On Witnessing and Wondering
Programme for artist-researchers of the Academy
Curated by Inge Henneman and the Archivolt research group
Monday 9 February – Tuesday 10 February 2026
Researchers of the Academy, past and current, are warmly invited to join us for a two-day programme with a dedicated group of people in an engaged and active setting.
We want to continue the experiment we started in October with ‘Activating the Archive: On Loss and Love’ – an exercise in being, exploring, and thinking together, creating a shared space for encounters between artists across the Academy’s research groups.
PROGRAMME
DAY 1: Monday 9 February 2026
Research Room, 13:00 – 16:30
Witnessing from the arts
With sociologist Pascal Gielen, editor of the new publication In the Absence of Bombs
& artist Diana Halabi.
- Shared Reading and Anthology
Laurence Petrone: Can a work of art have a testimonial character regarding political events?
Toneelhuis, De Foyer, 17:15 (optional)
Launch of the book ‘In the Absence of Bombs’, with performances, artistic interventions, and a debate. More info and registration here.
DAY 2: Tuesday 10 February 2026
Research Room, 10:00 – 16:30 (including lunch)
On Witnessing and Wondering
With psychiatrist Winny Ang
- Sharing research: peer to peer sessions
Dusica Drazic: lecture-performance ‘Forest School: On Hunting and Capturing’
Karl Jonaas Alamaa: ‘A scent portrait’
Vedran Kopljar: ‘Notional Instrumentalisation (& parents)’
- Shared Dialogues
While we often associate “witnessing” with conflict and traumatic events, we pair it with “wondering” to open up a space for curiosity, imagination and hope. Together they ask: How can art not only bear witness to what is, but also wonder about what could be?
(image: ‘Activating the Archive: On Loss and Love’, October 2025, photo by Wannes Cré)