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ESNS Science

About ESNS Science 2026

We’re excited to share the programme with you — a full afternoon of inspiring conversations, insights and exchange. Please find the schedule below:

11:30 - 12:00: Welcome with coffee and tea
12:00 - 13:00: Music industry precarity and the East–West relation in Europe
13:30 - 14:30: Workshop - the Digital Brainwash
15:00 - 16:00: Keynote - Interview Arthur Kok: Grounded presence in uncertainty
16:00 - 17:00: ESNS Science Drinks Reception

ESNS Science is brought to you in collaboration with CLICKNL. The programme is to be visited in the location of Poortershoes. Small and medium enterprises (SME's) can participate free of charge (limited capacity). If you’d like to join the full programme - or attend individual sessions - please register via the link.

Enter the realm of chaos

This year’s edition of ESNS Science will focus on chaos and uncertainty, and how it hits the European music sector. The world is changing in an increasingly rapid speed, and it seems impossible to keep up with new political, technological, social or cultural developments. Whether it concerns geopolitical tensions and their effect on touring, the role of AI in music creation or the increasingly precarious conditions in which people in the music sector need to work, nothing seems written in stone anymore.

ESNS Science explores this uncertainty through three angles: a technological one, with Marleen Stikker and Public spaces we will explore the importance of strategic digital autonomy for the European music sector. Subsequently, Arthur Kok will present an economic counter narrative against data-driven work and teach us about the importance of intuition and an open mind in dealing with uncertainty. And finally, Emilia Barna will present a sociological perspective on the different realities of working and being an entrepreneur in the east and in the west of Europe.

Time to challenge our Western-centric world view a bit and learn a thing or two!

The ESNS Science programme

How do unequal power relations between “East” and “West” shape the working conditions, precarity, and possibilities for resilience within Europe’s music industries, and what can we learn by taking Eastern European musicians’ experiences as a starting point?

Gepresenteerd door: ESNS Science, CLICKNL
Vr 16 Jan - Eerste kamer - 12:00- 13:00
ESNS Science: Music industry precarity and the East–West relation in Europe
English spoken
Emília Barna , Budapest University of Technology and Economics / Pauwke Berkers , Erasmus University Rotterdam / Frank Kimenai , KEA / Guna Zučika , Every Little Thing / Jeroen van den Bogert , EBB Music
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We use digital tools all day long—both for work and personal use—but how do they actually work, and what impact do they have on you and/or your organization, your audience, and society?

Gepresenteerd door: ESNS Science, CLICKNL
Vr 16 Jan - Eerste kamer - 13:30- 14:30
Workshop - ESNS SCIENCE: Make socials social again!
English spoken
Pepijn Lemmens , PublicSpaces / Jantien Borsboom , PublicSpaces / Marleen Stikker , Waag Futurelab
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In creative industries, crucial decisions often must be made when data is ambiguous and precedents don't apply. How do experienced professionals and entrepreneurs navigate this uncertainty?

Gepresenteerd door: ESNS Science, CLICKNL
Vr 16 Jan - Eerste kamer - 15:00- 16:00
Keynote - ESNS Science: Interview Arthur Kok: Grounded presence in uncertainty
English spoken
Jon Heemsbergen , Art-up / Arthur Kok , Fontys University of Applied Sciences
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