Sammy Baloji

• 18 May 2026, Kunsthal Extra City, Provinciestraat 112, 2018, Antwerp.
  • 14:00  Time to visit the exhibition
  • 15:00  Public doctoral defense
  • 17:00  Reception
• Supervisors: Ruth Loos (Sint Lucas Antwerpen), Bambi Ceuppens (Royal Museum for Central Africa) and Paolo Favero (University of Antwerp)
• Please register HERE if you would like to attend.

Abstract

'Contemporary Kasala and Lukasa: towards a Reconfiguration of Identity and Geopolitics' is a research project in the arts on creating new memory devices based upon two existing ones used by different Luba groups living in Congo; the kasala, a ceremonial poem and the lukasa, a memory board used in ritual performance. The two groups using these memory devises were divided during the colonial era by boundaries erected between the former provinces of Kasai and Katanga. The research conducted and the artworks created in the context of this research project are meant to bridge these groups back together through a narrative that is part personal, part historical, part fictitious. How can an artistic intervention help deconstruct a nationalistic notion of Congo based on colonial borders? And how, through artistic interventions, can contemporary individual identities draw inspiration from precolonial knowledges and migrations as a means for making future(s)? The various artistic and academic research activities carried out over the last five years are set out in several chapters and a Handbook of images and documentation. Each chapter, in its chronology, takes up the key elements of the thesis that have motivated and activated my research and production of new artworks.

The introductory chapter looks at notions such as land, territory, society and country, according to the Luba peoples and the European colonisers.The first chapter « Missa Utica » outlines the creative process behind the performance ‘Missa Utica’ (2024). The performance focuses on the material and cultural traces of the Kongo kingdom and its political and economic exchanges with Portugal and the Vatican from the 15th century onwards. This chapter sheds light on the collaborations between scientific and artistic disciplines that such a project brings into existence, the artistic choices made — notably the use of lukasa and kasala as narrative tools — and the various local and international historical and socio-political issues that the performance raises.

The second chapter « Extracted Resources, Transformed Matter » brings together research and artistic creation projects focusing on extractive, colonial and post-colonial economies, and the impact of these activities on natural and cultural resources in Congo. Illustrating this chapter are i.e the exhibition held at CIVA ‘Style Congo. Heritage & Heresy’ (2023) and the artwork ‘Aequare. The Future That Never Was’ (2023).

The third chapter « Deconstructing Boundaries and Narratives » is based on kasala narratives and delves deeper into the public sculpture ‘The Long Hand’ (2022), the kasala ‘Le fil sucre-pourpre de Mulohò’ (2024), and the movie ‘The Tree of Authenticity’ (2025).

Photo at Kunsthal Extra City - Exhibition Sammy Baloji, Copper thread, Rubber thread, Sugar thread, 17.04.26 - 16.08.26 - Copyright photo Brent Mertens

Tobie van Dyk

• Doctoral defence: 1 June 2026 at 10 a.m.
• Stadscampus, Building R, R.219
• Supervisor: Kris Van De Poel
• ​Register by 25 May through this form​

Abstract

Despite substantial scholarship in language planning and management, the field continues to show limited theoretical progression in addressing systemic institutional transformation in multilingual and socially unequal contexts. While earlier work has offered valuable insights into the ideological, economic, and ecological dimensions of language policy, it remains largely descriptive and provides insufficient guidance for navigating the complexities of contemporary higher education, characterised by linguistic diversity, structural inequality, and political contestation. This study responds to this gap by proposing a meta-framework that reconceptualises language planning as a transformative, rather than purely regulatory, process. By foregrounding institutional preparedness and maturity, the framework enables a critical assessment not only of the existence of policies and strategies, but of institutions’ capacity to implement them in meaningful, ethical, and sustainable ways.

Grounded in applied linguistics and sociolinguistics, the framework situates language planning within broader concerns of power, epistemic justice, and lived experience. It reframes language as epistemic infrastructure, multilingualism as transformative practice, and policy as a mechanism for advancing social justice rather than symbolic compliance. Structured across three interdependent tiers (macro, meso, and micro) the framework provides an integrated architecture for understanding how national policy environments, institutional systems, and everyday academic practices intersect to shape multilingual transformation. The macro tier establishes normative and regulatory orientations, the meso tier mediates these through governance, coordination, and resource alignment, and the micro tier captures the enactment of multilingualism in teaching, learning, and scholarly interaction. These tiers operate dynamically and recursively, positioning multilingualism as an evolving, contextually grounded practice.

Central to the framework is an axis of innovation and ethics. Innovation enables institutional responsiveness and adaptability, while ethics anchors transformation in principles of equity, inclusion, and human dignity. Their interaction ensures that change remains both forward-looking and socially accountable, fostering institutional learning, informed decision-making, and agency across all levels.

The application of the framework demonstrates how ethical innovation can translate constitutional ideals into meaningful educational practice. Its extension to generative artificial intelligence further illustrates its relevance for navigating the pedagogical and moral complexities of an increasingly digital academic landscape. The study thus offers a scalable and transferable model for sustainable transformation in higher education, reaffirming the university as a space of ethical imagination where diversity constitutes a collective resource and innovation is directed towards inclusive and socially responsive futures.