We are proud to introduce The Foragers: Engagements Beyond the Human, a series of talks, screenings and an exhibition building bridges between arts and sciences. This initiative, which will run between October 2025 and December 2027, is the fruit of a collaboration between, FORAGENCY, the VUB Casterman-Hamers Chair in the History and Philosophy of Science, and VUB CROSSTALKS. “The Foragers” is co-curated by artist Gosie Vervloessem, Benoît Henriet - PI of FORAGENCY and holder of the Casterman-Hamers Chair - and the team of CROSSTALKS (Goedele Nuyttens and Ine De Bock).
How can we rethink our connection to the living world in times of ecological urgency and societal uncertainty? As cities grow denser and digital life accelerates, The Foragers: Engagements Beyond the Human invites you to rediscover your relationship with our environment — not just in remote wilderness, but in the overlooked spaces of everyday urban life. This interdisciplinary art-science project brings together artists, researchers and enthusiasts who reclaim the ancient practice of foraging as a bold, imaginative and future-facing method.
Reviving an ancient practice in the Antropocene
Foraging has allowed humans to live in close relationship with their environments for thousands of years. Today, foraging remains a powerful tool for critically and creatively responding to the ecological challenges of our time. The Foragers explores foraging as a cultural, ecological and philosophical act, one that entices us to rethink the complex relationships between humans and non-humans.
The Foragers unfolds as a dynamic programme, offering moments of reflection, exchange and shared experience.
At the heart of the project is an exhibition at Pilar (VUB) from April 23 until May 31 2026, where foraging is explored through installations, artworks and site-specific interventions, both within the gallery walls and beyond. But The Foragers doesn’t stop there it will also take root in a variety of urban and natural spaces across Brussels and beyond.
A living exploration
The Foragers is a living, growing platform for ecological imagination and artistic experimentation. It aims to:
Raise public awareness of the ecological and cultural value of foraging as a practice.
Foster dialogue and collaboration between artists, scientists and students to develop new ideas about sustainability and our relationship to nature.
Build a knowledge platform that sparks ecological innovation and artistic exploration.
Through these aims, the project cultivates a space where science, creativity and ecological care intertwine, inspiring new ways of thinking, making, and living with the more-than-human world.
Image credit: Joud Toamah