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.

With an annually recurring city cycle, Moussem’s Nomadic Arts Centre offers an insight into contemporary Arab societies and the dynamic of their cities. Every year, an Arab city is a guest in the capital of Europe. Over the course of this ten-day festival, guest artists, relevant thinkers and cultural players tell the story of their city through their work.

Dirk Holemans will present his latest book Vrijheid & Zekerheid (freedom and certainty) and will discuss 'the return of the Utopia' with Tine De Moor (Prof. at Utrecht University and expert in the field of commons).

Alicja Gescinska argues for a reassessment of hesitation in these polarised times, for less forcefulness and for more Socratic doubt in public and political debate.

The American moral philosopher Susan Neiman has written books such as Why Grow Up? Subversive Thoughts for an Infantile Age and Moral Clarity: A Guide for Grown-Up Idealists. In them, she always seeks to chart a middle course between blind utopianism and cynical realism. She also describes this as ‘idealism for adults’: an idealism that determines who we are, does not shy away from the world as it is, but does permit itself to look beyond it in search of fresh possibilities.