SEPTEMBER 16TH
15:00 - 18:00
GRAVENSTEEN LEIDEN
SYMPOSIUM ON EXPLORING THE ART-SCIENCE DIALOGUE
Welcome to the symposium "Beyond the Canvas: Exploring Art-Science Collaborations".
The fourth edition of Beyond the Canvas will be held on September 16th 2026 at Gravensteen in Leiden.
This event is specially designed for artists and scientists who are eager to delve into the dynamic intersection of art and science. In recent years, the fusion of art and science has given rise to awe-inspiring creations, blurring the boundaries between disciplines and sparking new avenues for creative exploration.
Beyond the Canvas 2026
Building the Future of Art-Science Collaborations: From Initiatives to Infrastructure
PANEL: Lucas Evers (De Waag), Erik Viskil (Academy of Creative and Performing Arts), Robert Pravda (The Royal Conservatoire), Liesbet van Zoonen (Centre for BOLD Cities)
Over the past years, the field of art-science collaborations has grown from a collection of inspiring experiments into an increasingly visible field. Across the Netherlands, universities, art schools, cultural organisations, research institutes and public funders are exploring and investing in new forms of collaboration between artists, scientists, designers and society.
At last year's edition of Beyond the Canvas, we looked outward, exploring international models and examples that are shaping the global art-science landscape. Those conversations offered valuable inspiration and demonstrated the many ways in which different countries are embedding art-science into research, culture, society and even policy.
This year, we bring various initiatives from the Netherlands together. In numbers one can say there is an abundance of initiatives. Simultaneously these may work very much separated from one another, having little means to collaborate with others and share research results, yet delivering meaningful outcomes that are relevant as such, but also in the various research contexts it operates and towards society at large. To strengthen this landscape, we bring these initiatives together in dialogue in order to create momentum addressing an important question: how do we move from stand-alone initiatives to a sustainable ecosystem?
The ‘26 edition of Beyond the Canvas will take the form of a strategic public conversation between these initiatives from the art, science and cultural sectors.
Rather than presenting finished answers, the session aims to create a shared agenda for the years ahead. Together, we will discuss questions such as:
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how do we move from stand-alone initiatives to a sustainable ecosystem?
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how do we bring sciences and arts as complementary research together as to consolidate a field that brings added research value beyond these research fields themselves?
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how can we imagine new funding structures to enable this?
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What new academies do we need for this?
The audience is welcomed to join the conversation.
Beyond the Canvas aims to provide an open platform where institutions, practitioners, policymakers and funders can exchange perspectives, identify shared ambitions and explore opportunities for collaboration. By bringing together organisations that are actively shaping the future of art-science, we hope to contribute to a more connected, resilient and internationally visible ecosystem.
Beyond the Canvas is made possible by Days of Art&Science in collaboration with the KxWxS initiative (AvK, DJA, Kunsten’92, Art=Research and Waag Futurelab)
PREVIOUS SPEAKERS
AGI HAINES
Artist & Researcher
PETER VAN DER PUTTEN
Prof. Creative Intelligence and Technology
FREDERIK DE WILDE
Artist
KITTY ZIJLMANS
Professor Emeritus Contemporary Art History and Theory/World Art Studies
Leiden University
JACCO VAN UDEN
Lector Change Management
Haagse Hogeschool
MATTEO MARANGONI
Artist
KSENIA FEDEROVA
Prof. Media Art
KATARINA PETROVIĆ
Artist
JOOST REKVELD
Artist
ROB ZWIJNENBERG
Prof. Art and Science Interactions
KARL KARLAS
Artist
WENDE WALLERT
Curator VU Art Science Gallery
NICOLE ROEPERS
Curator Museum De Lakenhal
RIEKE VOS
Curator Teylers Museum
LIJA GROENEWOUD VAN VLIET
Creative director of In4Art
BART GROB
Curator Boerhaave Museum
ALEXANDER MOURET
Days of Art&Science
TERE BADIA
Director of HacTe
Barcelona Hub for Art, Science and Technology
CATERINA BENINCASA
(online)
Joint Research Centre, European Commission – SciArt project
FRANS SNIK
Astronomer
Leiden University
VERONIKA LIEBL
Director of European Cooperation at Ars Electronica
LUCAS EVERS
Head of Programme at Waag Technology & Society
IMPRESSION
PARTNERS
