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Event 10A
Opening of exhibition & performance by Olana Light
'Searching for a Place to Belong' & 'The Birch Tree Family'
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Plaza Mayor & IE University Creative Campus
Multidisciplinary artist Olana Light presents the exhibition Searching for a Place to Belong at IE Creative Campus Segovia, a photographic project that reflects on women’s relationship with nature, the environment and the meaning of being part of it. Through a series of evocative self-portraits incorporating natural materials and textures, the artist blurs the boundaries between the body and the landscape, inviting us to slow down and reflect on our place in the world. She will open her exhibition alongside Cristina Ward, Head of Arts at the British Council in Spain.
The exhibition will be accompanied by elements from The Birch Tree Family, a captivating performance that Light will stage on several occasions during the festival. She will become a living sculpture of a birch tree walking through the streets of Segovia, rooted yet wandering. The Birch Tree Family is a celebration of the fragility of life and a silent call to care for the planet around us.
Searching for a Place to Belong exhibition:
September 5 to September 20. Location: IE University Creative Campus - Palacio de Mansilla. Pl la Trinidad. 40001 Segovia
The Birch Tree Family performances:
Friday 11 at 11:00 – Plaza Mayor de Segovia
Saturday 12 at 12:00 and 18:00h - IE University Creative Campus
Free admission
Co-organised with the British Council Spain and in collaboration with IE Creative Campus Segovia, ARBOLA Fest and the Sismògraf Festival
Anna Bosch and Gary Knight in conversation with Borja Santos Porras
The Beauty of Looking Again
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IE University. Refectorio
What happens when an image we thought we knew reveals a different story? How are the narratives that shape our understanding of international conflicts constructed? And what does it mean to pursue truth in an age of disinformation, competing narratives and information warfare?
Inspired by the questions raised in The Stringer, the acclaimed Netflix documentary produced by Gary Knight, this conversation brings together Knight, one of the world’s leading photojournalists, and veteran international correspondent Anna Bosch to explore the power of images, frontline reporting and the responsibility of those who document history as it unfolds.
Moderated by Borja Santos Porras, Vice Dean of IE School of Politics, Economics and Global Affairs, the discussion broadens the conversation beyond journalism to examine how international narratives are shaped—and challenged. Bringing together the perspectives of a photojournalist, a foreign correspondent and a scholar of global affairs, the panel will explore who gets to tell the stories that define our understanding of the world, why those stories matter, and why the search for truth begins with the willingness to look again.
Event in English with simultaneous interpretation into Spanish
Juan Carlos Monroy, Segovia’s Councillor for Culture; Romina Marta Canna and Maxon Higbee, lecturers at the IE School of Architecture & Design, together with some of the students from Design Studio 5, will present the projects they have completed and discuss the capacity of architecture and design to temporarily activate and transform public space through cultural events.
The exhibition Bringing the Urban Environment to Life can be visited at Templete, Plaza Mayor from 10:00 to 20:00.
Event in Spanish
Free admission
In collaboration with Segovia’s Department of Culture and the IE School of Architecture & Design
Jessica Andrews in conversation with Cristina Ward
Writing in the midst of the world
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IE University. Aula Magna
Acclaimed novelist Jessica Andrews joins Cristina Ward, Head of Arts at British Council Spain, for an in-depth discussion of her work, exploring the powerful themes that run through her writing. Andrews’ debut Saltwater, winner of the Portico Prize, and her second novel Milk Teeth, shortlisted for the Royal Society of Literature Encore Award, both examine the intersections of identity, social class, gender and the body with striking sensitivity and precision.
In this wide-ranging conversation, Andrews will reflect on how these cross-cutting concerns shape her fiction, as well as tracing her journey to becoming a writer. From early influences to her emergence as one of the most distinctive voices of her generation, the discussion will offer insight into her creative process and the evolving concerns of her work.
After the event, the author will be signing copies of her books
Vicente Alcañiz, Mar Domínguez and Javier Sierra in conversation with Carme Riera
CEDRO event: Reading attention, a shared challenge
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IE University. Refectorio
Javier Sierra, writer and journalist; Vicente Alcañiz, Education Inspector at the Regional Ministry of Education of the Community of Madrid; and Mar Domínguez, director of the Colpisa news agency will reflect on the challenges reading face. In conversation with Carme Riera, writer, deputy director of the RAE and president of CEDRO, they will address how reading habits have changed, the impact of social media and new sources of information. In addition, there will be a discussion on the benefits of reading and the importance of education as a key tool for promoting respect for copyright and combating piracy through awareness-raising. And how reading makes us reflect on beauty and pain, emotion, knowledge and worlds that are sometimes inaccessible were it not for books.
At the end of the event, the authors will be signing copies of their books
Viktor&Rolf in conversation with Benedetta Poletti and Inés Quezada
Provoking beauty
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IE University. Centro Creativo – Palacio de Mansilla
For over three decades, Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren have challenged the boundaries between fashion and art, establishing Viktor&Rolf as one of the most innovative and influential names in contemporary fashion. Internationally renowned for their conceptual haute couture, their creations combine glamour, irony and experimentation to challenge the conventions of beauty, identity and luxury.
In this conversation, the brand’s founders will trace the evolution of Viktor & Rolf, from their beginnings after graduating from the Arnhem Academy of Art and Design to their establishment as global icons of contemporary creativity. Together with Benedetta Poletti, Editorial Director of Hearst Spain and Editor-in-Chief of ELLE Spain, and Inés Quezada, designer and Academic Director of the Bachelor in Fashion at IE University, they will reflect on the milestones that have marked their career, the relationship between fashion, art and the media, and the role of creativity in a constantly changing cultural context.
Event in English
Price: €9.00 (EUR)
In collaboration with the Embassy of the Netherlands, IE School of Architecture & Design and IE Foundation
Hwang Bo-Reum in conversation with Catalina Tejero
Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop
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IE University. Refectorio
What happens when we step away from the life we are expected to live and begin searching for the life we truly want? This is the question at the heart of Hwang Bo-Reum’s internationally acclaimed novel Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop, a publishing phenomenon that has captivated readers around the world with its warmth, wisdom and quiet humanity.
In conversation with Catalina Tejero, Dean of IE School of Arts & Humanities, Hwang reflects on the themes that have made her work resonate across cultures: burnout, loneliness, friendship, community, and the healing power of books. Set in a small bookshop in a Seoul neighbourhood, her novel follows people who have lost their way and discover new possibilities through literature, conversation and human connection.
The event will be presented by Javier Gila, president of the AIDA Foundation, an organisation which, amongst other projects, collects and sells second-hand books to raise funds for charitable initiatives.
At the end of the event, the author will be signing copies of her book
Event in Korean with simultaneous interpretation into Spanish and English
Price: €9.00 (EUR)
Co-organised with the IE Foundation, in partnership with Grupo Planeta and the AIDA Foundation
José Miguel Ortega in conversation with Héctor Rodríguez
History and its Emotions
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Biblioteca Municipal Casa de la Lectura
Few national and international authors like José Miguel Ortega del Río can boast of seeing their name featured in newspapers such as The Guardian, Le Figaro, The Telegraph, or the New York Post, and on television networks such as ABC News, O Globo, or Fox, in addition to Spanish media outlets like El País, ABC, or La Razón. The publication of Los Reyes del Grial ('The Kings of the Grail'), a book he co-authored with medievalist Margarita Torres Sevilla, made headlines around the world. The Holy Grail and its vicissitudes, a central theme in that work, return in his recent novel Calix Domini: La conjura del Grial. Together with journalist Héctor Rodríguez, they will engage in a conversation about history and fiction, in which the reader gains insight into the emotions, customs, and ways of life of people from a specific era. Thus, the historical novel becomes a bridge between historical knowledge and literary creativity.
At the end of the event, the author will sign copies of his book
Event in Spanish
Price: €9.00 (EUR)
In collaboration with CAF (Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean) and the Segovia City Council
Ben van Berkel, Sheikha Reem Al-Thani, Manuela Lucà-Dazio and David Goodman in conversation
Beyond the Exhibit: Museums as Living Cultural Containers
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IE University. Centro Creativo – Palacio de Mansilla
Museums are no longer simply places to preserve and display collections. They have become catalysts for urban transformation, cultural dialogue and innovation. How can architecture, curatorship and cultural leadership shape the cities—and societies—of the future?
Ben van Berkel, founder and principal architect of UNStudio, Sheikha Reem Al-Thani, Acting Deputy CEO of Exhibitions and Marketing and Director of Central Exhibitions at Qatar Museums, Manuela Lucà-Dazio, Executive Director of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, and David Goodman, Dean of IE School of Architecture and Design, come together to explore the evolving role of museums as living cultural institutions.
From iconic museum buildings to visionary cultural programmes, the conversation will examine how museums can foster creativity, strengthen communities and redefine the relationship between culture, education and the public realm. What makes a museum not only a destination, but a catalyst for social and urban change?
Event in English
Price: €9.00 (EUR)
In collaboration with IE Foundation, the Embassy of the Netherlands and IE School of Architecture and Design
Mahmoud al-Shaer and Muhammad al-Zaqzouq (digitally) in conversation
Conversation on Gaza: 28 Magazine
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IE University. Refectorio
Mahmoud al-Shaer and Muhammad al-Zaqzouq ran a magazine in Gaza called 28 Magazine, a platform for local writers and artists. The war in Gaza forced them to suspend their work for two and a half years; they have now managed to publish a special edition in collaboration with the digital platform Palestine is everywhere. A reflection on what it means to live in a state of suspended war and on the devastating reality of Gaza.
Muhammad al-Zaqzouq, one of the publication’s contributors, will participate from Gaza—via video link—in a conversation with Mahmoud al-Shaer, poet and editor of 28 Magazine, on the power of testimony as a record of historical construction, as a tool for preserving memory, and as a form with its own literary voice.
*All proceeds from the project will be donated to Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) and the Arab Group for the Protection of Nature (APN).
At the end of the event, the authors will be signing copies of their books
Event in English with simultaneous interpretation into Spanish
Price: €9.00 (EUR)
Co-organized with TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary
Eva Mayro, C. A. Todorova and Alba Zamora in conversation
How to Create a Heroine Today
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IE University. Aula Magna
Alba Zamora, C.A. Todorova, and Eva Mayro, essential authors followed by tens of thousands of readers, discuss the rise of romantic fantasy, gothic romance and imaginary worlds as new territories of emotional education, where one flees from the superficial and seeks the beauty of the delicate. A discussion on heroines, wounds, desire, reading communities and the contemporary need to invent one’s own myths.
At the end of the event, the authors will be signing copies of their books
Event in Spanish
Price: €9.00 (EUR)
Co-organised with Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial
Nazareth Castellanos in conversation with Carmen Delibes
The Brain and Beauty
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Biblioteca Pública de Segovia
Humanism and science. Nazareth Castellanos, who has become a leading figure in the popularisation of neuroscience in Spain, proposes this bridge of knowledge as a path to understanding our brain, and to being able to shape it, if we set our minds to it, as Cajal would say. And on that path, she recommends the contemplation of beauty as a form of healthy lifestyle that permeates our biology. She will discuss her research and her works with Carmen Delibes, director of the Segovia Public Library.
At the end of the event, the author will sign copies of her books
Event in Spanish
Free admission subject to availability
Co-organised with Acción Cultural Española, AC/E, in collaboration with Editorial Siruela and the Segovia Public Library
Leonor Pataki is the winner of the 38th Young Creators’ Prize at the 2025 Loewe Foundation International Poetry Prize for her work Una madeja de estambre. An ode to the cat, a loyal and independent animal that embodies many of the habits she herself desires to be happy. More than an animal, a symbol, as the award jury put it. Throughout her collection, she seeks the beauty of the ‘slow life’, of facing challenges through reflection. Pataki will be in conversation with Susana Pliego Quijano, Director of Culture at the Casa de México Foundation in Spain.
After the event, the author will sign copies of her books
Event in Spanish
Price: €9.00 (EUR)
Co-organised with the Loewe Foundation and in collaboration with the Casa de México Foundation in Spain
Enrico Letta and Amparo Moraleda in conversation with Frederick Studemann
FT Weekend Debate: Europe at Different Speeds: Competing in the Age of Innovation
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IE University. Aula Magna
Europe is at a crossroads. As geopolitical tensions rise and technological change accelerates, can Europe move fast enough to remain competitive while staying true to its values?
Enrico Letta, former Prime Minister of Italy, Dean at IE School of Politics, Economics and Global Affairs and author of the landmark report on the future of the Single Market, joins Amparo Moraleda, member of the Board of Directors of Airbus and its next Chairwoman starting October 1, one of Europe's leading business and industrial voices, in conversation with Frederick Studemann, Literary Editor of the Financial Times. Together they will explore how Europe can strengthen its competitiveness in an era defined by artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, defence, research and innovation.
From Ukraine's path towards European integration to new forms of cooperation with strategic partners, the discussion will examine whether a more flexible, "multi-speed" Europe can become a source of resilience rather than fragmentation. How can Europe accelerate decision-making, foster innovation ecosystems and build the capabilities needed to thrive in an increasingly competitive world?
Event in English with interpretation to Spanish
Price: €9.00 (EUR)
In collaboration with IE Foundation and IE Competitiveness Hub Brussels
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IE University. Centro Creativo – Palacio de Mansilla
Can fiction help us understand the future before it arrives? From The Office and Mad Men to Succession, Borgen and Industry, television series have become a powerful lens through which to explore how we work, lead, collaborate and live together.
Cristina Mateo, Vice Dean of IE School of Architecture and Design and author of From The Office to Industry: How TV Series Anticipate the Future of Work, joins journalist and writer Rubén Amón to discuss how audiovisual storytelling reveals the profound transformations reshaping workplaces and society. Together they will explore the impact of artificial intelligence, changing organisational cultures, multigenerational workplaces, sustainability, and the evolving relationship between work, identity and community.
How are today's stories shaping the way we imagine—and build—the future of work?
At the end of the event, the authors will be signing copies of their books
Event in Spanish
Price: €9.00 (EUR)
In collaboration with IE Foundation and IE School of Architecture and Design
Javier Cercas in conversation with Margaryta Yakovenko
50 Years of El País, the newspaper of democracy
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Teatro Juan Bravo
In the book The Newspaper of Democracy, Javier Cercas offers a personal view on the fifty years of El País and, at the same time, on the construction of democratic Spain. Far from being an institutional chronicle, the writer traces the story of a reader who has followed the newspaper since its origins and who is also part of it as a contributor to El País Semanal magazine.
On the occasion of the newspaper’s 50th anniversary, Cercas revisits a collective adventure marked by the defense of freedoms, the vocation for independence, and the conviction that journalism remains an essential tool for understanding reality. The author will talk with El País journalist Margaryta Yakovenko, who is also the author of the novels Desencajada and Ocupación. The meeting will be an opportunity to explore not only the history of a newspaper that shaped Spanish public life, but also to reflect on how the story of a democracy is built and what the role of journalism is today.
At the end of the event, the author will be signing copies of his books
Event in Spanish
Price: €9.00 (EUR)
Co-organised with Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial
Javier Echeverría Sola and Nerea Pallares in conversation with Enrique de Santiago
The World of Cristóbal Balenciaga
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IE University. Refectorio
The entire body of Cristóbal Balenciaga’s work was an explosion of elegance, excellence, beauty and innovation, and a celebration of exclusive craftsmanship. He epitomises, like few others, modernity rooted in tradition, achieved through meticulous craftsmanship. The result can be none other than an artistic creation. This event will explore this form of craftsmanship capable of standing time still, as seen last year in the exhibition Cristóbal Balenciaga | Shoes from Spain Tribute; its curator, Javier Echeverría Sola, will speak with Nerea Pallares, whose novels and short stories are rooted in a poetic exploration of delicacy, manual dexterity and forms of creation linked to the intimate and the artisanal. Her latest book, Punto de araña, she brought the lace-makers of Camariñas to the centre of the story. las palilleiras de Camariñas.Her writing champions an idea of beauty tied to attention, slowness and the careful work of the hands. The event will be moderated by Enrique de Santiago, senior project manager at Loewe.
After the event, the author will be signing copies of her books
