Leiden2022 partner of New European Bauhaus
Leiden European City of Science 2022 has been selected as one of the first 139 partners of the New European Bauhaus. With this programme, the European Commission is building an interdisciplinary movement for a sustainable, inclusive and beautiful Europe. The question of how we shape the future is central in this context. The partnership with New European Bauhaus fits the ambition of Leiden2022 to build bridges between science, culture and society.
Green Deal and New European Bauhaus
The New European Bauhaus is an important step forward for the European Green Deal, with which the Von der Leyen Commission aims to make the continent of Europe climate-neutral by 2050. Concerted efforts by all Member States must prevent climate change and biodiversity loss from threatening our environment. New European Bauhaus challenges everyone to reinvent themselves in direct interaction with science, the creative sector and society. The aim of this European project is to shape the living environment of the future: sustainable, inclusive and aesthetically sound. "In addition to an ecological and economic boost, it is also a new European cultural project," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
New European Bauhaus and Leiden2022
The programme of Leiden European City of Science 2022 is centred around precisely these same core themes: science, culture and society. "We are therefore delighted that from now on, we will be able to link the future-oriented part of the Leiden2022 programme with the New European Bauhaus," explains director Meta Knol. "As a partner, Leiden2022 will stimulate new, forward-looking initiatives and coordinate existing and new partnerships at regional, national and international levels. With the annual programme of Leiden2022, we are actively contributing to the sustainable shaping of the post-pandemic future."
Leiden, Theo van Doesburg and the Bauhaus 1922-2022
There is a historical link between Leiden and the Bauhaus. Artist Theo van Doesburg founded the international journal De Stijl in Leiden in 1917. A few years later, he left for Weimar to radically reform a famous art academy there: the Bauhaus. He was not accepted as a teacher, but in March 1922, he organized an evening course for Bauhaus students in his studio in Weimar. This new wind brought about a revolution at the Bauhaus, after which the art academy rapidly gained influence in Europe. With their universal, geometric-abstract imagery, the artists, designers and architects of the Bauhaus contributed to the birth of modernism. Now, a hundred years later, we face a similar choice. Artists and scientists must join forces to shape the future, so that the world remains liveable for future generations.