Category: Conversations

Echoes of Dissent (Vol. 8) // أحمد [Ahmed] NEW DATE

11 October 2026, STUK Leuven. In collaboration with STUK, Sound In Motion & In vitro.

Preceding the concert of أحمد [Ahmed] and on the occasion of the publication of a book compiling writings by and about أحمد [Ahmed], STUK is hosting an extensive conversation with the band members. We will discuss improvisation as investigation and making music as a medium of thought; the music and ideas of Ahmed Abdul-Malik and the Arabic and Muslim roots of Jazz and improvised music; the importance of probing in and into ‘jazz’ and the possibilities of new jazz nutation; أحمد [Ahmed] as an accommodating and radical vision of synthesis and open structure(s) and a shared space of (re-)imagination and (re-)interpretation.

15:00-16:30: talks (Labozaal)
17:00: concert (Soetezaal)

In the context of the research project Echoes of Dissent (KASK & Conservatory / School of Arts Gent), in collaboration with In vitro.

The أحمد [Ahmed] publication is published by In vitro and KASK School of Arts

Edited by أحمد [ahmed]. Series editors: Stoffel Debuysere, Jef Lambrechts, Will Holder.

Conversation with Rhayne Vermette VIDEO

A conversation between Rhayne Vermette and Stoffel Debuysere about the surreal possibilities within the insipid, the improvisatory force of collective production and the cinematic implications of sound and music. 2 April 2026, Gent. In the context of Courtisane festival 2026 and the research project Echoes of Dissent (KASK & Conservatory / School of Arts Gent).

The Art of Resonance: Maria Chávez

The research cluster THE ART OF RESONANCE (KASK & Conservatory Gent) is organising a series of informal listening sessions with international artists and researchers, with an eye (and ear) to cultivating a sonic sensibility and relationality.

Herculeslab — KASK & Conservatorium / School of Arts Gent
Thu 19 March 2026 17:30, in the context of Research Days

Born in Lima, Peru and based in NYC, Maria Chávez is best known as an abstract turntablist, sound artist and DJ. Coincidence, chance and failures are themes that unite her work across mediums, including improvised performance, sound sculpture, visual art, book objects and multi-channel installation.

During this session, she will introduce her groundbreaking improvisational turntabling practice, centered on connections between material and temporal failure, and experimentation, through the use of broken vinyl records. The session will draw directly from Chávez’s long engagement with Deep Listening, a practice developed by Pauline Oliveros, emphasizing embodied attention, improvisation, and responsiveness to environment and materials. Here, play operates as a method of research, where experimentation and risk-taking generate knowledge through action rather than instruction.