Forum on European Culture 2018: Act for Democracy!

After the first successful edition in 2016 with Jude Law, Rem Koolhaas, Ulrich Seidl, Chantal Mouffe, Benjamin Barber and many others cultural venue De Balie and DutchCulture are launching the second edition of the Forum on European Culture. From 31 May to 3 June 2018, leading international artists and thinkers will again convene at various locations throughout Amsterdam to exchange ideas on the future of Europe.

Future under pressure
We only need to consider Brexit, Poland, the increasing regionalism and the migration crises at Europe’s borders to see how the future is increasingly under pressure. Democracy – the cornerstone of the continent – appears more fragile than we thought possible. Europe is vulnerable and needs to be bolstered, defended and supported continuously by numerous democracies. How can artists and other proponents of democratic freedom contribute to a new narrative for Europe? Hence the title of this second edition of the Forum on European Culture: Act for Democracy!

Inspiring line-up
We are pleased to announce some of the inspiring guests of the 2018 Forum: Alessandro Baricco (writer, Italy), Natalia Koliada of the Belarus Free Theatre (theatre company in exile, Belarus), Flavia Kleiner (political activist, Switzerland), Wende Sneijders (singer, the Netherlands), Wolfgang Tillmans (visual artist, Germany), Madi Maxwell Libby (spoken word artist, UK), Rem Koolhaas (architect, the Netherlands), and Pulitzer Prize winner Sergey Ponomarev (journalist/photograpgher, Russia).

Rebranding Europe
Besides films, debates and lectures, the Forum has much more to offer. Architects Rem Koolhaas and Stephan Petermann and photographer Wolfgang Tillmans have developed a Eurolab where designers, advertisement makers and artists collaborate on rebranding Europe. Ivo van Hove is developing a new theatre play on the theme of identity for the series Sign of the Times, which will be performed during the Forum. A cultural exchange programme with museum experts from Europe and the Middle East, along with programmes featuring the Visual Research Centre in Kiev, the Iron Curtain Project and the organisation of the Spoken Beat Night will also be held between 31 May and 3 June. Check the website for the complete programme and line-up: www.cultureforum.eu.

More than 3600 visitors
The first edition of the Forum on European Culture took place in 2016. Under the title of Re:Creating Europe, more than 200 guests from 37 different countries participated in the programme. Forum 2016 drew more than 3600 visitors. That year also saw the first Europe Endless Express depart for a cultural journey of discovery, travelling from Amsterdam to Bratislava.

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The Forum on European Culture is an initiative by De Balie and DutchCulture.