Art Against the Tyrants: Interview Marathon

What does the future of Europe look like in an era of rising authoritarianism, renewed oligarchy, and democratic values under siege? During our Interview Marathon, the Forum on European Culture invites writers, artists and thinkers to reflect on the role of art in the fight against tyranny.

It may seem that art is powerless against weapons, yet history tells us otherwise. Autocrats and dictators fear artists and intellectuals — why else would they feel compelled to censor, imprison, and persecute them? It is the freedom of thought they seek to extinguish, the critical reflection they dread, and the plurality of voices they aim to silence. Art disrupts the singular narratives authoritarian leaders impose, making it a force of defiance.

During this Interview Marathon, the Forum on European Culture gathers writers, artists, thinkers, and activists for conversations on resistance, identity, and the power of culture in confronting oppression. Can Europe uphold its democratic ideals in times of crisis? What role do artists and intellectuals play in the fight against tyranny?

During the interview marathon, guests take turns joining one after another for about an hour each. Visitors can walk in and out of the room and occasionally stretch their legs. The full marathon lasts from 5:00 PM to around 1:00 AM.

Your ticket is valid for the entire day, so you’re warmly welcome to attend other programs as well. You can check the full timetable here. Please note: visitors with a ticket for a specific program will be given priority. Once a venue reaches full capacity, we unfortunately won’t be able to admit additional visitors.

About the guests

Matej Drlička (1976) is a Slovakian musician and the former director of the Slovak National Theatre. On the 6th of August 2024 Matej Drlička was suddenly and for political reasons dismissed by the Slovakian minister of culture.

Nino Haratischwili (1983) is a Georgian-German author, playwright, and director. She gained international recognition for her multi-generational saga The Eighth Life (for Brilka)

Daria Bukvić (1989) is a Bosnian-Dutch theatre and film director. Since June 2021, she has been the artistic director of Theater Oostpool.

Beatrix Ruf (1960) is a German art curator. She is the former director of het Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. She is currently director the Hartwig Art Foundation, which is developing a new museum for modern art in Amsterdam.

Łukasz Twarkowski (1983) is a polish theatre director. He creates multimedia performances combining theatre and visual arts. His projects are being programmed at the most important festivals and stages around the world. His performance ROHTKO was shown in Amsterdam at Holland Festival this week.

Dries Verhoeven (1976) is a Dutch theatre maker and visual artist. He is known for his disruptive and controversial installations, performances and interventions in public space. At this forum on European Culture he will stage the intervention Do not go gentle into that good night.

Andrey Kurkov (1961) is a Ukrainian writer, journalist and public intellectual. His novels, including Death and the Penguin, Grey Bees, and The Silver Bone. His books are full of black humor, post-Soviet reality and surrealism.

Želimir Žilnik (1942) is a Serbian filmmaker and key figure of the Yugoslav Black Wave-movement. His award-winning work, including Early Works (Golden Bear Berlinale, 1969) and Kenedi Goes Back Home (2003), continues to influence new generations of filmmakers.

Ece Temelkuran (1973) is a Turkish journalist and writer. In 2012, she was fired from the Turkish newspaper she was working for at the time, for writing critically about the Erdogan government. In 2019, she published How to Lose a Country: The Seven Steps from Democracy to Dictatorship.

Naeeda Aurangzeb (1974) is a Dutch-Pakistani presenter, documentary maker, and writer. In 2005 she wrote the book Verdreven Palestijnen, a collection of stories from Palestinian refugees in camps in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel.

Christian Guerematchi (1981) is a Slovenia born creator and performer with a background in ballet and contemporary dance. His work is strongly artivistic, exploring how fragments of history continue to shape and carry Black culture forward. At this forum on European Culture he will present the dance performance Loved2Death.

Bektour Iskender is a journalist, free speech activist and co-founder of Kyrgyz news platform Kloop. A large media platform that trains young journalists and uncovers what others wouldn’t touch: stolen billions, rigged elections, environmental devastation and much more. His work reached far beyond Kyrgyzstan, revealing corruption networks stretching from the Caucasus to Western capitals.

Tash Aw (1971) is a Malaysian writer and essayist, based in Paris. He gained international recognition with his books The Harmony Silk Factory (2005) and Five Star Billionaire (2013) which were longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. His works often examine themes such as colonialism, immigration, class dynamics and cultural displacement.

Renzo Martens (1973) is a Dutch artist, documentary- and filmmaker. He is well-known for his documentaries Episode I and Episode III: Enjoy Poverty, where he
delves deep into colonial relations and the mechanics of the art world. His main themes include decolonialization, poverty, crimes against humanity, and the role of art in reshaping society.

Luka Gviniashvili (2000) is a Georgian activist currently taking part in the anti-government demonstrations in Tbilisi following the pivotal parliamentary elections on October 26, 2024.

Caroline de Gruyter (1963) is a journalist and political analyst. She is a European Affairs correspondent and columnist for the leading Dutch newspaper NRC and a regular contributor to Foreign Policy, EUobserver and De Standaard. She spent more than twenty years covering Europe, from different corners of the continent.

Gosia Wdowik (1988) is a theatre maker and an member of GILDIA (Union of Polish Theater Makers). Her work explores topics like burn-out, shame, radical individualism and digital violence. At this forum on European Culture she will present the gripping project I Will Bleed For a Better Reason Next Year.

Volodymyr Yermolenko (1980) is a Ukrainian philosopher, writer, and journalist. He is the editor-in-chief of UkraineWorld, a multimedia platform, and author of several books on Ukrainian identity and European philosophy.

Jaap Scholten (1963) is a Dutch writer, currently living in Hungary. He is the author of several novels, including Tachtig, De wet van Spengler, and Kameraad Baron. He is initiator of the volunteer-based humanitarian foundation Protect Ukraine.

Anton Varga (1989) is a Ukrainian artist who’s part of the Ukrainian artists’ collective Open Group founded in August 2012. They are known for their exploration of displacement, memory, and the social consequences of war. During Forum their work Repeat After Me II will be shown in De Balie.

About Forum on European Culture

Who’s afraid of art? Now that tyrants are on the roll and more and more people in the West seem to be falling for the autocratic alternative, Forum on European Culture 2025 (June 25 – June 29) brings together international artists, writers, and thinkers to celebrate the subversive power of art and literature.