Holland Festival 2016

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The Holland Festival runs 4-26 June 2016 in Amsterdam, the leading international performing arts festival in the Netherland. This year's programme includes Re: Creating Europe, a Forum on European Culture, a lecture on Europe from a Chinese Perspective, an opportunity to play ping pong at Thai artist Rirkrit Tiravanija's social interaction installation, opera in the park and a rich programme of performing arts. Since 1947 the Holland Festival is the leading international performing arts festival in the Netherlands. The festival offers a broad scope of international performing arts with a mix of performances and concerts from all corners of the world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zanCAj-78YA The festival features established names as well as new talent, showing innovation in art and exploring new types of venue and forms of theatre. The Holland Festival's tradition of innovation is further expanded by opening the festival up, for instance by staging performances, concerts and events in public spaces. 1-3 June: Re: Creating Europe, a Forum on European Culture What is the value of arts and culture for Europe? Over the course of three days visionary artists and thinkers come together in Amsterdam to rethink the future of Europe through debates, lectures, film screenings, performances and expositions. What are the cultural values that unite us? How can arts and culture offer creative solutions for problems that seem to be splitting us apart? With, among others, Benjamin Barber, Johan Simons, Julia Kristeva, Tom Lanoye, Chantal Mouffe and György Konrád. Forum on European Culture is an initiative of De Balie and Dutch Culture. 16 June: Europe from a Chinese Perspective As the Netherlands takes on the Presidency of the European Union, Europe is under mounting pressure. Rising powers such as China are increasing their influence on the world stage. What is China’s view of Europe? What can Europe learn from China? Tu Weiming, one of the great Chinese philosophers of our time, discusses these changes from a neo-confucianist perspective, arguing that we need a new, progressive idea of humanism. 4-26 June: Tomorrow is the Question - Rirkrit Tiravanija installation Come and play a relaxing game of ping pong in the centre of Amsterdam, part of Thai artist Rirkrit Tiravanija’s interactive art installation Tomorrow is the Question. Using social interaction as his starting point, Tiravanija creates encounters in which the audience are given an active role. It’s his mission to make contemporary art accessible and to blur the boundaries between artist and audience. Commissioned by the Holland Festival and the Stedelijk Museum, Tiravanija will stage his Amsterdam version of Tomorrow is the Question on Museumplein.