Curator, STUK Leuven
Q&A

Karen Verschooren is head of exhibitions at STUK, which presents Artefact, an annual exhibition and festival covering contemporary visual arts and societal change.

How does this sprawling institution come to life?
STUK is a house for dance, image and sound, and we also have multidisciplinary programming. During this exhibition the visual arts part took over the whole building and spilled out onto the courtyard.

It's something of a hidden gem but the work has global resonance. Why is STUK important to Leuven?
We bring in international artists to show their work and create new work here with artists from Leuven studios. This way we allow for a dialogue to exist and change to happen.

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Entrepreneur + curator, And&
Q&A

Like many in Leuven’s vibrant creative community, Pieter Goiris (pictured, right) wears multiple hats. This year he’s busy organising the city’s And& festival, which will welcome global talents as diverse as Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, architect Marianne Lefever and DJ Octo Octa. A biennial event, And& welcomes a global and curious- minded audience to Leuven. Also, Goiris and a group of seven friends have just launched a new wing of De Hoorn – a co-working, co-housing and hospitality destination on the site of the old Stella Artois brewery – where he joins monocle for a chat.

What are the objectives of And&?
To become a platform for change, where people with interdisciplinary talent come together, and for the end of each And& to be the start of new projects. Our tagline is "stop talking and start doing" – it's about thinking together to create change for the better, looking at how innovation can be used as a real answer to challenges and questions in society. 

How collaborative is Leuven?
If you see what we achieve in innovation or culture, we’re always trying to play in a higher league. Leuven's collaboration model gives more interesting results.

Events diary

Art

1. Artefact Festival
artefact-festival.be
February – March 2021 (annual)

2. Museum M Leuven
mleuven.be
All year

Beer 

3. Leuven Innovation  Beer Festival
leuveninnovation
beerfestival.com
31 May – 1 June 2020 (annual)

Festival-summit

4. And&
andleuven.com
21 - 24 April 2021

Film

5. Docville International Documentary Festival
docville.be
September 23 – October 1 2020 (annual)

6. International Short  Film Festival Leuven
kortfilmfestival.be
November – December (annual)

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Proud past

Built on brains, beer and red brick, Leuven is a place like no other. A university city since 1425, when its first colleges were established, its smarts include mastery of the art of brewing beer. It's the historic home of globally beloved brand Stella Artois, which is still headquartered there today. A mere 20 minutes by train from Brussels and its international airport, this postcard-pretty city's appeal is bolstered by the international talent drawn to its thriving innovation, education and technology sectors.

www.visitleuven.be