Giving a voice to what has no voice 

Jonge Harten and Minerva Talks explore whether we can truly listen to the natural world. To everything that lives, moves and changes around and inside us, but doesn’t speak.
How does the North Sea speak to you? What does a tree sound like? How do we listen to more-than-human worlds? And why is it important to learn to listen to creatures that cannot speak?How does your identity shape the way you listen? And how can deep listening help you as a theatre maker or (visual) artist? 

During this Jonge Harten x Minerva Talk, we will search for answers to these questions together with artists Anne Jesuina and Puck van Dijk. Both have made listening a key part of their artistic practice. Philosopher and immersive theatremaker Puck van Dijk explores our relationship with nature in many of her projects. In her audio walk ‘The Giants of the North’, she invites us to look at a changing city through the eyes of trees. What do the trees think of all this? And how do you tell their story?  Anne Jesuina is affiliated with the Ambassade van de Noordzee (Embassy of the North Sea) and is a member of the School of Dogger Bank. This collective focuses on rethinking the concept of ‘nature’ and our connection to the North Sea. Through her work, Anne brings the sea to life. Which stories, myths, and images does the sea carries and how are they tied to contemporary narratives and conflicts? Anne also explores the stories that live within her own body. How do you listen to those inner stories? 

For theatre makers and artists, listening is not only a skill, it is a responsibility.
Art can offer a stage to the unheard, a language to what has no words and a space where silence becomes meaning.
In a time when nature’s voice is often ignored or drowned out, artists have the power to translate, to attune and to remind us of our entanglement with everything that breathes, moves, and changes around us. 

Both Jonge Harten and Academie Minerva strive to create a safe and open space where everyone feels encouraged not only to speak, but above all to listen.
From the mindset ‘Speak up and listen’ we share curiosity to search together: How Do You Listen to What Has No Voice (yet)?