Composing for Multispecies Survival in Dark Times: Donna Haraway, Anna Tsing and Rosi Braidotti

What kind of life is possible in the aftermath of extinctions and other environmental crises? In collaboration with Praemium Erasmianum Foundation, the Nieuwe Instituut is hosting an in-depth programme to kick off the opening of the exhibition FUNGI: Anarchist Designers, curated by anthropologist Anna Tsing and artist/designer Feifei Zhou. This programme will feature a Q&A discussion with Erasmus Prize 2025 laureate, and famed feminist and philosopher, Donna Haraway alongside Anna Tsing, and hosted by philosopher Rosi Braidotti.

20 November 2025 17:30 - 18:45

“… because in times like these / to have you listen at all, it’s necessary / to talk about trees”

Together, they will search for the ‘ghosts’ of ‘disappeared beings’ to help us stay strong during dark times. Haraway and Tsing recognise the need for stories and tools to help us cope with the environmental, social and personal devastation we currently face. They challenge the grim narrative of the authoritarian terrorists threatening to destroy our world with tales of ‘disappeared’ human and non-human beings, whose struggles offer hope. As often happens in our own life stories, the most unlikely and diverse examples turn out to be closely related. From willow trees in Denmark to the endangered peatlands of Borneo and Papua, and even gardens, data centres and compost heaps, they show us what can survive or return after terror and destruction.

Programme

18.00-18.30 doors
18.30-19.45 Composing for Multispecies Survival in Dark Times, a conversation between Donna Haraway en Anna Tsing, moderated by Rosi Braidotti
introduction to Composing for Multispecies Survival in Dark Times by the Nieuwe Instituut and Geertjan de Vugt, director of the Praemium Erasmianum Foundation
During the programme there will be an artistic contribution by composer and sound artist Nicholas Thayer
The festive opening of FUNGI: Anarchist Designers will follow this event, with an opportunity to see the exhibition.