Leue with An Miller, Koen Vanmechelen

On the occasion of her curatorship of Theater aan Zee in 2021, Caroline Pauwels wrote a beautiful ode to wonder. A plea to open your senses and let your ideas evolve. Children are often amazed. Why is the sea blue? Why does it get dark? Why is that man bald? Somewhere on the way to adulthood most of us lose that innocence. Gradually the fire of curiosity is extinguished: things are just what they are, there is nothing new under the sun. And that is a pity. Wonder gives life color, helps to push our boundaries, and encourages us to question false certainties. In her book ‘Ode aan de verwondering’, Caroline Pauwels makes a soulful plea to look at the world again with that childlike gaze. In science and art, but also in the big and small moments of every day. This ‘Ode aan de Verwondering’ is just as much an ode to the late rector of the VUB, Caroline Pauwels. With texts by Caroline and music she loved. The rector was a public figure with a love for the arts. She was, among other things, curator for Theater Aan Zee. For the VRT she made the series ‘De inzichten van Caroline Pauwels’ and the VRT also made the ‘Vier Seizoenen van Caroline Pauwels’. An Miller crawls into the skin of Caroline Pauwels. Although she has mainly worked for television and film in recent years, An has rediscovered the love for the stage with the remarkable piece “Familie” by Milo Rau/NTGent.