NUCLEO creates space for the artistic development of visual artists.
UFO Public Programme #8
Cas-co Leuven
SUPPORT
SUPPORT
The nextUFO Visitors Programme takes place from Tuesday 12th May till Friday 15th May 2026 in Leuven and Brussels, hosted both by Level Five and Cas-co in Leuven. Together withCas-co& Level Five, we are inviting 7 international programmers/curators/artist-organisers, from different European countries and introducing them to local key organisations. Guided by artists and the organisation’s teams, the programme offers studio visits, network dinners and lunches, as well as a dynamic performance and discursive programme, colliding into public events, screenings and exhibition openings.
The UFO visitors program will hold a PUBLIC moment. This is a way for the guests to introduce themselves, share how they support artists, and what they are undertaking within their local context. At this public program, you can meet the guests informally and engage in conversation with them.
GUESTS
- Stephanié Robin, Les Frenoy, Tourcoing, Frankrijk
- Keren Detton, FRAC Grand/Large, Frankrijk
- Ariane Skoda, CWB Paris, Frankrijk
- Aïda Sidhoum, Kunstinstituut Melly, Nederland
- Klaartje Esch, Kunstpodium T, Tilburg, Nederland
- Simon Delobel, KIOSK, Gent, België
- Wanneer?
Donderdag 14 mei 2026
- Programma
12u Performative walk with Jonas Beerts
Open your mouth.
Show me your tongue.
Lay your heart on it.
Carry it gently.Welcome to The Swollen Tongue Tour.
It is getting close to noon. We should start moving. As we go, the city passes through us. Intestines intertwine with streets and alleys. Hunger is present. You will be guided from cas-co to a full belly. Let’s forage between cracks and corners, but remember: whatever you eat, always eats you back a little bit too.
13u Lunch by Jonas Beerts: Picnic lunch with artists, team, and curators
14u Public programme ‘Daydreaming together for the next decade’
In the third decade of the 21st century, the conditions for artistic production are being fundamentally (again?) reshaped. Amid overlapping crises — economic precarity, institutional instability, and shifting cultural priorities — artists and the organisations that support them navigate an increasingly fragile ecosystem.
Residency programmes, atelier organisations, and development platforms have long sustained artistic practice. Yet today, their mandates and resources are under pressure. What does it mean to “support” artists now? What forms of development remain relevant — and which must be reimagined?
This panel brings together curators, cultural workers, and organisers to reflect on evolving infrastructures of support. Moving beyond inherited models, it asks how residency formats, development programs and institutional responsibilities might be rethought in ways that are equitable, sustainable, and responsive to artists’ needs.
Rather than offering fixed answers, the conversation opens a space for collective speculation: what should we preserve, abandon, or invent? It examines the tension between artistic ambition and institutional precarity, asking how support structures can evolve without reproducing exhaustion, extraction, or inequality.
Format: The discussion will adopt a fishbowl format, allowing participants to move fluidly between listening and speaking roles. This structure invites a multiplicity of voices — artists, organisers, and audience members — into the conversation, reflecting the collective and evolving nature of artistic support systems today.
Duration 1h20min
16u (optional) Visit Exhibitions at Cas-co: Meet the artists of p.o.l.e.collective + Sofia Boubolis & Stans Vrijsen
Language: English
