In an old gymnasium in Mechelen, theatre director Thomas Bellinck is working on his new production Simple as ABC #2: Keep Calm and Validate. The performance is the second part in a series about the Western migration machine, a theme that has dominated Thomas’ personal interests for quite some time, and which he will examine through various media over the coming years.

Filmmaker Hito Steyerl and theatre director Rabih Mroué will engage in a conversation about their artistic cooperation. The common ground of their practices is the idea of storytelling as a way of exposing (political) fictions in society and bringing them back to the domain of art.

Visual artists Hedwig Houben, Grace Schwindt and Laure Prouvost talk about the relationships between sculpture, performance and theatricality. An interesting parallel in their work is the search for activating objects that appear to be fixed, by turning them into theatrical players. 

Dorothea von Hantelmann is an art historian and a curator, based in Berlin. Her main fields of research are contemporary art as well as the history and theory of exhibitions. She is the author of How to Do Things with Art (2010), one of the seminal works on performativity within contemporary art. Her current book project explores exhibitions as ritual spaces in which fundamental values and categories of modern, liberal and market-based societies historically have been, and continue to be, practiced and reflected. (in English)

From stories on a sheep farm to what categories reveal about the mind. From singing competitions in Ancient Greece to ecological issues today. With a year’s production of her own wool and two performers, Orla Barry addresses our complex relationship with nature.

How should we deal with the universal human urge to be part of a greater whole? In a stylized, atomic universe, the Ghent-based duo Robbert&Frank discover the laws of duality, beauty, and magnetism.

Democratic institutions in Western countries are undermined by an unprecedented legitimacy crisis. Over the decades, the professionalization of political careers, the socio-economic homogeneity among elected representatives, and the absence of rotation in office have made politics a world unto itself. With Carolin Emcke, Paul Ginsborg, Ralph Bollmann.

Democratic institutions in Western countries are undermined by an unprecedented legitimacy crisis. Over the decades, the professionalization of political careers, the socio-economic homogeneity among elected representatives, and the absence of rotation in office have made politics a world unto itself. With Luca De Biase, Constanze Kurz, Jacopo Barigazzi.

Mannen met cowboyhoeden, geruite hemden en cowboyboots aanschouwen een wolkenzee tussen bergtoppen. In Caspar Western Friedrich combineren Philippe Quesne en Münchner Kammerspiele de eindeloze landschappen van de romantische schilder Caspar David Friedrich met de woeste natuur van westerns. Dat resulteert in een ruimte die het midden houdt tussen museum, atelier en theaterdecor. Quesne: ‘Ik heb al vaak gedacht dat theaterscenografie een kwestie van schilderkunst is.'

Democratic institutions in Western countries are undermined by an unprecedented legitimacy crisis. Over the decades, the professionalization of political careers, the socio-economic homogeneity among elected representatives, and the absence of rotation in office have made politics a world unto itself. With Caroline Hornstein-Tomic and Massimiliano Tomba, moderated by Enrico Ippolito.

Leading Belgian philosopher Isabelle Stengers and literary magazine nY will immerse you in the world of science. And political thought. And witchcraft. Stengers has invited speakers from various disciplines to develop new perspectives on knowledge and knowledge production.