With DEAL WITH IT the IMPAKT Festival 2024 makes a stand for artists who embrace controversy and dare to be radical. Their approach comes out of a principled critical practice, not some easy attempt to attract attention for cheap effect. They express themselves on the pressing issues of our times, and do so in non-conformist ways. They dare to be controversial. They use humour and can handle ambiguity and paradox. Especially now, with a populist right-wing government taking power, it’s going to take real courage to keep the arts going – and to unite us, despite our differing opinions. 

From 30 October until 3 November, The IMPAKT Festival 2024 offers a stage to artists who apply their critical mentality on all fronts: from politics and society to themselves as individuals and their environment in the worlds of art, culture and academia – the fields in which they operate and on which they depend. In these times of identity politics, elite capture and hypercapitalism, we will explore the pressures artists face from the demands of countless activist, social and political agendas. 

The artists contributing to the festival engage with the world around them with deliberate intent and authentic commitment. And they do so on their own terms. Kubra Khademi stands up against the status quo in religious, male-dominated Afghanistan. Dries Verhoeven places consumerism and the capitalist system under the microscope. And Roee Rosen challenges religious taboos and political propaganda with confrontational and perplexing work. 

The IMPAKT Festival 2024 is about art that reflects the world in all its complexity, and that provides radically different perspectives to help build an inclusive society.

DEAL WITH IT is curated by Ine Gevers (Niet Normaal, Come Alive, Fake Me Hard, Robot Love, Hacking Habitat) and Arjon Dunnewind (IMPAKT).