On Saturday February 14th, participants in the research project Staging Cancer presented their personal songs to an audience of family members, friends, and healthcare professionals from Cancer Center Amsterdam. The songs (original compositions and soundscapes) were created between November 2025 and January 2026 in co-creation with a professional musician/performance maker. The works were presented to the audience as part of an album launch. Each piece functioned as a self-portrait in image and sound.
Staging Cancer is a project funded by the Dutch Cancer Society (KWF) and explores how methods from the performing arts may contribute to re-narrating one’s life story. It is a multi-year initiative developed by researchers from the Department of Medical Oncology, in collaboration with researchers in healthcare design at TU Delft and a rotating group of professional artists. The project aims to bring together scientific research, art, and healthcare. Its ultimate goal is to integrate the performing arts (performance, music, scenography) into supportive care for people with cancer.
In addition to the eight participants, Staging Cancer was realized by: Gerty Van de Perre, Loulou Hameleers, Robbert Klein (musicians and performance artists), Marcel Dolman (scenographer and lecturer at HKU), and Harm Goslink Kuiper (musician and visual artist).
More information at Dr. Niels van Poecke (n.vanpoecke@amsterdamumc.nl), or through the website of the Contingency, Culture & Oncology research line.Photo:
© Photographs by Cem Altinöz