09.12.26, 18:00, Veronique Aicha, Time: de gevangenis en circulair (on)recht

During a nail-biting World Cup qualifier, a group of young women gather outside the stadium in Tehran. Inside, 100,000 men cheer along to the intense emotions that the ‘king of football’ evokes in them. As the women are not allowed into the stands, the friends find creative ways to experience the match up close nonetheless.

In Offside, Iranian New Wave filmmaker Jafar Panahi weaves humour, gender roles and social engagement into a vibrant portrait of an Iranian society in flux. The blurred line between fact and fiction remains ever-present in his exploration of filmmaking.

The evening starts with an online lecture by Lichen Hamraie, followed by a conversation together with Leni Van Goidsenhoven. Afterwards there will be interventions by Staci Bu Shea and Carly Everaert, ending with an aftertalk.

Accessibility is often understood as a way to correct built environments not designed with disability in mind. In this talk, Dr. Lichen Hamraie, Canada Research Chair in Technology, Society, and Disability, will will instead explore the broader meanings and practices of access in the twentieth and twenty-first century architecture, design, and disability arts. The talk will focus on four themes: assimilation and anti-assimilation, productivity and anti-productivity, normalization and critique, and the new vocabularies of critical access.

Considering how we can be transformed through giving and receiving care, curator, writer and careworker Staci Bu Shea will reflect on vulnerability and its implications for connection and dignity across interpersonal and institutional domains.

Award-winning costume designer and dramaturgical scenographer Carly Everaert’s presentation will trace how creating spaces for other(ed) bodies — and radically rethinking what a learning space can be — opened the way for their long-term collaboration with Mira Thompson: “Interdependence: On Disability Justice and the (Performing) Arts”. Together, they developed a practice in which co-creation is lived interdependence, crip time is a generative force, and artistic freedom can flourish. This led Carly to altarscenography: theorising how care, attention and solidarity create sacred spaces, where aesthetics and ethics meet as the spiritual foundation for solidarity itself.

About the speakers

• Lichen Hamraie is the Canada Research Chair in Technology, Society, and Disability, and Associate Professor of Social Science at York University. Hamraie’s research on disability and design has helped form the fields of critical access studies and crip technoscience. They are the director of the Critical Design Lab. Hamraie is author of ‘Building Access: Universal Design and the Politics of Disability’ (2017) and host of the Contra* podcast on disability and design. They are a 2022 United States Artists Fellow and Member of the U.S. Access Board.

• Staci Bu Shea is a curator, writer, educator and careworker based in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Broadly, Bu Shea convenes with others over aesthetic, critical, and poetic practices of social reproduction and care work, as well as its manifestations in interpersonal relationships, daily life, community organizing, and institutional practices. Bu Shea is the author of Dying Livingly (Solution series, Sternberg Press, 2025). Bu Shea was curator at Casco Art Institute of Working for the Commons (Utrecht, 2017–2022) and co-curator of Barbara Hammer: Evidentiary Bodies at Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art (New York, 2017). Bu Shea holds an MA from the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College (Annandale-on-Hudson, 2016).

• – Carly Everaert is an award-winning costume designer and dramaturgical scenographer. As a lecturer and researcher at the Academy of Theater and Dance in Amsterdam, Carly explores costume, bodies, and sustainability from an intersectional perspective. Their practice is becoming increasingly rooted in the principles of Disability Justice, making diverse abilities, knowledge, and ways of moving more visible. Carly collaborates with artists, curators, educators, and scholars who prioritize embodied knowledge. Carly’s methodology combines critical reflection with material experiments—where making is viewed as a form of thinking. Carly is chair of the jury for the Dutch Theater Festival’s Design Award. Their essay ‘Altarscenography, disability justice and staging coincidence, a secular-spiritual practice of solidarity, on solidarity, coincidence, and shared vulnerability as scenographic practice’ will be published in August 2026.

• Leni Van Goidsenhoven is Assistant Professor of Critical Disability Studies at the Department of Literary and Cultural Analysis at the University of Amsterdam (The Netherlands). Her research focuses on disability, illness, neurodiversity, and non-normative bodyminds in the arts and literature. She is the author of Autisme in veelvoud (Garant, 2020) and OnGehoord (EPO, 2021). Her recent work includes the special issue Cripping Choreography and the forthcoming volume Disability Heritage: Participatory and Transformative Engagement (co-edited with Manon Parry, Routledge). Alongside her academic work, she regularly curates projects for theatres and museums.

This programme is a collaboration between Curatorial Studies, KASKlectures and Studium Generale Gent. The event will be in English and will take place in the Zwarte Zaal of KASK & Conservatorium. The Zwarte Zaal is located on the ground floor and is accessible to wheelchair users, there’s also an accessible toilet in the hallway of KASKcafé. In case you use a wheelchair, go via the entrance of KASKcinema instead of the Louis Pasteurlaan entrance. There are works in the street of KASKcinema, but it’s possible to pass by the entrance at Godshuizenlaan 4. A translation into Flemish sign language will be provided. If you have any further questions about accessibility facilities, please contact the organisation: helena.verheye@hogent.be

Meet your new favourite film about… porridge! The Porridge Making World Cup may sound just as dull as the porridge this championship is all about, but nothing could be further from the truth. Every year, the competition draws a host of eccentric contestants from all over the world to the picturesque village of Carrbridge in the Scottish Highlands.

Director Constantine Costi brings the village to life in a Wes Anderson-esque style, using symmetrical frames and picturesque compositions. With a mix of humour, heartfelt stories and endearingly eccentric character portraits, the film proves how you can make the most of a simple concept using nothing but porridge, salt and water.

This screening comes with a free bowl of homemade porridge.

Animation is a strange beast, often quite literally. Things that really shouldn’t move do move. The impossible becomes possible, the fantastical becomes real. With this collection of short creature features, we’re writing a colourful love letter to everything that crawls, wriggles and squirm. Expect Marcel the Shell, the hip-swinging sea snail from Babobilicons (1982), a driving kettle and a coffee pot with lobster claws. As well as a Moomin episode featuring a new soundtrack created by synthesiser sensation Vessel.

This programme has been carefully curated by experimental artist Anouk De Clercq, in the wake of her solo exhibition Love That Moves The Sun. The exhibition runs from 7 October to 13 December 2026 at STUK, Naamsestraat 96 in Leuven.

The very best short films from the Filem’On Festival!

KIDScinema presents cinema for the youngest moviegoers! Parents and children from 4 years old are welcome to this screening in which we show a series of short, wacky films.

To mark a research seminar on the visual representation of Georges Rodenbach’s Symbolist novel Bruges-La-Morte (1892), Film-Plateau presents the visually stunning 1978 adaptation by the American multi-artist Ronald Chase. Chase’s film is paired with Apolline (1959), a short film by Lucien Deroissy.

This little-known gem of Belgian auteur cinema is based on a novella by Franz Hellens, which offers an interesting variation on the plot structure of Rodenbach’s novel. Filmed on location in Ghent, it tells the story of a painter who becomes fascinated by a melancholic woman gazing at the tranquil canals of the historic city centre. A remarkable double bill for aspiring art historians.

This screening will be introduced by art history lecturer Steven Jacobs.

Set against the backdrop of Guinea-Bissau’s twenty-year war of independence, Mortu Negafollows thirty-year-old Diminga, whose husband is fighting on the front line against the Portuguese colonists. The war is drawing to a close, but it soon becomes clear that, in many respects, the struggle has only just begun, and that the new burdens rest on the shoulders of the women. Mortu Nega (those who refuse death) bear the responsibility of reshaping the devastated country.

This political parable is the first feature film in independent Guinea-Bissau and also the first fictional film to depict the experiences of the war. Director Flora Gomes, in a subdued tone, weaves history with mythology in small stories that demonstrate how film served as an important weapon in the decolonial struggle.

Lesbian nuns in 1980s New York embark on a quest through historical texts to uncover the history of the dildo. Their journey runs parallel to the melodramatic conventions of film history. These two films each weave together different narratives and timelines in a quest for desire, pleasure and their expression outside the norm. How can a subversive cinematic experiment offer an answer to a Catholic upbringing? How can a ceramic dildo distance itself from phallic expectations? And what if we shape our own sexual pleasure, literally, with handmade silicone dildos?

The words of Puk Bennie complement the cinematic narratives of Su Friedrich and Paula Tomás Marques in this exploration of what pleasure and desire can mean.

Sleazeballs from all over the world can treat themselves this Halloween to a night that pumps hallucinogenic horror hits straight into your veins. Bad Trip snorts, licks and smokes its way to hell and back with a trilogy of drug-induced nightmares. First, we’ll chill out in the free-spirited 1970s with A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin; a giallo by Italian genre master Lucio Fulci. No peace, love and understanding here, but murderous intent, psychoanalysis and the twists and turns of the subconscious. Carol is annoyed by the hedonistic escapades of her free-spirited hippie neighbour Julia. When she dreams of murdering Julia, she realises the next morning that Julia has actually been stabbed.

After this taster, the party can begin with MadS, a strobe-lit, single-take descent into madness. On his way to a rave, Romaine is offered a mysterious substance by his dealer. What initially feels like psychedelic side effects gradually transforms into a more sinister battle with reality. Finally, we’ll wind down with Brain Damage. In this trashy horror-comedy, a young man enters into a symbiotic relationship with an alien parasite. It promises him sensory ecstasy in exchange for the brains of his neighbours. So find your trip sitter and join us for this night of sensory-overloading torments.

The digital society seems like an unstoppable express train. But who laid the tracks, who sets the speed, and where is the journey headed? In this lecture, Paola Verhaert deconstructs the dominant metaphors of our digital society. Metaphors, such as that of the digital express train, which wrongly suggest that technology is a neutral tool, rather than a currency of power.

Drawing on the work of thinkers such as Nancy Fraser and Paulo Freire, Paola makes a case for digital justice. For a digital society in which technology serves people, rather than the other way round, and in which citizens themselves can decide which technologies they wish to embrace, build or reject.

The evening begins with a lecture by Paola Verhaert, followed by an artistic intervention by Maria Magdalena de Cort. Finally, there will be a post-event discussion with panellist Judith Zoë Blijden, moderated by Annelies Bontjes.

• Paola Verhaert is a researcher and writer with ten years’ experience working at the intersection of technology and social justice. In her work, she studies the political and social impact of digital technologies, with a particular focus on the impact on citizens, marginalised groups and the government. As a writer, she explores themes related to technology, politics and culture. Her work has been published in outlets including Hard//hoofd, de Reactor, Knack, Samenleving & Politiek and MO*, and in 2025 her first book, entitled ‘Technology is politics: The struggle for digital justice’, was published. In 2024, Paola was appointed ‘Scherpsteller’ by the Flemish-Dutch house of literature and debate, deBuren, and the Hannah Arendt Institute, with the remit to focus on social developments over a two-year period.

• Judith Zoë Blijden is a Dutch lawyer and philosopher. She works at the intersection of research, policy and art. She is the founder of Is This Art Maybe and the creator of The Digital Period, a philosophical project that explores the relationship between humans and technology. She also works as a senior legal adviser at Hooghiemstra & Partners, a consultancy specialising in law and technology.

• Maria Magdalena de Cort works as an actress, writer and theatre maker. In 2023, she completed her Master’s in Drama at KASK & Conservatorium. She is a founding member of the feminist thinking-and-creating Magdalena Collective. In 2024, together with Jonas Baeke and Mats Van Droogenbroeck, she created INFINITYFOREVER (Kopergietery). She writes short stories and poetry as part of the techno-poetry project Moenen & Mariken (i.c.w. Robbe Embrechts), with which she has performed as a vocalist at events including Crossing Border, Suikerrock and the Bronzen Uil awards ceremony. Since 2023, she has been a member of the Ostend-based writers’ collective De Letteristen. She has a passion for electronic music, feminist literature and unreliable narrators. In 2025, she took part in the writers’ residency at deBuren.

• Annelies Bontjes is the Belgium correspondent for the Dutch newspaper *Trouw* and a freelance presenter. She also writes for *De Standaard* and can be heard weekly on ‘De Ontdekking van België’ on VRT Radio 1. Her interests lie in social and political issues, with a particular focus on the relationship between Belgium and the Netherlands.

This lecture is a collaboration between deBuren and Studium Generale Gent and will take place in the MIRY Concert Hall. The venue is wheelchair accessible via a lift to the first floor. A Flemish sign language interpreter will be provided for this lecture. Anyone with further questions about accessibility facilities can contact the organisers: helena.verheye@hogent.be. On the day, questions can be addressed to the student assistant at the reception desk.

A poignant reflection on space, care and justice, and on what is at stake when place disappears.

Hectare by hectare, the last remaining open spaces are disappearing. Belgium and the Netherlands are leading the way in building over their landscapes, but the trend is the same worldwide. How is it possible that this visible and far-reaching change continues, despite our knowledge of the consequences?

Drawing on a concrete struggle to preserve a historic marshland area in the city of Ghent, Nele Buyst explores what a place actually is, and who determines what happens to it. She shows how ecological, social and cultural interests are intertwined, and how dominant ways of thinking shape our view of space.

Inspired by anti-colonial, feminist and ecological thinkers, this essay explores not only the limits of our thinking, but also the power of resistance and imagination.

Nele will read an excerpt, Zindzi Tillot will recite a poem and Marieke De Munck will provide illustrations. This will be followed by a discussion and a Q&A with the audience. Afterwards, you can buy the book at the bookstall and we’ll round off the evening with drinks and music.

‘Plaats maken’ by Nele Buyst is a publication in the Karakters series, pocket-sized essays on philosophy and cultural criticism. The Karakters series is a collaboration between Studium Generale, Academia Press, deBuren and rekto:verso.

• Nele Buyst publishes poems and essays. Her second collection, ‘CORPS, poreus’ (2024) was nominated for the Grote Poëzieprijs. She is working on a PhD thesis on the potential of aesthetic practices for ecological restoration and is affiliated with the Centre for Ethics at the University of Antwerp. She is an editor at rekto:verso.

• Zindzi Tillot lives in Brussels and studies spoken word. She is a member of the feminist writers’ collective Hyster-X and an editor at the literary platform Kluger Hans. In recent years, she has worked primarily as a poet. These days, she also engages in prose, video art and performance. As well as art and literature, she has a keen interest in social equality, video games, fashion, film, philosophy and internet culture. Her work could be described as melancholic fever dreams with sharp edges. In 2023, she took part in the writing residency in Paris.

• Marieke De Munck is an artist, curator and creative producer specialising in transdisciplinary and participatory art practices. She currently works as a curator at Kunstcentrum VIERNULVIER (Ghent, Belgium). Her expertise lies in curating site-specific and socially engaged practices, urban community labs, ecologically driven practices, artistic guidance and mapping/visual harvesting. Before joining VIERNULVIER, she was artistic coordinator of WILDEMANNEN WOESTEWIJVEN, a biennial multidisciplinary city festival in Ghent. Marieke holds a Master’s degree in Fine Art from LUCA School of Arts and a Master’s degree in Theatre Studies from Ghent University.

The Balzaal is accessible to wheelchair users. The lift at reception will take you to the correct floor. A sign language interpreter will be provided for this talk. If you have any further questions about accessibility facilities, please contact the organisers: helena.verheye@hogent.be. More information about the venue’s accessibility.