Forum on European Culture: Art Against the Tyrants

Who’s afraid of art? Now that tyrants are on the roll and more and more people in the West seem to be falling for the autocratic alternative, De Balie brings together over 40 international artists, writers, and thinkers. During Forum on European Culture, we celebrate the subversive power of art and literature. 

It is no coincidence that – alongside opposition leaders and journalists – artists are among the first to be arrested when a society turns autocratic. The very existence of an autonomous realm of thought is, in itself, a threat to the tyrant.

So, we aim to create just that: a free realm of ideas and experimentation. With international guests like Anne Applebaum, Nino Haratischwili, Andrey Kurkov, Georgi Gospodinov, Mounira al Solh and Ece Temelkuran, among many others, we oppose the rise of authoritarianism and build coalitions for a free, pluralistic, and democratic world.

The strongest weapon of the tyrant is apathy. The belief that nothing can ever change; that the strongmen will get their way anyway. During Forum 2025, we curate works of opposition that challenge this culture of resignation. We showcase the work of artists who have endured times of war and depict their experiences in profound, sometimes playful works of art. We invite writers who tell the histories autocrats want to erase and imagine the futures autocrats fear.

It is not a given that the tyrant gets his way. Democracy can be maintained. If we care enough about it.