Please note: this talk has been cancelled to help contain the spread of the new coronavirus. 

Under the title Hyperpresent, five contemporary thinkers will give a talk on a new idea that they introduced themselves. Afterwards, they will engage in a conversation with philosopher Laurent De Sutter – who curated this series. Boris Groys is an art critic, media theorist and philosopher. He is professor at New York University. His work is dedicated to the exploration of the link between socialism, modernism, contemporary art and media and technology.

Warning: this show is cancelled to help contain the spread of the new coronavirus. 

We live in an age in which human activity has a profound impact on our physical and ecological surroundings. How can we create stories, aesthetics, and spaces of experience to deal with this situation reflexively and critically? What role can the performing arts play in the climate crisis debate? This is the fourth in a series of performative conferences curated by David Weber-Krebs and Jeroen Peeters.

Gender quota have been introduced in politics in many European countries. But are quota sufficient to create gender equality? The political agenda, communication and staff are not aligned with a broad swathe of women and their ideological and intersectional diversity. This leads to a lack of trust and legitimacy, and unstable relationships between groups of women and their political institutions and politicians. In times of crisis, the informal social relationships of white men continue to have the upper hand.

This talk draws on interviews conducted with staff and students who have made complaints within universities that relate to unfair, unjust or unequal working conditions and to abuses of power such as sexual and racial harassment. It approaches complaint as a form of diversity work: the ordinary and often painstaking labour of trying to transform institutions so they are more accommodating. Sara Ahmed explores the significance of how complaints happen “behind closed doors,” and shows how doors are often closed even when they appear to be opened.