Sociologist Pascal Gielen in conversation with Artist Hakan Topal
In an era of rising distrust toward others, institutions, and corporations, many point to a lack of accountability and a deep sense of powerlessness. How can we overcome this culture of mistrust? We often rely on regulations, audits, and promises of transparency, but do these truly create authentic trust? In his latest book, sociologist Pascal Gielen explores the crucial role cultural commons play in fostering trust. He argues that trust goes beyond governance; it’s rooted in culture, emotion, and aesthetics. Gielen believes that genuine trust begins with sharing vulnerabilities, and the “common” provides the space for this essential exchange.
Pascal Gielen (1970) is a writer and full professor of sociology of culture and politics at the Antwerp Research Institute for the Arts (Antwerp University - Belgium) where he leads the Culture Commons Quest Office (CCQO). Gielen is editor of the international book series Antennae - Arts in Society (Valiz). In 2016 he became laureate of the Odysseus grant for excellent international scientific research of the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders in Belgium. In 2022, he was appointed by the Flemish Government as curator of the Culture Talks conference. Gielen has published many books which are translated into Chinese, English, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, and Ukrainian. His research focuses on creative labor and the common, urban, and cultural politics. Gielen works and lives in Antwerp, Belgium. He then delivers articles for the Belgian newspapers De Morgen and De Standaard. Recent books of his hand are ‘Sensing Earth – Cultural Quests Across a Heated Globe’ and ‘Trust – Building on the Cultural Commons.’
Hakan Topal (born in Turkey) is an artist, engineer, sociologist, and full professor of New Media and Art+Design at Purchase College, SUNY. He co-founded the international art collective xurban_collective (2000–12), exhibiting projects at major institutions including the 8th and 9th Istanbul Biennials, TBA21 in Vienna, Kunst-Werke in Berlin, ZKM Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe, MoMA PS1 in New York, the 9th Gwangju Biennial, the ICP Museum in New York, and DEPO Istanbul. He holds a B.S. in Engineering and an M.S. in Gender and Women’s Studies from Middle East Technical University and a Ph.D. in Sociology from The New School for Social Research. Topal lives and works in Brooklyn, New York, and Yalıkavak, Turkey.
