KU Leuven Art and Science Route
Belgium
To mark the 600th anniversary of KU Leuven, more than seventy scientists from the university reflected on societal challenges that have shaped its intellectual agenda, in dialogue with poets and visual artists. Seven overarching themes emerged: Poetics of Not Knowing, Knowledge Owned & Owed, Resilience, Makeable Human, Down to Earth, University & Universality, and Medicine for All. Together, these themes articulate a shared intellectual and societal agenda for the university, each closely connected to urgent issues such as climate change, inequality, mental well-being, and artificial intelligence.
A series of exchanges between scientists, poets, and visual artists has resulted in a parcours of eight artworks and eight poems, permanently integrated into public space across the university campuses and the city of Leuven, at sites connected to scientific research, past and present. Together, they tell a story of human decisiveness and humility, an ongoing sense of wonder, and undeniable interconnectedness.
Scientific progress rarely comes through sudden revolutions. It unfolds as a continuous search, where one wave of knowledge follows another, never in isolation—each shaped by what preceded it and shaping what comes next. Some discoveries travel quietly, spreading like gentle ripples across time, while others arrive with the force of a tsunami, reshaping the world in an instant.
Visual artists: Sammy Baloji, Berlinde De Bruyckere, Elif Erkan, Yu Ji, Alicja Kwade, Ugo Rondinone, Clara Spilliaert, Gijs Van Vaerenbergh / Poets: Yousra Benfquih, Dominique De Groen, Jan Lauwereyns, Aya Sabi, Pieter Van de Walle, Annelies Van Dyck, Maud Vanhauwaert, Reinout Verbeke
Curated by Heidi Ballet, Stéphane Symons and Maud Vanhauwaert
