Art During Crisis

On April 28th 2026, Kunstenpunt curated the conference Art During Crisis: From Reflection to Action at Koninklijk Vlaamse Schouwburg in Brussels. A day filled with meaningful conversations, knowledge-sharing, and (inter)national solidarity – when David Limaverde started the programme by giving a keynote inspired by the work of Disobedient Art School.

Thanks to Globe Aroma and to our colleague at Flanders Arts Institute, Dirk De Wit, for all his incredible work.

Credit for the photo: © Abdallah Awad

Fragment of David Limaverde’s keynote:

Can art respond to crisis?

Of course it can.

It always has.

The more difficult question is:

Can art respond to crisis without consuming itself?

Can art act without extracting?

Can art host without controlling?

Can art listen without appropriating?

Can art refuse the old normality instead of helping us return to it?

Because returning to normal is not always healing.

Sometimes normality is what produced the collapse.

So I want to propose something modest, but demanding.

Let us not treat crisis as material.

Let us not treat solidarity as emotion.

Let us not treat hospitality as charity.

Let us not treat action as speed.

Let us not treat reflection as delay.

Let us not treat peace as an innocent word.

Because peace can also be violent when it asks the wounded to be quiet.

Peace can be violent when it arrives as a performance after the damage has already been done.

Peace can be violent when it asks people to march beside the same forces that harmed them.

Peace can be violent when it says:

calm down,

be reasonable,

be grateful,

be constructive,

be resilient,

move on.