Alumni event | Lezing
Curating the sacred: Religious heritage between ownership and audience
- Date
- Thursday 3 September 2026
- Time
- Serie
- Van de Waal lecture
- Address
-
Lipsius
Cleveringaplaats 1
2311 BD Leiden - Room
- 0.19
The 2026 Van de Waal Lecture will take place on Thursday 3 September, to celebrate the opening of the academic year of the Art History Department.
Van de Waal Lecture 2026: Curating the sacred: Religious heritage between ownership and audience
What does it entail to curate exhibitions of religious objects in public museums? What does it mean to visit church buildings as a tourist? Can secular people find inspiration in religious figures? Over the past decade, research on what has been called the heritagization of religion, and, vice versa, the sacralization of heritage has become widespread. Have heritage and art indeed taken over the realm of religion? If so, religion should have become a thing of the past. Yet, it hasn’t. It seems more alive and pluriform than it has for a long time. In this year’s Van de Waal lecture, dr. Lieke Wijnia explores the complex yet fascinating constellation of art, heritage, and religion in secularized contexts like the Netherlands. Drawing on her extensive experience in academia and museums, she bridges theoretical questions and practical challenges in dealing with religious art and heritage between faith communities and the broader audience.
About the speaker
Dr. Lieke Wijnia (Harlingen, 1985) is an art historian and religious studies scholar. She works as Senior Researcher at the Art & Society research centre of the Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen. Here she is the Art & Rurality research lead, exploring the multifaceted presence of the arts in the rural north. Currently she is developing a research project on the potential of artistic makership for continued aliveness and societal meaningfulness of historic village churches. Previously she has worked as lecturer, researcher, (senior) curator and head of research, among others at University College Utrecht, University of Groningen, Kunstmuseum The Hague, Museum Catharijneconvent and Stedelijk Museum Schiedam. Recent publications include Resonating Sacralities. Dynamics between Art and Religion in Postsecular Netherlands (De Gruyter, 2022) and Museums as Ritual Sites. Civilizing Rituals Reconsidered (Routledge, 2024). She curated the exhibitions 'Mary Magdalene' (2021) and 'The Genesis of Science' (2024). Her latest exhibition 'Lou Loeber. Artist and Idealist' is on display until 27 September 2026 at Stedelijk Museum Schiedam.
Registration
Registration is not necessary, everybody's welcome.
