Events
“On Institutionalizing Differently” – Anne Breure (Artistic Director Theater Utrecht) in dialogue with Liesbeth Groot Nibbelink (Utrecht University) and Maaike Bleeker (Utrecht University)
Jones, Owen. 1867. Example of Chinese Ornament. Via: Public Domain Image Archive. Source: Smithsonian Library
Operating at the intersection of creative practice, cultural management, and politics, Anne Breure has many years of experience in navigating institutional entanglements. A critical thinker, passionate speaker, and decisive cultural leader, she has questioned and challenged conventional structures within the arts sector and initiated new cultural policies. As an enthusiastic speaker, she is a much sought-after panel member for debates on the role of art in society. In her current role as Creative Director of Theater Utrecht, she developed a visionary new plan for the company in relation to both the local Utrecht cultural scene and the international art scene. Liesbeth Groot Nibbelink and Maaike Bleeker will be in conversation with her about (among others) the Fair Practice Code that she initiated, her radical “100 Days House” policy for Veem theater, her work as chair of the Kunsten ’92 interest group for the cultural sector, and the transition of Theater Utrecht from the Paardenkathedraal to Het Huis.
Anne Breure (1988) graduated from the Academy of Dance and Theater in 2011 as a creator and performer. During her studies, she also became politically active, serving among other roles as chair of the Young Democrats in Amsterdam. She then worked in Brussels at the European Parliament and later for a transatlantic think tank. She subsequently obtained her MA in Art and Politics at Goldsmiths University in London, where she also set up the multidisciplinary gallery Flat34. In 2014, she became director of Veem House for Performance in Amsterdam. During that time, she initiated the Fair Practice Code and, in 2017, after the subsidy results, transformed the theater into the “100 Days House” based on five core values. From 2016 to 2024, she was a board member and then co-chair of Kunsten’92. From November 2022, she will be creative director of Theater Utrecht. With her visionary perspective, she questions the structures in the art sector and, as an enthusiastic speaker, she is a much sought-after panel member for debates on the role of art in society.
Dr. Liesbeth Groot Nibbelink is an Assistant Professor in Theatre and Performance Studies at the Media and Culture Studies Department of Utrecht University. She teaches in the Master’s programme in Contemporary Theatre, Dance and Dramaturgy and the BA Media and Culture Studies programmes of the department. Her research interests include dramaturgy and scenography, spatial theory, performance ecologies and new materialism, and performance philosophy. She is the author of Nomadic Theatre: Mobilizing Theory and Practice on the European Stage (Bloomsbury 2019) and has contributed to (among others) Contemporary Theatre Review, Performance Research and to the volumes Thinking Through Theatre and Performance (Bloomsbury 2019), Staging Spectators in Immersive Performances (Routledge 2019), Intermedial Performance and Politics in the Public Sphere (Routledge 2018) and Mapping Intermediality in Theatre and Performance (Amsterdam University Press 2010). In 2013, she co-founded Platform-Scenography, an open source platform for scenographers and dramaturgs that seeks to stimulate reflection on scenography. She is also active as a dramaturg and artistic adviser.
Prof. Dr. Maaike Bleeker is a Professor of Performance, Science & Technology in the Department of Media and Culture at Utrecht University. She studies the performance of humans and technology, on and off stage. She is also an experienced dramaturg in theatre and dance. In her work, she combines approaches from the arts and performance with insights from philosophy, media theory, and cognitive science. She was the PI of Acting Like a Robot: Theater as Testbed for the Robot Revolution and currently leads Dramaturgy for Devices: Developing Sustained Relationships with Robots and Smart Objects, both funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO). She is the author of Visuality in the Theatre: The Locus of Looking (Palgrave, 2008) and Doing Dramaturgy: Thinking Through Practice (Palgrave, 2023). She (co)edited several volumes, including Anatomy Live: Performance and the Operating Theatre (2008), Performance & Phenomenology(Routledge 2015), Transmission in Motion: The Technologizing of Dance (Routledge, 2016), Thinking Through Theatre and Performance (Bloomsbury 2019), and the Routledge Companion for Performance and Technology (forthcoming). From 2011 to 2016, she served as President of Performance Studies international (PSi).
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This session is part of the Transmission in Motion seminar (2025-2026): “Navigating Entanglements.”
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