From January to June, Talks & Debates will explore the notion of beauty in all its forms. Ocean Vuong will share his reflections on how beauty and ugliness intersect, clash and respond to one another, both in society and in his writing. Jakuta Alikavazović will examine the shifting boundary between the real and the imaginary, and the ways in which literature can help us navigate a changing world. Later in the season, Nathacha Appanah, Camille Froidevaux-Metterie and Christelle Taraud will join forces to explore the history of the female body. Throughout the programme, writers, philosophers, artists and activists will engage with current events or develop new perspectives through the lens of our exhibitions. Let yourself be drawn into the Writers’ Parliament: a bilingual dialogue that revisits the famous remark by American author Philip Roth: "Literature is not a moral beauty contest". Finally, don’t miss Guy Verhofstadt and Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer as they reflect together on the challenging times democracy appears to be facing.
