SYMPOSIA
HET Noordbrabants Symposium
Magdalena Abakanowicz: Human Nature
's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands | June 12, 2025
This symposium was held in conjunction with the exhibition Magdalena Abakanowicz: Human Nature, Triptych in Brabant at HET Noordbrabants Museum in 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands. Organized by HET Noordbrabants Museum and Textiel Museum Tilburg, this symposium convened artists, curators, students, and the public to explore the enduring relevance of Magdalena Abakanowicz's art. It focused on Abakanowicz's pioneering vision and practice, and its relationship to art, politics, ecology, and architecture, placing her work within a broader contemporary artistic and social dialogue. The common denominator for the symposium is Bois le Duc: the largest work ever created by Abakanowicz which hangs in the Provinciehuis of North Brabant. This massive installation serves as a conceptual springboard for the symposium's three core themes: fiber, architecture, and ecology.
Symposium Highlights
11.00 a.m. Welcome by Jacqueline Grandjean, director of The Noordbrabants Museum, and Nathanja van Dijk, head of the TextielMuseum.
11.10 a.m. Archive-presentation introducing Magdalena Abakanowicz by Marta Kowalewska (Marta Magdalena Abakanowicz Kosmowska and Jan Kosmowski Foundation, Warsaw).
11.20 a.m. Keynote on the theme “Fiber” by Ann Coxon, Tate Modern curator, writer, researcher
11.45 a.m. Keynote on the theme “Ecology / Human-Nature” by Ewa Majewska, Polish philosopher, political activist and author
12.10 a.m. Keynote on the theme “Art and Architecture / Art and Space” by Tomasz Fudala, curator of the Muzeum Sztuki Nowoczesnej in Warsaw
1.15 p.m. Film screening of Echa on the work and life of Magdalena Abakanowicz, created by artists Kristina Benjocki and Stijn Verhoef, produced by Het Noordbrabants Museum, and supported by Abakanowicz Arts and Culture Charitable Foundation. The screening is followed by a brief commentary by Kristina Benjocki.
2.30 p.m. Question Session with for keynote speakers Ann Coxon, Ewa Majewska, and Tomasz Fudala by panelists Nadeche Remst (editor-in-chief for Metropolis M., writer, art historian and critic) and Zuzanna Grzeszek (Abakanowicz Arts and Culture Charitable Foundation)