In our Time: Azu Nwagbogu and Tino Sehgal on the Art and Politics of Presence

What is the political potential of live, embodied interactions? Celebrated artist Tino Sehgal believes they matter deeply. In our highly polarized, mediatized, and capitalized society, Sehgal has the courage to create artworks that are immaterial and leave no trace at all.

For over two decades, Sehgal’s work has disrupted the art world’s system—a system that values objects over labor and the individual over the collective. In the first episode of the art series In Our Time, curator Azu Nwagbogu and Tino Sehgal explore the art and politics of presence. What role can social interactions in public space play in a time when political leaders around the world are openly attacking museums and the art world?

During the conversation the audience experienced and participated in the work of conceptual and performance artist Lisette Ros.

About the speakers

Tino Sehgal (London), is an artist working and living in Berlin. Originally studying political economy and dance, he crossed over to the visual arts in 2000. He achieved international renown for his groundbreaking ‘constructed situations’: live encounters between visitors and those enacting the work. He presented his work at the Venice Biennale, Documenta in Kassel, in the Guggenheim Museum in New York, Tate Modern in London and Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.

Azu Nwagbogu (Nigeria) is internationally acclaimed curator. He is the founder and director of African Artists’ Foundation, and serves as Founder and Director of LagosPhoto Festival. He is the creator of Art Base Africa, a virtual space to discover and learn about contemporary African Art. In 2024 he curated the first-ever Benin Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale, titled Everything Precious is Fragile.

Lisette Ros (1991), a Dutch conceptual and performance artist, who identifies as queer, woman and fluid, with roots in Indonesia, explores the interplay betweensociety, identity, and the human experience through her work. Using her body as a medium, she challenges societal norms and exposes the consequences of sociocultural practices. Ros’ work has been showcased globally, including performances at prestigious events like the Venice Architecture Biennale (2016) and South By Southwest (SXSW) in Austin (2018). Ros completed a residency with Marina Abramović in 2021 and has received grants for her ongoing ‘My Self’ series researching the self and the identification process.

This programme is a part of the Forum on European Culture 2025 en took place on June 29 2025.

Programme editor: Merlijn Geurts

Moderator: Yoeri Albrecht

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