Arts Lecture - Opening of the Faculty of Arts Academic Year

For over 35 years, the Faculty of Arts has opened its academic year with the Arts Lecture. During this lecture - with an interactive Q&A session afterwards - a famous Dutch person shares their opinion about the importance of the arts and humanities for society. Previous speakers include Ellen Deckwitz, Iris de Graaf, Abdelkader Benali, Eelco Bosch van Rosenthal, Stine Jensen, Ramsey Nasr, Anna Enquist and Femke Halsema.

The Arts Lecture is intended for staff and students of the faculty and also serves as a faculty welcome for new first-year students. Other interested parties are also very welcome to attend. The lecture is given alternately in Dutch and in English every year; this year it will be given in English.

The Arts Lecture 2025 took place on Tuesday, 2 September, delivered by none other than Bastiaan Steffens. The title of his lecture was 'The Imagination of the Museum'.

Previous speakers include:

• 2025 - Bastiaan Steffens: 'The Imagination of the Museum'
• 2024 - Ellen Rutten: ‘Why new stories matter in times of war’
• 2023 - Ellen Deckwitz: 'ChatGPT: the poet is dead, long live the poet!'
• 2022 - Iris de Graaf: 'Unfreedom' - How to stay connected in repressive times and amplify voices in society
• 2021 - Abdelkader Benali: 'Jij' in de nieuwe letteren - Waarom het verhaal over jezelf altijd over een ander gaat’
• 2019 - Eelco Bosch: 'Truth in a time of truthiness. How journalism can overcome challenges like fake news, autocracy and polarization'
• 2018 - Stine Jensen: 'Salinger bellen - Over de kracht van de literaire verbeelding'
• 2017 - Katherine Watson: 'Leadership in spaces of intersection: are we ready?'
• 2016 - Ramsey Nasr: 'Here comes the poetry'
• 2015 - Farah Karimi: ‘Post 2015 – en route to a new future’
• 2014 - Wim Pijbes: ‘Het museum van Nederland’ [The museum of the Netherlands]
• 2013 - Sophie in ’t Veld: ‘Europese talenrijkdom’ [The wealth of languages in Europe]
• 2012 - Anna Enquist: ‘Het levensverhaal in psychotherapie en biografie’ [Life stories in psychotherapy and biography]
• 2011 - Femke Halsema: ‘Politici in film en tv-series’ [Politicians in films and TV series]
• 2010 - Ronald Giphart: ‘Humor als ondergeschoven stijlfiguur in de Nederlandse literatuur’ [Humour as a subordinate style figure in Dutch literature]