At this year's Explore the North Festival in Leeuwarden on 21, 22 and 23 November, the cooperation between Frisian and Flemish literary talent will be fully celebrated with performances by numerous young writers, theatre-makers and musicians from Flanders and Friesland. This is partly made possible by further strengthening the cooperation between Explore the North and permanent partner deBuren (Flemish-Dutch house based in Brussels). Both organisations give a boost to the stimulation of and exchange between Frisian, Flemish and Dutch literary talent, because they see the added value of this cultural exchange proven every day in practice.
Consider the reissue of the collection reade runes (1959) of pioneering Frisian poet Ella Wassenaer and to the large-scale presence of young Flemish creators in the programming. New work is on show, including the Dutch premiere of Johannes Lievens’ performance Only a Miracle, a preview of No Therapy by electropop duo Teletext and a rave full of poetry and humour by Dirty Girl.
Explore the North is a festival for stories in many forms and a production house in Leeuwarden. From 21 to 23 November, visitors will see quirky stories, performances, concerts and more at beautiful locations in Leeuwarden's historic city centre. Including Édouard Louis and Hans Kesting, Minne Koole and Raoul de Jong, Joost Oomen & the Poezieboys, ZEA & drum band Hallelujah Makkum and aja monet. Tickets and more information can be found at explorethenorth.co.uk.
Stimulating talent in cooperation with deBuren
Explore the North encourages cooperation between Frisian, northern and Flemish literary talent. Important within this programme line is the cooperation with Flemish-Dutch house deBuren in Brussels. This includes six projects within the festival:
Mini conference The Collective Imagination
Za 22 Nov | Podium Explore | 13:00 - 15:30
A mini-conference with a focus on literature outside the book and working as a (literary) artists' collective. Especially for this conference, about four collectives from the Netherlands and Flanders are invited to present themselves and to share how they work, what they struggle with and where new opportunities lie. These are the collectives Three Days Fresh, PANDA, Teletext and Magdalena Collective. Presentation: Teddy Tops. The afternoon is intended for writers, interdisciplinary artists, (literary) professionals, funds, government representatives and other interested parties from the Netherlands and Flanders.
An initiative of Explore the North and deBuren in collaboration with De Brakke Grond and de Lage Landen.
A limited number of spots are available, registration in advance is required. More information via this link.
Bundle presentation reade runes
Sun 23 November | Podium Explore, Bagijnestraat 59 - 13:15 - 14:00
Ella Wassenaer was one of the few female Frisian poets to take up experimentation in the 1950s. She was a true pioneer not only as a virtuoso of form, but also a poet pure and simple who dared to put women as subjects at the centre of a strongly paternalistic Frisian environment. Her iconic collection reade runes (1959) was first translated from Frisian into Dutch by Zindzi Tillot Owusu. Now Explore the North and deBuren, together with many young creators, are celebrating this important voice with a reissue. The bilingual anthology red runes includes creative contributions and profound, illuminating essays by Albertina Soepboer, Maria Barnas, Elisa Demarré, Annelies Verbeke and Sophia Blyden in addition to Wassenaer's collection.
The collection will be published by Pelckmans publishers on 14 November.
Mona Thijs, Zindzi Tillot Owusu, Charlotte Westra and Jaimy Hindriks
The Rediscovery of Ella Wassenaer
Za 22 November | The Lutheran Church | 16:45 - 17:45
Four young writers bring the forgotten voice of Ella Wassenaer back to life. They delved deep into her world, to write a performance from there, presenting their interpretations of her work. They give a loud voice to all the forgotten, writing women of then and now. This successful project culminated in the bilingual anthology red runes which will be presented during the Explore the North festival.
You are here
Fri 21 to Sun 23 Nov
Eighteen up-and-coming language talents were given a coordinate on the outskirts of Leeuwarden. From this fixed positions they explored their surroundings and wrote short, powerful stories and poems. They recite their surprising and multifaceted texts. On each festival day, visitors will see and hear six authors each time. These authors took part in deBuren's 2025 writing residency, a talent development project for language creators up to 30 years old from Flanders and the Netherlands. The eighteen texts will be published in a special edition of literary magazine Kluger Hans, with whom deBuren and Explore the North joined forces for this project.
The authors: Alisa Noa Bloemendaal, Ayoub El Ouali, Eelke Veltman, Faye Schumacher, Jane Stuhlmacher, Jeanne Verwee, Joshua Snijders, Lars Meijer, Maarten Jochems, Maria Magdalena de Cort, Marlena Tokarska, Matthijs van Rumpt, Mayada Srouji, Mirthe Wouters, Rojda Yavuz, Rahman Qul, Sanne Lolkema and Zoë Dankert.
Presentation: Lin An Phoa.
Francesca Birlogeanu, Sybren van der Velde, Ellis Meeusen & Hannes Schievink
The Chamber of Wonders (premiere)
Fri 21 November | Podium Explore | 20:00 - 20:45
Sun 23 November | Podium Explore | 19:15 - 20:00
De Verwonderkamer is the annual residency project of deBuren and Explore the North, in which Flemish and Northern Dutch makers get to know each other and make new work together. For this edition of De Verwonderkamer, participants will receive the book The last days of the village idiot by Anne-Goaitske Breteler (a Frisian former writing president) as a starting point. What happens when we don't clean up or put away ‘madness’, but try to understand it? The village idiot as outsider, mirror, barometer; someone who operates at (or over) the edge of what is considered ‘normal’. Does the incongruous also conceal something hopeful?
Pauline Augustyn & Veerle Van Overloop
FLOOD THE ZONE WITH SHIT (premiere)
21 - 23 Nov | The Ruim | Every festival day at multiple times
An interactive audio installation that invites to care. Visitors literally occupy a place within a room. A room where between walls of dust there is no one. The room gently comes alive, sees that it is empty and tries to make sense of what is happening. But if we don't want the room, the zone, to be flooded with shit, with what? What is the rebuttal?
A production of OORZAKEN, deBuren and Explore the North.
More new work by Flemish creators at Explore the North
Friday 21 November also sees the Dutch premiere of Only a Miracle of theatre maker Johannes Lievens and martha!tentative. Only a miracle is an ode to the unexpected turn. Teletext - the Dutch-language electropop duo of Sascha Bornkamp and Leonore Spee - also presents a preview of No Therapy. Since 2017, they have been creating work at the intersection of text, theatre and music. The Band Dirty Girl (Maya Mertens and Azertyklavierwerke) brings a rave full of poetry, humour and performance. Mertens writes incantatory, almost Dadaist lyrics about doubts, shortcomings and existence.
Johannes Lievens, Leonore Spee and Maya Mertens are alumni of deBuren's writing residency.
About Explore the North
Explore the North is a production house and festival based at Podium Explore in Leeuwarden. The organisation is a home for writers, poets and other young makers. The focus is on literature, multilingualism and stories in unusual forms told by a new generation of makers. Explore the North's interdisciplinary projects can be seen at festivals and venues at home and abroad. Everything culminates in November during the vibrant festival month, where local makers share the stage with international pioneers. This year's festival features Édouard Louis, Joost Oomen, the Poezieboys and aja monet, among others. Find out more at www.explorethenorth.nl.
About deBuren
deBuren is a Flemish-Dutch organisation permanently committed to cooperation and talent development. deBuren creates a Flemish-Dutch cultural and social ecosystem in which talented creators flourish and citizens can form an informed opinion. From the heart of Brussels, they organise events in-house and on stages throughout the Low Countries. Through talent development programmes such as the annual writing residency, the international programme CELA and Nieuw Geluid, deBuren allows talented makers and new voices to flourish in the public debate. www.deburen.eu
