This past weekend at Theatre Aan Zee, the very first Caroline Pauwels Grant for Wonder was awarded. This development grant supports projects that bring the performing arts and science together in fresh and inventive ways. To honour the legacy of the late Caroline Pauwels (curator of TAZ 2021 and former VUB rector), TAZ, deAuteurs, VUB, KVS and De Grote Post joined forces. From submissions across theatre, dance, opera, music and circus, the jury selected Aha by Martha Balthazar and Leon Adriaensen as the winner.
Aha is an intimate yet high-energy dialogue between theatre-maker and writer Martha Balthazar and physicist–climate scientist Leon Adriaensen. The performance begins with the childlike joy of sudden insight — the “aha moment” — and shows that understanding is not only an intellectual act, but also a physical experience.
Balthazar and Adriaensen are partners in life as well as sparring partners at the kitchen table. From their different disciplines, they challenge, seduce and provoke each other. Their work weaves together complex scientific ideas — such as formal systems, strange loops and recursion — with theatrical poetry. The result is an invitation to the audience to truly understand, moving beyond the fear of complexity.
Aha will premiere on 24 and 25 January 2026 during Chambres d’O. The creators will receive €12,500 from deAuteurs and VUB, as well as further support from TAZ, KVS and De Grote Post. The grant honours the vision of Caroline Pauwels, who believed wholeheartedly in the power of wonder. VUB Rector Jan Danckaert presented the award together with Jean Paul Van Bendegem (Emeritus Professor at VUB and chair of the jury), Katrien Van der Perre (deAuteurs) and Hans Rabaey (TAZ).
“Caroline truly believed in the power of wonder. For her, there was no creativity without it. With this grant, we encourage artists and scientists to harness their sense of wonder and create meaningful connections between science and the arts,” concludes Jan Danckaert.
Ode to Wonder
In December 2025 and March 2026, VUB will present the theatre production Ode to Wonder in Brussels and Mechelen. Ticket sales will open in September 2025.