# Wiels
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{{Short description|Contemporary art centre in Brussels, Belgium}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox museum
| name = WIELS
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| former_name =
| image = Wiels brussels 01.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| caption = Exterior of the art centre
| alt =
| mapframe = yes
| mapframe-caption = Interactive fullscreen map
| mapframe-zoom = 13
| mapframe-marker = museum
| mapframe-wikidata = yes
| coordinates = {{coord|50|49|28|N|4|19|33|E|type:landmark_region:BE|display=inline,title}}
| established = {{Start date and age|2007|df=y}}
| dissolved =
| location = {{lang|fr|Avenue Van Volxem|italic=no}} / {{lang|nl|Van Volxemlaan|italic=no}} 354,
1190 [Forest](/source/Forest%2C_Belgium), Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium
| type = [Contemporary art](/source/Contemporary_art)
| collection_size =
| visitors =
| director =
| president =
| curator =
| owner =
| public_transit =
| parking =
| network =
| website = {{URL|www.wiels.org/en}}
}}
'''WIELS''' is a [contemporary art](/source/contemporary_art) centre in [Forest](/source/Forest%2C_Belgium), a municipality of [Brussels](/source/Brussels), Belgium. The centre opened in 2007 in the former Blomme building, which belonged to the Wielemans-Ceuppens brewery.[{{Cite web |title=Wiels {{!}} The history of Wiels |url=https://www.wiels.org/en/about-wiels/lhistoire-du-wiels |access-date=2022-03-15 |website=Wiels |language=en-BE}}] It has three exhibition platforms with a total exhibition space of {{convert|1,800|m2|abbr=on}}, an auditorium, studio workshops for artists-in-residence, and a café/foyer and bookshop in the former brewing hall.
WIELS has no collection, instead putting on temporary exhibitions by national and international artists.[{{cite web |title=Gallery Wiels |url=https://www.artrabbit.com/organisations/wiels?view=past |publisher=ArtRabbit |accessdate=2017-02-17}}] It hosts nine artist-in-residency studios, for which it receives hundreds of applications every year.[{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/19/arts/design/brussels-making-a-strong-bid-for-art.html?_r=0 |title=Brussels Making a Strong Bid for Art |author=Rachel Donadio |work=The New York Times |date=2015-07-17 |accessdate=2017-02-17}}] For its tenth anniversary in 2017, WIELS organised a group exhibition called the Absent Museum, a reference to the incorrect assumption that WIELS is an art museum.[{{Cite web |title=WIELS {{!}} The Absent Museum |url=https://www.wiels.org/en/exhibitions/le-musée-absent |access-date=2022-03-15 |website=WIELS |language=en-BE}}]
==Building history==
In 1931, the Wielemans-Ceuppens family built the Blomme building (named after its architect {{Interlanguage link|Adrien Blomme|nl}}) at 354, {{lang|fr|avenue Van Volxem|italic=no}}/{{lang|nl|Van Volxemlaan|italic=no}} in [Forest](/source/Forest%2C_Belgium), to expand its brewing business. At the time, it was the largest [brewhouse](/source/brewhouse) in continental Europe. In 1988, the brewery closed, and in 1993, the building was given protected status, saving it from demolition. In 2001, the Brussels-Capital Region acquired the building and began renovating it to open WIELS.[{{Cite web |title=Brasserie Wielemans-Ceuppens // A Battle for Brussels' Soul |url=https://www.beercity.brussels/home/2020/brasserie-wielemans-ceuppens-wiels-fonderie |access-date=2022-03-15 |website=Brussels Beer City |date=14 February 2020 |language=en-IE}}][{{Cite web |last=Starikova |first=Anastasia |date=2015-12-07 |title=A Brief History of WIELS Art Centre in Brussels |url=https://theculturetrip.com/europe/belgium/articles/wiels-more-than-just-an-art-centre/ |access-date=2022-03-15 |website=Culture Trip}}] The name ''WIELS'' was derived from Wielemans-Ceuppens. It is one of the few examples of [modernist industrial architecture](/source/Industrial_architecture) in Belgium.