed in partnership with ArtContest and the Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles in Paris.

A new creative landmark for Brussels

ATOMA Art Center gives new relevance to a remarkable piece of Brussels’ industrial heritage. The building once produced objects designed to collect ideas on paper; today, it offers artists the space to develop and share those ideas through entirely different forms.

With its preserved architecture, light-filled studios and collaborative philosophy, ATOMA feels like more than another cultural venue. It is a place for making, experimenting and building connections – a new artistic factory for contemporary Brussels.

Practical information

ATOMA Art Center
110 Rue Pierre Decoster
1190 Forest, Brussels
atomaartcenter.eu

Embodied Practices
7 October–13 December 2026

ArtContest 2026
7 October–22 November 2026

Prix Carré sur Seine Exhibition
7 October–22 November 2026