Bozar

Ai Weiwei is often referred to as a ‘Chinese dissident artist’, but how does he see himself, his work, and a life shaped by politics, exile, and art?

In his art, Ai Weiwei transforms thousands of discarded refugee life jackets, millions of porcelain seeds, and even buttons and Lego bricks into monuments for the forgotten. Having been shadowed and detained by the Chinese state, he knows better than anyone the true price of artistic freedom.

In this episode of Writers & Thinkers Stage, you will hear Ai in conversation with Belgian art historian and curator Chris Dercon, Director General of the Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain in Paris. Together, they talk about fake Lego, subversion, scale and Ai’s personal and artistic motivations.

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Credits Guest: Ai Weiwei. Interview: Chris Dercon. Co-production original talk: Patrick Derom Gallery. Presentation & editing: Joline Vermeulen. Production & post-production: Seden Anlar. Graphic design: Jonas Mergan. Music: “Broken Circuits” — Telecasted, YouTube Audio Library.

Can a stage or a studio become the place where history is actively rewritten? William Kentridge began his artistic career at the height of the anti-apartheid struggle in his native South Africa. His solo exhibition at Bozar, titled ‘I am not me, the horse is not mine’, offers a comprehensive overview of his work from the early 1980s to the present day, and ranges from drawings, animated films, and sculptures to prints, installations, and videos. Many of these works grew out of his theatre and opera productions – a realm to which he dedicates much of his energy. In this episode from the Writers & Thinker Stage, recorded during a conversation with Chantal Pattyn in September 2026, Kentridge explores the performative and collaborative nature of his practice, in which he allows art to evolve into a space for political inquiry, historical reckoning and poetic transformation. Discover all our podcasts at bozar.be

Credits Guest: William Kentridge. Interview: Chantal Pattyn. Presentation & Editing: Joline Vermeulen. Production & post-production: Seden Anlar. Graphic design: Jonas Mergan. Music: “Broken Circuits” — Telecasted, YouTube Audio Library.

How can you understand the whole story, and not just your own part in it? Indian author and activist Arundhati Roy came to Bozar in October 2025 to present Mother Mary Comes to Me, her long-awaited memoir revisiting a life of courageous dissent – a life deeply shaped by her relationship with her mother, the Indian educator and women’s rights activist Mary Roy.   

In this episode from the Writers & Thinkers Stage series, joined by Belgian journalist and writer Catherine Vuylsteke, Arundhati Roy recalls her last visit to her mother’s home and reflects on how facing cruelty as a child shaped her voice as a writer – the deeply empathetic novelist she became. 

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Credits Guest: Arundhati Roy. Interview: Catherine Vuylsteke. Presentation & Editing: Joline Vermeulen. Production & post-production: Seden Anlar. Graphic design: Jonas Mergan. Music: “Broken Circuits” — Telecasted, YouTube Audio Library.

What if the parts of yourself you have been taught to hide actually hold the most power?  In March 2026, Vietnamese American writer Ocean Vuong came to Bozar for a conversation on beauty and ugliness – themes that lay at the heart of our programme that season and run throughout his work. In this episode from the Writers & Thinkers Stage series, sitting down with Belgian writer Saskia de Coster, Vuong explores how queerness can reshape our understanding of beauty – and why embracing what society has taught us to hide can become a source of strength.

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Credits Guest: Ocean Vuong. Interview: Saskia de Coster. Presentation & Editing: Joline Vermeulen. Production & post-production: Seden Anlar. Graphic design: Jonas Mergan. Music: “Broken Circuits” — Telecasted, YouTube Audio Library.

In this episode of A Portrait of the Artist, multidisciplinary artist Ho Tzu Nyen sits down with Emma Dumartheray, curator at Bozar. They discuss the exhibition P for Power, on which they collaborated, explore Ho Tzu Nyen’s long-term investigation into the plurality of cultural identities and colonial legacies in Southeast Asia, and delve into his many Eastern and Western cultural references – from Hong Kong cinema and TV to the French philosopher Gilles Deleuze.

A Portrait of the Artist is an original podcast by Bozar that invites you into intimate encounters with leading figures in visual arts, music, cinema, and performance.

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Credits:

Guest: Ho Tzu Nyen. Interview & presentation: Emma Dumartheray. Editing: Joline Vermeulen. Production & post-production: Seden Anlar. Graphic design: Jonas Mergan. Music: “Broken Circuits” — Telecasted, YouTube Audio Library.

In resonance with the exhibition Picture Perfect at Bozar, Moshtari Hilal, artist and author of ‘Ugliness’, and Maryam Kamal Hedayat, artist and curator, open an intimate and thought-provoking dialogue around a central question: can ugliness become an act of resistance, and how? They sit down with moderator Aurélie Disasi (aka Aru Lee), artist, poet, and dramaturg. In this excerpt of the Sofa Session personal memories meet broader histories. From childhood experiences of racism and othering to cosmetic surgery and the beauty industry, the conversation explores how ideals of beauty become attached to race, identity, and assimilation.

Credits:

Guests: Moshtari Hilal, Maryam Kamal Hedayat. Moderator: Aurélie Disasi. Editing: Elena Ndidi Akilo. Production & post-production: Seden Anlar. Graphic design: Jonas Mergan. Music: “Broken Circuits” — Telecasted, YouTube Audio Library.

In resonance with the exhibition Picture Perfect at Bozar, Christelle Oyiri, DJ and visual artist, and Martha Da'ro, singer and actor, open an intimate and thought-provoking dialogue around a central question: how do beauty, love, and power shape our lives—online, in the media, and in our collective imagination? They sit down with moderator Kopano Maroga, performance artist, writer, and cultural worker.

In this 10-minute excerpt from the Sofa Session, the artists reflect on these three forces, tracing the connections between them through personal experiences and artistic practice.

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Credits:

Guests: Christelle Oyiri, Martha Da’ro. Moderator: Kopano Maroga. Editing: Elena Ndidi Akilo. Production & post-production: Seden Anlar. Graphic design: Jonas Mergan. Music: “Broken Circuits” — Telecasted, YouTube Audio Library.

In resonance with the exhibition Picture Perfect at Bozar, Ibrahim Ahmad, photographer and installation artist, and Déborah Claire, photographer, curator and co-founder of Dis Mon Nom, open an intimate and thought-provoking dialogue around a central question: how have the ideas of "man" and "woman," still largely conceived in opposition, been constructed through visual paradigms and cultural norms? They sit down with moderator Aurélie Disasi, artist, poet, and dramaturg.

In this 10-minute excerpt from the Sofa Session, the conversation turns to photography's loaded history and how artists can push back against inherited ways of seeing.

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Credits:

Guests: Ibrahim Ahmad, Déborah Claire. Moderator: Aurélie Disasi. Editing: Elena Ndidi Akilo. Production & post-production: Seden Anlar. Graphic design: Jonas Mergan. Music: “Broken Circuits” — Telecasted, YouTube Audio Library.

En mai 2026, Gabriel Zucman était invité à Bozar pour un entretien approfondi avec le journaliste Mehdi Khelfat. Dans son nouvel essai percutant, Les milliardaires ne paient pas d’impôt sur le revenu et nous allons y mettre fin, l’économiste franco-américain défend l’instauration d’un impôt mondial sur la fortune. Un combat qui lui a permis d’imposer cette question au cœur de l’agenda politique international.

Dans cet épisode de la série Writers & Thinkers Stage, il déconstruit les principaux arguments avancés contre la « taxe Zucman » et revient notamment sur la menace de l’exil fiscal.

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Crédits

Invité : Gabriel Zucman. Interview : Mehdi Khelfat. Présentation : Olga Briard. Montage : Joline Vermeulen. Production et post-production : Seden Anlar. Graphisme : Jonas Mergan. Musique : « Broken Circuits » — Telecasted, YouTube Audio Library.

Tout au long de ce voyage auditif, nous avons pu découvrir Sophie Taeuber-Arp en tant que femme moderne, très décidée dans la manière dont elle voulait réaliser ses travaux artistiques. L’art est sa réponse à la guerre et aux conventions. Dans l’une de ses lettres, elle souligne l’importance du travail pour maintenir la culture en vie. Tout sa vie, Sophie Taeuber-Arp a fait preuve de détermination et d’abnégation. Envers son art évidemment, mais aussi envers son mari. Pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, elle est bouleversée par la misère dont souffre le peuple, et se démène pour trouver de la nourriture pour elle, mais surtout pour Hans/Jean Arp. Nous le mettrons en avant par la lecture de ses lettres, écrites à sa sœur, ou aux collectionneurs Müller-Widmann.