Is there still room for doubt, pause, emptiness, failure, not-knowing, wandering, getting lost, absence, imagination, silence, vagueness; for nothing? In a culture that glorifies constant activity, production, and consumption, emptiness seems taboo. Access to emptiness is forbidden because it undermines the illusion of control and, like “doing nothing,” threatens the interests of commercial and political systems that thrive on our constant presence and participation. This performance/demonstration questions and provokes this societal pressure, seeks to unlock emptiness, and aims to create an incomplete, shared, and revolutionary space.

For Nothing is a manifestation for emptiness. In a theatrical art installation constructed with hundreds of empty demonstration boards, various speakers, performers, scholars, and musicians will highlight the importance of emptiness. An afternoon program with flash lectures, mini-courses, (animated) films, and music. A research and experiential collage on emptiness. From the mathematical empty set and the invention of zero to the necessary emptiness in community-building, from spiritual emptiness—empty of an individual self—in Zen Buddhism to the dangers of a life without emptiness and the need for the empty place of power. Philosophers, writers, musicians, a mathematician, an architect, a visual artist, and a comedian provide a broad range of perspectives on nothing. Visitors are invited to demonstrate for emptiness with the empty white boards, in a procession from Grand Theatre through the center of Groningen. At the end of the afternoon, everyone is welcome to join for soup and bread at Grand Theatre.

The detailed program of the afternoon will follow soon and be posted on this page.