For the fifth edition of Bruges Triennial, taking place in 2027, Swedish curators Ulrika Flink and Helen Rix Runting have been appointed to lead the artistic vision. They will develop the upcoming edition in close collaboration with a newly formed artistic team — a collective approach that marks a deliberate shift toward multiplicity, shared reflection, and international dialogue within the festival’s curatorial process.
With this appointment, Bruges Triennial reinforces its ambition to deepen the role of contemporary art and architecture in public space. By actively engaging international voices, the festival aims to open up new perspectives on urban space, modes of living, and societal change — both in Bruges and beyond.
Ulrika Flink is a curator and Artistic Director of Konstfrämjandet Stockholm. Her work includes major projects such as Momentum 9 – The Nordic Biennial (2017), the Borås Biennial (2021), the Çanakkale Biennial (2024), and the Swedish Pavilion at the Gwangju Biennale (2024). Operating across institutions, biennials, and public space, her curatorial practice centres on art’s ability to challenge dominant narratives and create space for reflection, encounter, and transformation.
Helen Rix Runting is an architecture theorist, critic, editor, and urban planner. She is co-founder of the architecture studio Secretary Stockholm, known for its research-driven, multimedia installations exhibited internationally, from Norway to Georgia. Her work is grounded in the belief that alternative ways of building and thinking can shape alternative ways of living.
Flink and Rix Runting have collaborated for several years. In 2023, they co-curated the public programme of Under the Asphalt, the Sea, a site-specific art project in the Stockholm suburb of Hökarängen. The programme brought together lectures, panel talks, and film screenings to explore suburban transformation, public space, and strategies of resistance.
For Bruges Triennial 2027, they join forces with Alan Quireyns (Artistic Coordinator, Brugge Plus), Steven Slos (Cultural Policy Coordinator, City of Bruges), and Isabelle Speybrouck (Project Manager, Bruges Triennial) as the artistic team. Together, they will shape the artistic direction of the next edition — in dialogue with the city, its spatial context, and the urgent questions of our time.