Philosopher Armen Avanessian and architect Markus Miessen discuss the possibilities of ‘xeno-architecture’. Can spatial practice – by embracing alienation – open up a larger space for the unknown? By turning toward ‘what could be’, could an architecture be built that deals with today’s overwhelming complexity and global unrest?

Theatre director Philippe Quesne, visual artist Müge Yilmaz and art historian Maarten Doorman discuss possible meanings of the image of nature in art. Notions such as the romantic, the sublime and the search for authenticity will be questioned along the way.

Caspar Western Friedrich combines the narrative force of the Western with the dreamy longings of Romanticism. Drawing his inspiration from the lonesome cowboy and from the paintings and personality of Caspar David Friedrich, Philippe Quesne builds a studio of landscapes on stage.

The American quantum physicist David Bohm takes as his premise the self-regulating way in which a group of people functions. You never think alone, but are always linked to the thinking of others. Thus a discussion is the ideal place in which to research and maintain the patterns of this collective thinking – without a moderator.

The Indians of Canada’s Great Lakes let go of short-term thinking in order to move amongst the generations that came before them and that will come after them. Are we capable of doing the same thing, rather than taking a decision that solely takes account of its impact on the present?