Polyphony and Dissonance

Exploring Collective Art Practice as a Space for Democracy and Dissensus

A public programme bringing together students and invited guests to explore the relationship between collective practices, political engagement, and aesthetics, followed by Doctoral Presentation and Defense by Stijn Van Dorpe. At LUCA School of Arts, Ghent
11/05/2026, 12-19:30h

Across four trajectories, Stijn Van Dorpe’s doctoral research ‘Polyphony and Dissonance: Exploring Collective Art Practice as a Space for Democracy and Dissensus’ explores orchestrated forms of coming together. It includes pKp within Kunst & Zwalm (2021); Plot, an open-air opera at Tondelier (2022); Verzamelen Zocalo!, a script for a democratic occupation in the urbanised village of Muizen (2023–2024); and a series of interventions addressing cleaning labour and the positions of those who perform it at LUCA School of Arts in Ghent (2021–2025).

The research brings people together in diverse contexts and examines how art and social equality intersect within shared, often temporary spaces. Polyphony and dissonance function as driving forces within democratic practices. The socio-relational—attentive to positionality, including the artist’s own position—is not only the subject of inquiry, but also operates as a visual and formative principle through which aesthetic capacity and artistic value frameworks take shape.

12:00 – Public talk on collectivity, politics, and aesthetics, featuring students and invited guests

14:00 – Protest sign-making session against cuts to study grants and higher education, in preparation for the June 12 manifesto

16:00 – PhD presentation (in Dutch)

18:30 – Reception

LUCA School of Arts
Alexianenplein 1 & 2, 9000 Ghent