Reading Room #35: The Force of Listening

The eighth in a series of Reading Rooms around the library of the American thinker and organiser Fred Dewey, a collective reading and discussion proposed by Stijn Van Dorpe
14/10/2024, 18-20:30h

“People are more willing to talk … when they’re sharing something deeply meaningful with each other. That’s why poetry becomes the foundation of a new kind of dialogue.” (Fred Dewey)

Dewey had a fierce commitment to creating public spaces for intellectual and political engagement. His home base was Los Angeles, but the last years of his life he spent in Brussels. In 2022 Dewey died unexpectedly. To ensure the continuation of his legacy, the Fred Dewey Legacy Project was initiated, aiming to set up initiatives that extend Dewey’s work, as well as preserve his considerable library.

Summer 2023 artists Filip van Dingenen and Hélène Meyer re-installed part of Dewey’s extensive library. They are opening up his collection of books to artists and researchers from their studio home. One way to activate this library is Jubilee’s 2024 Reading Room program. This program performs a collective knowledge transfer – using the library as a situated research tool from which each Jubilee artist can select a title and propose it for a collective reading and discussion session.

We will be reading from The Force of Listening by Lucia Farinati and Claudia Firth, which Stijn Van Dorpe has selected from Fred Dewey’s library for the occasion.

Calendar of Fred Dewey Reading Rooms 2024

Each reading room takes place from 18-20:30h. Soup and bites are provided

Location Reading Room #35
To be announced