Our history
1865 : Construction of he covered market of St Marie
1893 : Fire in the market
1901 : Opening of the new covered market
1920 : The covered market is closed and turn into a council depot, then a car park
1973 : Jo Dekmine gathers around him a few people (Philippe Grombeer, Daniel Colardijn, Hubert Dombrecht, Alain La Sante) and together, they start planning the transformation of the old market into an independent cultural space. The collective is officially active from 1974.
1975 : The ‘Commission française de la culture de l’Agglomération bruxelloise’ (today known as COCOF) buys the building.
1983 : Les Halles’s reputation goes beyond Belgium when it becomes the founding members of the European network Trans Europe Halles.
1972-1984 : Working with 9 different cultural ministers, Les Halles slowly build up official recognition and make the project more sustainable.
Early 1980s : The building is given to the Fédération Wallonie Bruxelles.
1984 : Over a year and a half, Les Halles goes under its first major refurbishment: work on the glass roof, getting a proper floor, rust removal, toilets, etc.
1991 : Les Halles becomes Centre Culturel européen de la Communauté Française.
1994 : Les Halles is granted a budget for its second refurbishment
1996 : Late November, opening of the Grande Halle
1998 : Signature of the first 5 years agreement with la Communauté Française. Les Halles’s project is now more secure. The petite Halle is renovated.
2002 : Philippe Grombeer, animator-director for the past 28 years leaves Les Halles and becomes director of Théâtre des Doms.
2003 : Signature of the second 5 years agreement.
2004 : Les Halles, then managed by Annick de Ville, celebrates its 30th anniversary.
2005-2012 : Les Halles is managed by Fabienne Verstraeten. Her programme focuses on the Arabic countries and develops two large scale projects: Masarat Palestine and DABA Morocco. She also programmes what Les Halles is famous for: circus, contemporary dance and performance. Les Halles is also involved in a growing number of European networks.
2012-2022 Christope Galent becomes director of Les Halles. Les Halles takes a new direction and there is now a growing number of circus and dance performances. Les Halles works closely with associated artists. Les Halles starts co-productions and executive productions while experimenting with new ways of engaging with the audience.
As we celebrate our 50th anniversary in 2024, Les Halles is embarking on a new era, thanks to the appointment of Matthieu Goeury as General Manager and Artistic Director in January 2023. He joins the Les Halles team, whose management board is made up of Laetitia van de Walle (Head of Administration and Finance), Cathy Simon (Head of Audience) and Fernand van Bever (Technical Manager).