ROMAN STIKKELORUM — FOUNDER & OWNER | VERVE
Thursday 17 september, 11 AM - 12  PM (talk in English)
Roman Stikkelorum is Founder and Managing Director of Verve, an internationally renowned design agency working with leading brands in the Netherlands and beyond. A distinctive voice in the design world, Roman helps brands become more than recognisable, he makes them irreplaceable. In his talk, Roman explores why beauty matters more than ever and how design and culture continuously shape one another. He reveals why design goes far beyond aesthetics: it creates meaning, influences how we see the world and determines which brands truly stay with us.

JANINE TOUSSAINT — ARTISTIC & MANAGING DIRECTOR | MOVING ARTS PROJECT
Thurday 17 september, 13  – 14 PM (talk in Dutch)
What happens when you design not for young people, but with them? Janine Toussaint is a designer and Co-Artistic Director of Moving Arts Project, where she develops socially engaged art projects that connect people and neighbourhoods. Through this practice, she works with Studio Osdorperban: a group of young people from Amsterdam Nieuw-West who create products rooted in their own neighbourhood and lived experience. Together, they transformed ordinary school chairs into an unconventional collection designed around how young people actually want to sit. Janine will explore the power of co-design and show how design can foster ownership, talent development and connection. During GLUE, the chairs will be on display at Artemis for visitors to see and experience.

SHERYL LEYSNER — FOUNDER & INTERIOR ARCHITECT | RUWE BOLSTER
Thursday 17 september, 15 –16  PM (talk in English)
Interior architect and designer Sheryl Leysner is the founder of Ruwe Bolster, a studio that transforms discarded objects and materials into distinctive lighting and furniture pieces full of character. Rather than concealing imperfections, she embraces them, giving materials a new story and a second life. Sheryl demonstrates how interiors, material research, storytelling and emotion come together in designs that not only transform a space, but also influence how people experience it. An inspiring talk about reuse, individuality and creating designs with meaning and soul.

OEP SCHILLING — FOUNDER FICTION FACTORY & WINKELHOUSE
Friday 18 september, 11 AM – 12 PM (session in English) 
Oep Schilling is the founder of Fiction Factory, the renowned production workshop that creates interiors, exhibitions and one-of-a-kind projects for architects, designers and brands. He is also the driving force behind the iconic Wikkelhouse: a modular house made from cardboard, wood and flax. In collaboration with Dutch design brand Weltevree, he also developed the Wikkeltent: an adventurous hybrid between a house and a tent. For Oep, change begins with material. Broadly speaking, there are resources that can grow back and resources we extract from the earth. The latter are finite, while our demand for products, interiors and buildings continues to grow. What does that mean for the choices designers and makers make today? No traditional presentation or large screen. Instead, Oep invites you into a direct, screen-free session guided by a handout. His central message: we need to become more conscious of what we use and fundamentally rethink how we design and build.

MIJKE VAN BALLEGOOIJEN — CEO BYBORRE
Friday 18 september, 13 – 14 PM (talk in English)

Creativity can transform an industry. Technology makes that transformation achievable and scalable. As CEO of BYBORRE, Mijke van Ballegooijen is helping shape a textile industry where creativity, technology and craftsmanship come together—making it more transparent, equitable and ready for the future. In this talk, Mijke shares what it takes to turn a radical vision into meaningful change. How do you create space for experimentation and imagination while building a scalable business? And how do you stay true to your values as the pressure to grow increases? Together with artist Guido de Boer, known for his monumental typographic work, which has been exhibited at venues including the Kröller-Müller Museum, she explores how vision becomes reality. For creative thinkers and makers who want to understand not only what is happening now, but above all what might be possible next.

PANEL DISCUSSION
COCO PADDING (MEDUSA MEDUSA), MOTILAYO WILLIAMS & JUR BAART (FITZROY)
Friday 18 september, 15 – 16 PM (discussion in Dutch) 
Coco Padding, Motilayo Williams and Jur Baart join Jeroen Bouweriks, Creative Lead at Artemis, to explore how AI is reshaping authenticity, authorship and the role of the maker. How do you use AI without surrendering your craft or creative authority? And when does AI become a co-creator?As almost everything we create can become training data, creativity risks collapsing into sameness. In response, craft, vision, cultural awareness and a distinctive creative signature are gaining new value. Because perhaps creativity isn’t about what you’re able to make, but having the courage to make something different.

TANJA SOETER — CREATIVE DIRECTOR | EXECUTIVE ADVISOR | BYE MEMORIAL DESIGN
Saturday 19 september, 11 AM – PM  (talk in Dutch) 
Tanja Soeter works at the intersection of strategy, design, culture and innovation. For brands including HEMA, IKEA, Auping, de Bijenkorf and the Van Gogh Museum, she translates changing human needs into relevant products, experiences and retail concepts. She also works as a product designer, driven by a deep fascination with the healing power of form, materials and experience. In this intimate session on Healing Aesthetics, Tanja explores how design can contribute to calm, wellbeing and connection. What makes a design not only beautiful, but also meaningful and genuinely good for people?

MARTINA HALSEMA — FORMER DIRECTOR AMSTERDAM ART
Saturday 19 september, 13 – 14 PM (talk in English)
A good idea only gains value when someone makes it happen. That’s where Martina Halsema excels.Working at the intersection of art, culture, entrepreneurship and leadership, Martina knows how to turn creative ambition into reality. During her time as Director of Amsterdam Art, she worked at the heart of the contemporary art world, bringing together artists, galleries, institutions and partners. It’s no coincidence that GLUE named her Creative Citizen of Honour 2026. Martina shows that creativity and commerce are not opposites, they need each other to survive. Anyone can have an idea. Making it happen? That’s the craft.

RUBIAH BALSEM — FOUNDER & DIRECTOR STUDIO BALSEM
Saturday 19 september, 15 -16 PM (talk in English)
Rubiah Balsem is a cultural leader, social architect, curator, strategic advisor and founder of Studio Balsem. She develops cultural institutions and ecosystems, with a focus on the systems, stories, relationships and emotions that shape our cultural world. Her work explores how art and culture can contribute to a more inclusive and future-oriented society. She creates space for new perspectives and works towards a cultural sector in which different voices and forms of knowledge are equally valued in shaping institutions and imagining the future. Her practice spans collaborations, advisory and leadership roles across the cultural sector, including Amsterdam Art, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Museum Cobra, Buro Stedelijk, Nieuwe Instituut, OSCAM, Brutus and Art Rotterdam.