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Seminar on Nightivism and Democracy: Mapping Democratic Values in Night Culture
Nightivism and Democracy is a full-day seminar exploring how night-time cultural spaces - from clubs to music venues - function as sites of activism, political engagement and democratic experimentation beyond formal institutions. Bringing together academics, students, nightlife policy advocates and cultural practitioners, the seminar examines how night culture fosters inclusive communities, democratic values and social cohesion in creative ways. Through panels, roundtables and a keynote lecture, participants explore the democratic potential of nightlife across research, policy and practice.
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When the night falls and offices close, clubs, music venues and cultural spaces open their doors, inviting city dwellers to immerse themselves in cultural and artistic experiences. These night-time spaces offer more than entertainment alone: they are places to explore different ways of forming inclusive communities, creating safe spaces for belonging, and experimenting with new ideas and modes of being together.
Beyond mere leisure, nighttime cultural spaces can therefore be understood as sites of activism. They foster political engagement, democratic values and social cohesion in creative and innovative ways that are not defined by formal institutions. In doing so, night culture opens up alternative democratic practices grounded in lived experience, care and collective expression.
During the Seminar, we bring together academics, students, nightlife policy advocates and nighttime cultural practitioners to share ideas and experiences, and to collectively explore the democratic potential of night culture.
The seminar is organised by Sara Brandellero, Kamila Krakowska Rodrigues, Sini Hassinen and Wessel Kornegoor from the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society. It is a joint collaboration between the Horizon Europe research project: “Democracy in Action: grassroots culture, arts and cultural spaces for political participation and expression online and offline in a resilient Europe” and Netherlands Institute of Cultural Analysis (NICA).
The Program
10:00 - 10:30 | Welcome & introduction
- Presentation of the European research project Democracy in Action
- Speakers:
- Sara Brandellero (Leiden University)
- Kamila Krakowska Rodrigues (Leiden University)
10:30 - 12:00 | Panel - Researching the night: frictions and democratic possibilities
- Speakers:
- Ben Campkin (University College London): “The voices of night workers need to be heard”
- Timo Koren (University of Amsterdam): Nightclubs: how cultural production constrains nightlife’s utopian promise
- Sini Hassinen (Leiden University): Clubbing with care: night visions, virtual possibilities
- Chair: Kamila Krakowska Rodrigues (Leiden University)
12:00 - 13:30 | Lunch break!
13:30 - 15:00 | Roundtable - Night culture, policy and education
Theme: Night events as spaces for political participation
- Speakers:
- Thijs Boer (N8W8, Rotterdam)
- Dylan Ahern (De Kiesmannen, Amsterdam)
- Marijke Cobbenhagen (The Grey Space in the Middle, The Hague)
- Chair: Mirik Milan (VibeLab)
- Thijs Boer (N8W8, Rotterdam)
15:00 - 16:00 | Online keynote lecture
- Doris Sommer (Harvard University): Dancehall Democracy: A Permit for Partners
- Chair: Sara Brandellero (Leiden University)
16:30 - 18:00 | Roundtable - Night cultural production and democratic values
- Speakers:
- Mannish Pixel (House of Extinction, Amsterdam)
- Nishant Harcharan (LabGrounds, Rotterdam)
- Jeanine Jetten (Grand Café Utopie, The Hague)
- Chair: Dylan Ahern (De Kiesmannen)
Registration:
Please email democracyinaction@hum.leidenuniv.nl to register for the seminar.
