Reading the Region
Conference at Kunsthaus NRW

On behalf of Kunsthaus NRW and the trinational cross-border network Very Contemporary, we invite you to the conference “Reading the Region”. The Euregion Meuse-Rhine, the border region between Belgium, the Netherlands and the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, form one of Europe’s most vibrant regions of artistic production and presentation, a true triangle of art.

Very Contemporary, 2025 Reading the Region / Conference at Kunsthaus NRW

📅 Friday November 14, 2025, 12h-17h
📍 Kunsthaus NRW


The conference brings together artists, institutions and professionals to discuss the conditions of art production, regional and cross-border collaborations, and the challenges and opportunities of working in Europe today:
⟶ What challenges do artists and supporters face today?
⟶ Which projects are most relevant at the moment?
⟶ Which programmes have succeeded, and which have been discontinued?
⟶ What role does visual art play in the cultural context of your country?

Programme

12:00

Optional guided tour
Curator: Elke Kania
Exhibition: Trans Europa Express: Station Belgien


13:00 -> Welcome & Keynote

  • Dr. Marcel Schumacher – Director of the Kunsthaus NRW and Board Member of Very Contemporary
  • Marie-Claire Krell – Head of the Education and Events Programme at the Kunsthaus NRW, Project Manager for Very Contemporary 2013–2019
  • Julia Schaadt – Cultural Office at the Region Aachen Zweckverband: "The culture of the Euregio – the perspective of the Region Aachen"


    13:30 -> Lunch


    14:30 – 17:00 -> Three panels with discussion & Q&A

    1. Institutional Perspectives

  • BE: Dirk de Wit – Innovation and Development of the Visual Arts at the Flanders Art Institute
  • BE: Jerome Decock – Board Member of the Fédération des arts plastiques
  • DE: Dr. Marcel Schumacher – Director of the Kunsthaus NRW and its Lab K Programme
  • NL: Farah Wilbers – Regional Agent Southeast at the Mondriaanfonds

    2. Independent Initiatives

  • BE: Julie Hanique – Coordinator at Comptoir des Ressources Créatives
  • DE: Vera Schöpfer – Director of the NRW KULTURsekretariat
  • DE: Iris Hoppe – Board Member of the NRW State Association for Visual Arts
  • NL: Ronja Terwindt – Production & Creative Hub Euregio Agent at The Artist and the Others

    3. European Contexts

  • BE: Natalie Giorgadze – General Manager of Culture Action Europe
  • DE: Christine Heemsoth – Editor Touring Artists and Mobility Info Point of On The Move in Germany
  • NL: Philipp Dietachmair – Head of Programmes European Cultural Foundation
  • NL: Lene ter Haar – Cultural Attaché at the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Düsseldorf


    17:00 -> Optional guided tour
    Exhibition: Trans Europa Express: Station Belgien
    Curator: Elke Kania


    More information: kunsthaus.nrw


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