2026. The Arca stage is yours.
Almost everyone today claims to be innovative, groundbreaking or revolutionary. But which images, projects, creators or campaigns have genuinely shifted our visual culture? Which works introduce a new way of seeing, rather than simply another variation on what we already know? Visual Disruption Day 2026 is therefore conceived as a public search for the most compelling examples of visual disruption today.
The approach
Anyone can nominate a project, creator, campaign, image series, installation, software platform, music video or artist. An independent selection committee will then choose sixteen projects to be invited to Theater Arca in Ghent. Each selected participant is given ten minutes on the Arca stage. Not to promote themselves or present their portfolio, but to answer one central question, Why does this work deserve to be called visually disruptive? Which convention does it challenge? What new visual language does it introduce? What has it genuinely changed? And perhaps most importantly, why will we still remember this work ten years from now?
Not a talent competition
Visual Disruption Day is not a competition. Nobody is eliminated. Nobody receives a red cross. The objective is not to decide who is the best, but to investigate which works are genuinely changing the way we see today.
Audience, experts and outcome
After every presentation, both the audience and an expert jury cast their vote. Not based on intuition alone, but by answering four questions. Which established convention does this work challenge? What new way of seeing does it introduce? Has it had demonstrable impact? Will it still feel relevant ten years from now?
Each selected work receives a visual profile based on the collective voting results.
For example:
Convention Breaking ★★★★★
Originality ★★★★☆
Impact ★★★☆☆
Long-term Relevance ★★★★★
Why participate?
Because participants receive more than a presentation slot. They present their work to an audience of creatives, agencies, cultural professionals and potential clients, becoming part of a conversation that shapes contemporary visual culture.
Selected projects are also included in the Visual Disruption Selection 2026, an online collection published after the event.
Anyone can submit a nomination
Anyone can submit a nomination, free of charge. We deliberately keep the definition broad. As long as it is fundamentally visual, it belongs in the conversation. It can be a photograph, campaign, film, installation, performance, exhibition, publication, visual identity, spatial intervention, AI application, software platform, music video, artwork, digital experience, data visualisation, social media project or something that defies existing categories altogether.
The selection process
An independent selection committee will select sixteen projects to be presented at Visual Disruption Day 2026. The committee consists of Lies Muys (Managing Director, Ila), Joris Moolenaar (Architect of Brands), Stijn Gansemans (Strategic Creative Consultant), Kelly Gevaert and Geert Troch (Atelier Dada) and Astrid Vanderborght (Creative director Studio Boiler).
The committee will assess submissions based on several criteria, including visual impact and originality, relevance to the theme of visual disruption, the ability to challenge dominant visual conventions or narratives, potential for lasting visual impact…
The venue
Visual Disruption Day 2026 takes place on Thursday, 17 December 2026, at Theater Arca in Ghent. The event is limited to 200 attendees. Admission is €80 per person, or bring a second person for just €60 (€140 for two), including drinks and sandwiches until 22:30.
Program
19:00
Welcome & Introduction
19:15 – 20:35
Session 1. Eight selected presentations
20:35 – 21:00
Drinks Break
21:00 – 22:20
Session 2. Eight selected presentations
22:20 – 22:30
The jury’s closing reflections
22:30 – 23:30
Drinks