The site bozar.be has profoundly changed its logic in recent years. Where the old version replicated the internal organization chart of the Palais des Beaux-Arts, the current platform is organized around what the visitor is looking for: a concert, an exhibition, a film, a conference. This shift from an institutional architecture to an event-driven architecture changes the way the site is navigated and raises concrete questions about what works well and what still needs improvement.
By exploring the structure of the Bozar site, one quickly identifies this logic of categorization by discipline rather than by department. The main menu does not offer sections like “Who we are” or “Our missions” at the forefront. It directly guides users to a segmented program: concerts, exhibitions, cinema, literature, conferences, festivals.
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Event navigation on bozar.be: a structuring technical choice
The majority of cultural sites of this scale still operate on a hybrid model, mixing institutional pages and event pages. Bozar has made a more decisive choice: each event has its own page, integrated into a global calendar with filters by date, discipline, and location.
This system of individual event pages transforms the site into a kind of living catalog. A user arriving from a search engine lands directly on the page of a concert or an exhibition, without going through an intermediary page. This is a real time saver for the occasional visitor.
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However, this granularity poses a depth problem. Once the event page is consulted, the navigation paths to other content (blog articles, archives, educational content) are less obvious. The lateral navigation between disciplines remains limited: one can easily move from one concert to another, but transitioning from a concert to an exhibition related to the same theme often requires going back to the main menu.
Main menu of Bozar: what categorization by discipline changes for the visitor
The first-level menu of the site revolves around a “Program” block that groups subcategories by type of activity. It includes the expected categories (concerts, exhibitions, films, performances) but also less conventional entries like “Digital Arts” or “Bozar Books.”
This division has a direct advantage: it speaks the language of the visitor. Someone looking for a film showing at Bozar does not need to know which internal department manages the film programming. They click on “Films” and access a filtered list.
The secondary sections are found at a lower level. The blog, FAQ, practical information (“Prepare your visit”), and patronage space (“Support us”) occupy a secondary position. This choice of hierarchy reveals a clear priority:
- The program is the main entry point, everything else revolves around event programming
- Editorial content (articles, interviews, podcasts) is grouped under a “Blog” tab that serves as a complementary media, not an independent showcase
- Transactional functions (ticketing, cart, login) are accessible from a permanent upper banner, independent of the content menu
Filters and search on the Bozar site: what facilitates or complicates the journey
The global calendar of the site offers filters by date and discipline, which covers the most common needs. A visitor who knows they want to go out on a Saturday night can combine a time filter with a category to obtain a narrowed list.
The logic of filtering by location deserves attention. Bozar does not only program within its own walls: some events take place at partner venues or in outdoor spaces. The location filter distinguishes events “at Bozar” from events “off-site”, which avoids confusion for someone planning a physical trip to the Palais des Beaux-Arts.
Feedback on the ease of use of the text search varies. The internal search engine returns results mixing past and future event pages, blog articles, and artist profiles. For a visitor typing the name of a musician, distinguishing between an upcoming concert and a retrospective article is not always immediate.
Multilingualism and accessibility of the Bozar site: three languages, compromises
The site offers three language versions: French, Dutch, and English. The language selector is positioned at the top of the page, visible without scrolling. This trilingualism is consistent with Bozar’s positioning as a Belgian federal institution with international reach.
Technically, each language version seems to have its own URLs, which is favorable for natural referencing. A search engine can index the French version of a concert page independently of its Dutch version.
The switch from one language to another keeps the current page, without always redirecting to the homepage. This detail, often poorly managed on multilingual sites, facilitates browsing for bilingual visitors or tourists navigating between two languages.
- French and Dutch cover all editorial and event content
- English seems to cover the main programming, with sometimes partial coverage on blog articles
- The available data does not allow for a conclusion on whether all ancillary content (FAQ, terms and conditions) is translated into the three languages in the same way
The current structure of bozar.be reflects a clear bias: to organize everything around the event rather than the institution. This choice serves the occasional visitor looking for a specific show well. It serves less well those who explore the site without a fixed idea, seeking a cross-disciplinary discovery. High-attendance exhibitions illustrate the type of content that would benefit from a more visible editorial network, linking the event to related content beyond its simple page.