Urban ceremonies, village weddings and kermesses, court and kings' parties: this exhibition explores the Flemish festivals of the 16th and 17th centuries through the prism of collective entertainment in public space.
Illustrating sometimes the party as a social ritual and as an outlet in times of epidemic or war, sometimes as a moral and political vector, the course, of exceptional wealth, will gather nearly 100 paintings, engravings, drawings and realia mainly from Belgian and French institutions, and other international museums.
First to list and treat all types of festivals, the exhibition will take visitors into a world whose traditions and values are still resonating in this region today.

This exhibition is designed by the Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille as part of an exceptional partnership with the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium and the Musée du Louvre, Paris. It is co-produced with GrandPalaisRmn in the frame of Fiesta, 7th edition of lille3000.
By offering all audiences the fruits of the latest research, the exhibition has been awarded the National Interest Exhibition label from the Ministry of Culture.
It is supported by the European Metropolis of Lille, the Delegation of Flanders in France and the Franco-Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce.
It benefits from the main patronage of the Crédit Mutuel Nord Europe Foundation and Apfte ank and the patronage of DEME.

COMMISSIONER GENERAL
Juliette Singer, Director of the Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille and the Musée de l'Hospice Comtesse.
SCIENTIFIC COMMISSIONERS
Blaise Ducos, Chief Curator, responsible for Flemish and Dutch paintings at the Louvre Museum, and Sabine van Sprang, Curator of Flemish painting 1550-1650 at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts in Belgium.
Presented from 26 April to 1 September 2025, at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Lille