In my teaching practice at Utrecht University, I set up collaborations with artists so that students can explore artistic research and research-creation, through the course Emerging and Transforming Media, Art, and Performance. This is a research MA level course that is built upon practice-based methodologies and alternative ways of knowledge-making. We have worked with Studio Julian Hetzel, Het Huis Utrecht, and Robin Coops/ M31/ WeMakeVR in the last few years, and offered dramaturgical advice, creative consultation, and research support.

Spring 2021: Festival of Un-De Concepts with Studio Julian Hetzel. Children’s books, an eventful landing from a space convoy, conversations with Blade Runner and Star War characters, live podcast with conspiracy theorists, a workshop for composting the self — these were the series of online presentations created by the class in the collaboration with Studio Julian Hetzel in “The Unalphabet”. Taking the prefix of the “un-” as a starting point, students researched and developed concepts within cultural theory that involved “un-” or “de-“. They subsequently created short speculative performances (online, due to Covid restrictions) to help shed light on what it means to work with concepts in Studio Julian Hetzel’s oeuvre. This preliminary research on concept-building and creative-making formed the basis for further development of the project, which was, for instance, installed as a 5-day research laboratory hosted by Frascati Theater Amsterdam in November 2021.

Spring 2022: With Het Huis Utrecht, we worked on the theme “Practices of Inclusion in Artistic Institutions” and provided creative consultation through a series of workshops curated and designed by the students. These ideas were developed in conversation with the Intersectional Action Plan, a blueprint for future actions to increase the institution’s inclusiveness. Through a guided research trajectory, the students developed economic initiatives, staff training workshops, and a scouting simulation for Het Huis’s residency programme, presented in dialogue with Het Huis staff members in an afternoon programme.

Spring 2023: The Saga of Sage with Robin Coops/ M31/ WeMakeVR is a multidisciplinary VR opera, storytelling, interactive experience. In this collaboration, we researched VR and immersion and brainstormed on dramaturgical structures that would increase the sense of agency and participation of audience members. Students created a series of creative workshops that addressed interaction, embodiment, and care relations, offering analogue ways to play with the technological medium.