Leiden Hosts Days of Art & Science 2025

From 15 to 21 September 2025, Leiden will once again become the stage for the Days of Art & Science, a citywide festival connecting the worlds of research, technology, and creativity. Across multiple venues, the program invites scientists, entrepreneurs, artists, and families to explore how collaboration between art and science can inspire new ideas for the future.

The week features a range of flagship events. The Brave New World Conference gathers international thought leaders, including Haroon Sheikh and Payal Arora, to examine how optimism can be sustained in a time of climate crises, technological disruption, and geopolitical uncertainty. On Saturday night, the Night of Discoveries transforms Leiden into an open campus of imagination, with more than 100 performances and installations across ten locations, from AI bingo and interactive fashion to music, theater, and scientific experiments.

For younger generations, Brave Young Minds at Rijksmuseum Boerhaave offers children a hands-on introduction to science, sparking curiosity with questions such as how to make a cloud or why biodiversity matters. The Beyond the Canvas Symposium in Museum De Lakenhal brings together international experts to discuss how art and science can reinforce each other, while Wavelength at pop venue De Nobel explores the power of sound and music on the brain, body, and emotions.

A series of specials and exhibitions completes the program. Highlights include Wanda Tuerlinckx’s Android Portraits, the debate The Age of Deception with the European Parliament on disinformation, and the premiere of the Leiden Essay Festival. Further sessions address pressing topics such as the ethics of food in the Studium Generale Special: The Future of Meat, and the role of science in art conservation at the Science Café with Rijksmuseum’s Katrien Keune.

With its blend of academic insight, cultural expression, and public engagement, Days of Art & Science strengthens Leiden’s position as a leading city for life sciences and innovation.

For the full program, visit www.daysofartandscience.nl.