Forest Laureate: David van Reybrouck

With a fully renewed theatre, an artwork cannot be missing. Schouwburg Kortrijk deliberately chooses not to integrate visual art physically into the building, but instead to embrace a total artwork - one you can see, feel, hear and experience, and one that lingers, both literally and figuratively.

To realise this, Schouwburg Kortrijk invited London‑based artist Grace Ndiritu. She created a sensorial and spiritual invitation: a call to reawaken and to heal ourselves and the theatre as a collective space. Her total installation ‘The Last Days of Ancient Sunlight’ grows like a new skin around and within the Schouwburg. Plants, light compositions and architectural interventions intertwine with projects such as the Children Climate Choir and Plant Theater for Plant People. In addition, as part of this installation, the Schouwburg will appoint a Forest Laureate every January.

This laureate is an inspiring thinker who opens the year with a message of hope and action. The very first Forest Laureate, David Van Reybrouck, fits this definition perfectly. He is an author, historian and archaeologist, described by Tagesspiegel as “one of Europe’s leading intellectuals.” He is a strong advocate for citizen participation - among other things as the initiator of G1000 - and contributes actively to political debate on democracy, climate and colonialism. He is currently the Denker der Nederlanden (Thinker of the Netherlands).