This year's edition is titled “Foreshocks”. A foreshock is a small earthquake that takes place before a larger one and close to the center of the larger earthquake. The terms “foreshock”, “mainshock” and “aftershock” are used to distinguish the largest event in an earthquake sequence from those that precede or follow it. If an aftershock proves to be larger than the original event, it is retroactively reclassified as a mainshock and the previous events become foreshocks. However, these classifications can only ever be made retrospectively. The challenge is to recognize them anyway in order to create sustainable preventive structures that prevent major damage.

We know that major earthquakes and aftershocks are inevitable, but we cannot predict exactly when they will occur, how many there will be or how long they will last. We are currently witnessing the (re)rise of fascist and nationalist forces in Europe. At the same time, we are struggling with the existentially threatening financial cuts in the arts and culture sector, which feel like foreshocks. But what will be the main quake? How can we prepare, resist and defend ourselves? What strategies have artists already developed to navigate through increasingly authoritarian societies, and which have proven successful?