picture: Flaleman

A Conversation on Holding Space 

What happens when a facilitator stops trying to inform/teach/manage — and instead holds space for the unknown?

Overview 

As part of the Timelab Academy series, this event draws inspiration from the writing and facilitation practices of Francis Laleman. Together, we’ll explore the concept of “resourceful exformation” — an approach that doesn’t aim to inform, but to unearth, unsettle, and open up new meaning.

Rather than steering toward fixed outcomes, the facilitator becomes a gentle companion in not-knowing. Exformation, in Francis’s words, is a way to:

“open up space and a plane and a volume and a time and a word, to be continuously reconstructed and replenished with new meaning […]”

What to Expect ? 

An evening where experts from diverse facilitation backgrounds and organizational structures share their experiences and discuss the possibilities of "resourceful exformation" in their own practices. Together, we’ll explore what it means to engage in “gentle cooperative facilitation.” Where do design processes leave room for openness—and where do they resist it?

Philippe Vandenbroeck (ShiftN) will guide you through a conversation with members of ConstructLab Belgium and Jim Segers (City Mine(d)). 

About ShiftN 

"We used to introduce ourselves as 'strategic management' or 'systemic change' consultants. We thought our job was 'to increase the quality of organisational sense-making and strategic conversation', and 'to enhance people's agency in complexity and uncertainty'. We didn't make up a story. There is still truth in that. But we have moved on. Today we see ourselves as fellow travellers that help individuals and organisations to grow as they work through 'the fog that covers life here and now'. In this frenzied world that fog seems thicker than ever."

About ConstructLab 

"Constructlab is a collaborative network working on both temporary and permanent projects practicing ‘togetherness’. Our artistic practice emphasizes collaboration, both with each other and with community members, and is committed to increasing community spirit and highlighting site-specific elements. Through this form of collaboration, Constructlab strives to develop and perform projects with concern for each other and the environment in which it operates. It aims to give the public the opportunity to design, construct, and thus rediscover their living environment. At the same time, Constructlab is an open laboratory in search of constructive knowledge, a search for techniques, methods and materials that can be appropriated and further developed by anyone."

About City Mine(d) 

"Since its creation, City Mine(d) blends innovative design with change towards a more sustainable and fair city in an inclusive and open way. In recent years City Mine(d) put in place a bottom-up approach to urban development. Its trajectories on concrete sustainability topics in a specific neighbourhood can run up to 5 years. They aims at bringing citizens together within their community, among communities, and between citizens and the different institutions that shape the city. In doing so it strengthens voices that often remain unrepresented in the public debate."

Practical Info 

• Date: June 26, 2026
• Time: 20:00 - 21:30 
• Location: Timelab, Kogelstraat 34, 9000 Ghent
• Registration: recommended 
• Fee: €15
• Language: English

Who is it for? 

For anyone facilitating, teaching, or managing groups—as well as artists and designers who want to reflect on their role in participatory design processes.

Sign up 

Join us for an evening of unthinking, reimagining, and stepping gently into the unknown — a conversation about what it means to facilitate with care.
Questions? Feel free to reach out to us at team@timelab.org.

Can't wait ? 

Want to learn more about Francis' concept of "resourceful exformation"? Find his book in our Timelab Bookshop. 

Timelab Academy

This event is part of our public program, shaped by the ongoing journey of Timelab Academy. Curious to see where it leads next? Come join us for more moments like this!

[LECTURE] 29th of May - Conversations for Deeper Understanding with Caitlin Walker 
[EXCURSION] 19th of June - Towards Reciprocal Ways of Working - Field Trip to Aalst 
[WORKSHOP] 25th of June - Shaping Relations Otherwise - by Josina Vink
[DEBATE] 26th of June - Facilitating the Unknown with Philippe Vandenbroeck, ConstructLab, City Mine(d)
[BOOK BRUNCH] 10th of August - "Unlearning Routines of the Impossible" (2025) 
[MASTERCLASS] Ontwerp je eigen participatietools