Exhibiting your art without a gallery, in Belgium

01Show first, sell later

A painting is judged in the flesh: its size, its texture, the light on the canvas. A photo gives you an idea of it, rarely the urge to own it. That’s why a first sale so often starts with a meeting, in front of the work, with the person who painted it.

So exhibiting isn’t a reward you wait for a gallery to hand you. It’s a tool, and you can start using it now. The aim isn’t to sell everything on the first evening: it’s for people to see your work, remember your name and know where to find you.

An exhibition with nothing to help people find you again is a wasted exhibition. Put a small card next to each work: your name, the title, the medium, the size, the price if it’s for sale, and the address where they can see the rest.

02Art trails: the best place to start

An art trail is when a town or a region opens up dozens of venues to artists for one or two weekends: studios, private homes, community halls. Visitors wander from one venue to the next, often for free, and they come specifically to see art.

• In Louvain-la-Neuve, the trail shows artists in venues spread across every part of town, and residents open their homes to host them. It takes place every two years: the latest edition was in 2026, and the next is announced for 2028.
• In the south of the Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse, the Parcours d’Artistes run by the Fondation Chimay-Wartoise covers seven municipalities, every two years. Its website puts it plainly: all artists are welcome, at home, in their studio or in a public venue. Next edition in November 2027, with registration from May to the end of June 2027.
• Plenty of other municipalities run their own. The easiest way to find out: ask your local council’s culture department, or your nearest cultural centre, whether there is one and when registration opens.

Registration often closes months before the event. If a trail interests you, put it in your diary a year ahead, not three weeks.

03Places that aren’t galleries

A bare wall is a wall waiting to be used. Lots of places are happy to hang artwork, because it brings them some life and costs them nothing.

• Local cafés, restaurants and bakeries: people who come back every week and have time to look. Pick a place whose atmosphere matches your work.
• Libraries and cultural centres: many have an exhibition space with a programme. You usually have to write in, show a few photos and wait your turn.
• Town halls and village halls: some municipalities lend a space to local artists. The culture department will know.
• Practices, offices, waiting rooms: less footfall, but people who sit in front of your painting for a while. That counts.

To ask, go in person with two or three works or some good photos, and a simple proposal: how many works, for how long, who does the hanging. A café owner says yes far more easily to a clear plan than to a vague idea.

04At home, and online

Your studio, or your living room, may well be the best exhibition space you have. An open afternoon, announced to friends and family, your neighbours and your followers, lets people see the work and the person who makes it. It’s a good setting for a first purchase to happen.

If you’re legally recognised as a craftsperson, the Journée de l’Artisan (Craft Day) lets you open your studio for free, anywhere in Belgium: it takes place on Sunday 15 November 2026, and painting is among the listed trades. Without that recognition, you can’t take part: check before you count on it.

Online, the exhibition never closes. Instagram shows your work to the people who already follow you; an online gallery of your own brings it all together in one place, with prices and sizes, for the person who saw you on a wall and wants to find out more. The two go hand in hand: the wall makes the introduction, the screen keeps it going.

05What to put in writing before you hang

An exhibition in a café is often agreed in passing. That works as long as everything goes well. The day a canvas gets damaged or sold, you’re better off having it all in writing, even on a single sheet signed by both of you.

• The list of works, with a photo of each one on the day you hang them: that’s your proof of their condition.
• The dates: when you hang, when you take down.
• Who insures the works during the exhibition, and against what. Ask the question clearly: very often, nobody has thought about it.
• What happens if someone wants to buy: does the venue take their details for you, take payment on your behalf, or take a percentage? Everything is up for discussion, nothing goes without saying.
• Who pays for what: the hanging, the cards, the glass of wine at the opening.

A venue that asks you to pay to hang your work is renting you a wall. That’s not forbidden, but it’s no longer a free exhibition: weigh that price against the footfall the venue really brings you.

06And where does arvel fit in?

arvel is designed as the natural next step after a wall: every artist has a gallery of their own, on show permanently, with their works, their prices and their news. The person who discovered you at the café can find you again, follow you and buy a work from you. arvel takes no commission from the artist, and the work is handed over in person.

arvel isn’t open yet. Today the site lets you save your spot on the waiting list, nothing more. We’d rather say so than leave you guessing.