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TALENT PLATFORM

Discover emerging creative talents who are active in the fields of design, architecture and digital culture, supported by Creative Industries Fund NL. The Talent Platform is showcasing what artistic and professional growth entails and serves as a fount of information for other creatives and for commissioners.

GRANT PROGRAMME FOR TALENT DEVELOPMENT

Talent development is one of Creative Industries Fund NL's spearheads. The Fund awards 12-month grants to up-and-coming creative talents every year, providing the opportunity to enrich artistic and professional aspects of their practice to optimum effect. Participants must have graduated within the last four years and must be active in one of the diverse disciplines of the creative industries, from fashion design to graphic design, from architecture to digital culture. The Fund's online Talent Platform portrays all the individual practices of designers who have received a grant since 2013.

2024

Meet a new generation of design talent through 51 video portraits. These short films and interviews provide an intimate glimpse into the creative process of emerging talents supported by the Talent Development Grant Scheme in 2023/2024. Get inspired by a diverse range of projects, ranging from a reinterpretation of negative stereotypes about North African women using traditional henna, to research on spatial justice in Amsterdam's Red Light District, and from queer stories told through ceramic sculptures and film, to interactive art projects addressing themes such as inclusion and connectedness.

Video: Jonathan Sipkema & Chris Groos | Graphics: Studio Stark | Sound design & mix: Denis Wouters & Jasper Boogaard

Publication Talent Platform 2024

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2023

In 50 1-minute film portraits, you get to know talented designers, makers, artists and architects, who received a talent development grant in 2022/2023, in a personal and intimate way. Concept: Koehorst in 't Veld and Roel van Tour (design Toon Koehorst en Jannetje in 't Veld, video Roel van Tour, interview Wilbert Eerland). During the Dutch Design Week 2023, the film portraits were shown together with performances and exhibitions in an installation designed by Koehorst in 't Veld in the Portiersloge, Eindhoven.

Publication Talent Platform 2022

TALENT PLATFORM 2023
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2022

In 51 1-minute film portraits, you get to know talented designers, makers, artists and architects, who received a talent development grant in 2021/2022, in a personal and intimate way. Concept: Koehorst in 't Veld and Roel van Tour (design Toon Koehorst en Jannetje in 't Veld, video Roel van Tour, interview Wilbert Eerland). During the Dutch Design Week 2022, the film portraits were shown in an installation designed by Koehorst in 't Veld in MU Hybrid Art House, Eindhoven.

Publication Talent Platform 2022

TALENT PLATFORM 2022
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2021

In 35 1-minute film portraits, you get to know talented designers, makers, artists and architects, who received a talent development grant in 2020/2021, in a personal and intimate way. Concept: Koehorst in 't Veld and Roel van Tour (design Koehorst in 't Veld with Sjors Rigters, video Roel van Tour, interview Maarten Westerveen, soundtrack Volodymyr Antoniv). During the Dutch Design Week 2021, the film portraits were shown in an installation designed by Koehorst in 't Veld in the Klokgebouw, Eindhoven.

Publication Talent Platform 2021

TALENT PLATFORM 2021
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ESSAYS

Over the past seven years, the Creative Industries Fund NL has supported over 250 young designers with the Talent Development grant. In three long reads by Jeroen Junte, we look for the shared mentality of this design generation.

2020

Talent Tours provides via short video portraits insight into the thinking and practice of 39 emerging design talents, each of whom is concerned with topical social themes. What are their motives, their doubts and ambitions, and what values do they put first in their work? From 18 to 25 October 2020, the Creative Industries Fund NL presented the video portraits and daily livestreams with new talent during the Dutch Design Week.

Publication Talent Platform 2020

TALENT PLATFORM 2020
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2019

Twenty-five minute-long film portraits introduce you in a personal and intimate way to the talented designers, makers, artists and architects who received a year-long stipendum over 2019/2020. The concept and production are the work of Studio Moniker. The film portraits are part of a programme together with performances by the talents in the MU artspace during Dutch Design Week 2019.

TALENT PLATFORM 2019
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2018

Twenty-four minute-long film portraits introduce you in a personal and intimate way to the talented designers, makers, artists and architects who received a year-long stipend over 2017/2018. The concept and production are the work of Studio Moniker. The film portraits are part of an installation in the Veem Building during Dutch Design Week 2018.

TALENT PLATFORM 2018
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ESSAY: Longread Talent #3

Me and the other
In the past seven years, the Creative Industries Fund NL has supported over 250 young designers with the Talent Development grant. In three longreads, we look for the shared mentality of this design generation, which has been shaped by the great challenges of our time. They examine how they deal with themes such as technology, climate, privacy, inclusiveness and health. In this third and final longread, the focus is no longer on personal success and individual expression but on ‘the other’....

2017

The fourth edition of In No Particular Order during the Dutch Design Week 2017 presented a collective statement about the pluriformity of contemporary design practice. Nine installations addressed the themes of Position, Inspiration, Working Environment, Representation, Money, Happiness, Language, Discourse and Market. The presentation in the Van Abbe Museum was curated by Jules van den Langenberg, who was himself a participant in the Programme for Talent Development in 2017.

TALENT PLATFORM 2017
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2016

In the third edition of In No Particular Order in 2016, curator Agata Jaworska offered insight into what it means to run a design practice. How do designers create the circumstances in which they work? What can we learn from their methodologies and routines? The designers reflected on these questions in audio recordings and with sketches. Together they give a personal impression of the development of their artistic practices.

In No Particular Order 2016

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2015

The second edition of the In No Particular Order presentation was staged in the Veem Building during Dutch Design Week 2015. Curator Agata Jaworska focused on the processes, points of departure and visions behind the materialization of work, using a database of images from the personal archives of the designers. What is it that drives the modern-day designer? What are their sources of inspiration, motivations and ambitions?

In No Particular Order 2015

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2014

What makes someone a talent? How is talent shaped? These were the pivotal questions for the first In No Particular Order exhibition in the Schellens Factory during Dutch Design Week 2014. Besides presenting the work of individual talents, curator Agata Jaworska revealed trends and shared similarities as well.

In No Particular Order 2014

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essays
essays

Dancing with trouble

THE 2022 BATCH WAS PRESENTED DURING DUTCH DESIGN WEEK THROUGH THE PROGRAMME DANCING WITH TROUBLE, A THEME THAT IS TAILOR-MADE FOR THIS GROUP OF UP-AND-COMING DESIGNERS AND MAKERS.

In her 2016 book Staying with the Trouble: Making Kin in the Chthulucene philosopher and theorist Donna Haraway suggests that, in building the future, mankind should not get caught up in fixing systems that are known to be obsolete. Instead, she suggests to wildly imagine beyond the known. By being present and by bonding with a variety of others, in unpredictable or surprising combinations and collaborations. For her, staying with the trouble means that we as humans do not just need solutions, but most of all need each other.

What is being felt in this year’s group of up-annd-coming creatives is the search for the collective and the need to go beyond the boundaries of design disciplines. But also the messiness that trouble represents and the freedom it gives to experiment. They look at the world beyond solutionism. Beyond future scenarios, they courageously embrace the possibility of having no end point, no solution or no future at all. Yet, this does not cause paralysis or defeat. The talents dare to dance with life and trouble. Firmly grounded in the here and now, they experience, experiment, question and navigate the unknown. The approaches differ but are connected by movement. Moving forward, inward, backward or through, constantly making new connections, changing angles, perspectives and positions, without a pre-set outcome. The group distinguishes itself by this movement that could be interpreted as a continuous dance – agile, soft, fluid and daring – with the profound troubles we face today.

The emerging talents share a holistic perspective and prefer to design an imagined elsewhere or part of the process rather than an object for the sake of it. We see the designers turning to ancient or ancestral knowledge, to imagine how reconnecting with land, soil and nature could offer alternative ways of existing and belonging. Some artists seek to create connections with a more varied group of beings, including non-human and digital entities, to understand the world and mankind’s position in it. Several explore the human skill-set, and how feelings as opposed to thoughts can be a valuable and valid source of knowledge while navigating the future. Others imagine what our future surroundings – physical, digital and hybrid – could look like, and what behavior we may need to master to exist in these spaces.

While all dance to the beat of their own drum, the talents are connected by the idea that we are not alone in dealing with the challenges of our time. On the contrary: they show a deep-rooted conviction that everything is connected and that we may be hopeful, as long as we have each other. But most of all, they inspire us to see the silver lining. Instead of living a life of worry about the past or future, we can choose to be here, now. Trouble is a given, but life is a dance floor.


INTERVIEW DANCING WITH TROUBLE

DANCING WITH TROUBLE HAS BEEN COMPILED BY EVA VAN BREUGEL (AGOG AND URBAN ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME MAKER), ESTHER MUÑOZ GROOTVELD (PROGRAMME MAKER AND STRATEGIC CONSULTANT AT THE INTERSECTION OF FASHION, DESIGN, ART AND SOCIETY), AND MANIQUE HENDRICKS (CURATOR, WRITER AND RESEARCHER IN THE FIELD OF CONTEMPORARY ART, VISUAL AND DIGITAL CULTURE). MARIEKE LADRU AND SHARVIN RAMJAN, BOTH ASSOCIATED WITH THE TALENT DEVELOPMENT GRANT SCHEME OF THE FUND, SPOKE WITH THE THREE PROGRAMME MAKERS.

HOW DO YOU SEE THE IMPORTANCE OF TALENT DEVELOPMENT?

EB ‘I think talent development is essential. We are facing huge transitions in the field of housing, energy, water, greening and sustainability; in short, a changing society and culture. We need a new vanguard to effectively take on this challenge. The new generation can bring a fresh perspective and different approaches.’

MH ‘The challenges are relevant professionally, but are also issues we need to relate to as human beings. And that’s quite demanding, also for these young makers. While the first years following graduation are already quite challenging. That’s why the talent development grant is so important. Besides offering time and funding, it gives the recipients the opportunity to develop focus, to present yourself to the world, and to engage in collaborations and forge connections.’

EMG ‘One of the important values of the grant is that it enables talented makers to meet each other. That way they can move ahead together, which builds confidence. Talent is often the vanguard since they still have a certain open-mindedness. They look toward the future with hope, and move toward the future with boldness and freedom. I think that’s wonderful to see.’

WHAT TYPIFIES THESE MAKERS?

MH ‘The hope that Esther refers to is certainly striking. These makers do not envisage a dystopian future. They are aware of living and working in a complicated time, but they want to ride the waves. Being part of a collective is an important part of it. That’s why the programme was titled Dancing with Trouble. Each individual chooses their own rhythm, but they are in this together.’

EB ‘Many makers focus on personal themes such as identity, queer community and diaspora, but also engage with the current crises in the world concerning the climate, the changing landscape, available agrarian land and migration. Who has the right to claim a certain space? That’s a relevant question in a physical sense, but also philosophically and culturally. Design and research interrogate the status quo by finding new ways to look at what’s here now.’

MH ‘The lived experience often takes centre stage. How can you communicate this? This is attempted for instance by means of technology, enabling the user – or the audience – to empathise with others, to share experiences and to build communities. It involves creating and appreciating other forms of knowledge transfer.’

EMG ‘What seems to characterise this group of upcoming makers is a holistic approach and a desire to connect with the environment and the future. Designers are working on shaping and developing relationships and connections. The physical object often seems to be of secondary importance; what really matters is stimulating a dialogue or change process.’

EB ‘The emphasis is often on the process and the experiment, with less concern for an end product or goal. I also notice that these talents show a very adaptive approach to the current time of transition.’

DOES THIS IMPLY ANY PARTICULAR CHALLENGES?

EMG ‘The absence of a tangible end result can make it more difficult to present a story. Of course a picture is worth a thousand words; but projects that address complex issues are often hard to capture in language. For some designs, there simply isn’t any vocabulary yet.’

EB ‘Perhaps it’s also easier to work on a concept, and in this phase of your professional practice it might be difficult to take a certain position and then to materialise this in a product or end point. But then this might also be a particular quality of the new generation!’

HOW MIGHT THE EMERGENCE OF HYBRID PRACTICES AFFECT THE FUTURE OF THE DESIGN FIELD IN RELATION TO THE VISUAL ARTS?

EMG ‘The connection with visual arts is quite particular for the Dutch design sector. Designers are often trained at art educational institutes that are all about artistic expression. So it’s no surprise that the distinction between design and visual art isn’t always clear-cut. What I find more interesting is how makers are increasingly investigating other disciplines such as biology or geology. This leads to collaboration projects in which the designer acts as the linchpin.’

EB ‘Designers and artists are increasingly adopting interdisciplinary approaches, and are developing more rapidly than the underlying systems. This causes some complications in the work field. For example, grant schemes often presuppose that designers can be categorised in terms of discipline. And having a complex profile can also make it difficult to obtain commissions.’

EMG ‘Indeed, a hybrid practice can be difficult to pigeonhole. Certainly in the world of institutions, it can be hard for these practices to fit in. The makers face questions such as: how do I claim my position in the field? How do I demonstrate the relevance of my work? And how can I obtain funding for my work? This can be difficult for design research, which doesn’t have a clearly projected end result. Not many clients are willing to accommodate experimentation. These designers need to think carefully about the partners in industry

and other disciplines that they want to involve in their work.’

CAN YOU TELL US A BIT ABOUT THE FIVE THEMES THAT MAKE UP DANCING WITH TROUBLE?

EMG ‘We distinguished five themes that inform and connect the different presentations and performances during the Dutch Design Week 2022. The theme of Sensing Forward pertains to the increasing acknowledgement of emotions and experiences as a valuable and valid source of knowledge. A good example is the work by product designer Boey Wang, who explores how you can design on the basis of touch and feeling. Beyond Bodies is about no longer seeing the human being as central but learning to listen to nature and other entities. Thus, Dasha Tsapenko offers a glimpse of the dressed body in the future by examining how we would dress if our items of clothing were living beings. Relating to Land(scapes) focuses on future landscapes and the new skills and behaviour we need to develop to live and navigate communally. For example, Lieke Jildou de Jong examined what would be the best diet with a view to the soil. Longing to Belong addresses the sense of rootlessness that many people have in this hyper-individualist era. What does it mean to “feel at home”, and how can designers contribute to a sense of togetherness? Finally, Power to the Personal focuses on practices in which personal stories play an important role.’

MH ‘These themes reflect the mood and the movement apparent among this group of designers and makers. It is special to see so many new ideas juxtaposed. And the fact that this group also consists of makers that were not previously represented in the sector is cause for optimism.’

Longread Talent #1
Me and my practice
How design talents (have to) reinvent themselves

Over the past seven years, the Creative Industries Fund NL has supported over 250 young designers with the Talent Development grant. In three longreads, we look for the shared mentality of this design generation, which has been shaped by the great challenges of our time. In doing so, they examine how they deal with themes such as technology, climate, privacy, inclusiveness and health. In this first longread: the in-depth reflection on the field and place of their own practice in it. The entrenched principles of fashion, design and architecture are questioned and enriched with new tools, techniques, materials and platforms.

The Dirty Design Manifesto by Marjanne van Helvert is a fiery argument against the fact that the production of many design objects causes so much pollution. It also takes a stand against tempting design products, without individuality or intrinsic value, fuelling consumption. The manifesto focuses not only on manufacturers and consumers but also on designers who pay scant attention to sustainability, inequality and other pressing social issues. In short, it is a j’accuse against design’s darker aspects.

Marjanne van Helvert, The Responsible Object: A History of Design Ideology for the Future
Marjanne van Helvert, The Responsible Object: A History of Design Ideology for the Future

As well as being a critic, Van Helvert is also a textile designer and developed Dirty Clothes, a unisex collection of used clothing. In 2016, to further advance her critical vision, she received a talent development grant from the Creative Industries Fund NL. They award this €25,000 subsidy annually to about 30 young designers. Van Helvert used the support to write The Responsible Object: A History of Design Ideology for the Future, in which she thoroughly examines various design philosophies, testing them for durability and applicability now and in the near future. Unsurprisingly, the book was convincing in design alone, executed in a clean grid and a powerful black, white and orange palette. In addition, Van Helvert’s writing demonstrates she is an astute thinker and conscientious researcher.

Sabine Marcelis, a library of materials
Sabine Marcelis, a library of materials

HEALING WAR WOUNDS

Van Helvert’s approach is indicative of a design generation who no longer cast their critical eye solely on their individual practice but on the entire sector. This trend is clearly evident when we look at the various cohorts of Talent Development Scheme grant recipients over the years. Together, these design cohorts provide a current snapshot of the creative industry.

Since the Talent Development Scheme’s launch in 2014, some 250 young designers have drawn on this opportunity to professionalise. In the first few years, the participants mainly focused on an in-depth reflection of their own practice – with great success, in fact. For example, product designer Sabine Marcelis (2016 cohort) used her development year to collaborate with manufacturing professionals, resulting in a library of new, pure materials for various projects. It brought her world fame. Fashion designer Barbara Langedijk and jewellery designer Noon Passama (2015 cohort) experimented on Silver Fur, a joint project with a high-tech, fur-like textile. It resulted in an innovative collection that organically merged clothing and jewellery. Or architect Arna Mačkić (2014 cohort), who examined architecture’s role in healing war wounds in her native Bosnia. In 2019, Mačkić won the Young Maaskant Prize, the highly prestigious award for young architects. All these talented practitioners broadened their particular fascinations and strengthened their design skills to develop a unique profile. This remains the basis of the Talent Development Scheme – the name says it all.

Gradually, alongside the recipients expanding their professional boundaries, they increasingly began to explore the precise boundaries of their professional field. The youngest cohort also demonstrates that research is not just a means to arrive at a design. Research has become design, and this is as true in fashion as it is in product design, graphic design, architecture, and gaming, interactive and other digital design. Why should an architect always design a building, an urban district or landscape? This is the starting point of Carlijn Kingma’s utopian landscapes (2018 cohort). Her architecture only exists on paper and is made of nothing but jet-black ink. The meticulously detailed pen drawings are often more than a metre high and wide and consist of buildings that are part fantasy and partly historical. These maps depict abstract and complex social concepts architecture has grappled with for centuries – utopia, capitalism and even fear and hope. Kingma infuses her field with philosophical reflections and historical awareness. By eschewing the term architect and instead calling herself a ‘cartographer of worlds of thought’, she positions herself beyond architecture. Like Marjanne van Helvert, she is simultaneously a participant and observer of her profession.

Carlijn Kingma, A Histoty of the Utopian Tradition
Carlijn Kingma, A Histoty of the Utopian Tradition

TECH-FOOD AS A CONVERSATION PIECE

The textile designer who makes a book and the architect who does not want to build exemplifies a generation that is researching and redefining its profession. What are the options for a fashion designer who wants to break away from the industry’s dominance? What does it mean to be a product designer in a world collapsing under the weight of overconsumption? How do you deal with privacy issues or addictive clickbait when designing an app, website or game? Although this fundamental self-examination is based on personal dilemmas, sometimes even frustrations, it nourishes the whole professional community.

This research can be both hyper-realistic and hypothetical. Food designer Chloé Rutzerveld (2016 cohort) combines design, science, technology, gastronomy and culture to realise projects about the food of the future. Edible Growth is a design for ready-to-eat dishes using a 3D printer. They are made up of layers containing seeds and spores in an edible substrate. Once printed, they become an entirely edible mini garden within a few days using natural yeast and ripening processes. Rather than an emphatically concrete product, Rutzerveld has developed a paper concept to bring discussions on social and technological issues surrounding food to a broad audience. The resulting mediagenic images of fake dishes and intriguing project texts have resulted in Rutzerveld figuring on the international circuit for lectures and exhibitions. Her prototype has become the product.

This probing attitude has become the unifying factor among the young designers who received a talent development grant. The goal can be a specific result, such as creating a materials library or a fashion collection independent of seasons and gender. The entire design field is also being researched, including a manifesto about dirty design. Another outcome is exploring the designer’s role as a producer, as Jesse Howard (2015 cohort) does with his everyday devices that allow the user to play an active role in both the design and production process. Utilising an open-source knowledge platform, Howard explores innovative ways to use digital fabrication tools, such as 3D printers, computerised laser cutters, and milling machines. He designs simple household appliances, such as a kettle or vacuum cleaner, that consumers can fabricate using bolts, copper pipes and other standard materials from the hardware store. Specific parts, such as the protective cover, can be made with a 3D printer. They share the required techniques on the knowledge platform. If the device is defective, the producing consumer – or prosumer – can also repair it. These DIY products are made from local materials and offer a sustainable and transparent alternative to mass production.

Juliette Lizotte
Juliette Lizotte

PERFORMER, DJ, CHOREOGRAPHER – AND DESIGNER

During the past seven years of the Talent Development Scheme, design’s boundaries have been interrogated and expanded through new idioms, such as social design, food design, conceptual design, and speculative design. Architects act as quartermasters and cartographers. Fashion disrupts with anthropological installations. Today it is as much an inquisitive mentality as a skillset that distinguishes design talent. Sometimes the individual’s approach is such that graphic design, architecture or fashion no longer appropriately describe their practice.

Juliette Lizotte (2020 cohort) wants to employ videos and LARP (live action role-playing, a role-playing game in which players assume a fantasy role) to stimulate the discussion about climate change. Under the name Jujulove, she DJs, collaborates with dancers and theatre makers, and, with a fashion designer, makes recycled plastic costumes for the dancers in her videos. In her self-appointed role as a witch, she promotes ecofeminism, in which women represent a creative and healing force on nature. Through a multisensory experience of image, sound and performance, she mainly aims her work at young people and target groups not traditionally considered by the cultural sector. However, her fantasy world actually runs parallel to the traditional design world. Jujulove is not a designer but creates a groundbreaking holistic design using diverse disciplines such as film and storytelling.

Designers are no longer central to their own design practice. There is an explicit pursuit of interdisciplinary collaboration and interaction. Though French-Caribbean programmer/designer Alvin Arthur (2020 cohort) trained as a designer, he has developed into a versatile performer, teacher, researcher and connector. His toolkit is his body, which he uses to visualise how the writing of computer programs works. He calls his mixture of choreography, performance and design body.coding. Through a specially developed lesson programme, full of group dance and movement, he teaches primary school children about the extent to which their living environment is digitally programmed, from their school buildings and places where they live to the design and production of their smartphones. Above all, he shows that programming and design are not necessarily sedentary activities that you do behind a desk. Designing is thinking, moving, combining and collaborating.

The latter is especially true. Sometimes two different disciplines work together to great effect, such as jewellery designer Noon Passama and fashion designer Baraba Langendijk. Increasingly, however, designers are combining their knowledge and skills in close-knit collectives. Knetterijs (2019 cohort) is a group of eight graphic designers who operate as one studio. Each member has their expertise and role, from analogue printing techniques, such as risoprint and screen printing, to digital illustration techniques or running the Knetterijs webshop. They used their development year for the joint production of three ‘magazines’ in which new techniques such as graphic audio tracks and an interactive e-zine were explored. They replace individual ego with ‘we go’.

Saïd Kinos, HIDEOUT, Uruma hotel in Okinawa, Japan. Photo Masafumi Kashi
Saïd Kinos, HIDEOUT, Uruma hotel in Okinawa, Japan. Photo Masafumi Kashi

STORYTELLING AND STREET ART

This transformation of the design disciplines is now at the heart of the Talent Development Scheme. Since 2019, scout nights have offered creative talent that has not trained on the usual courses – such as those at the Design Academy Eindhoven or TU Delft – an opportunity to pitch their work to a selection committee. Professionals in art direction, storytelling or city making are given the opportunity to consolidate their practice. Street artist Saïd Kinos (2020 cohort) already had success with his colourful, graphic murals featuring design techniques like collage and typography. Thanks to a talent development grant, he can now transcend the street art category and expand his practice into being an artist whose canvas extends beyond that of the city. He has mastered digital techniques, such as augmented reality, animation and projection mapping (projecting moving images onto buildings).

A PRACTICE OF EVOLUTION

The advancement of an individual or collective practice thus coincides with the development of the entire discipline. The fixed principles of traditional design disciplines, such as fashion, design and architecture, are explored and enriched through new tools, techniques, materials and platforms. By now, everything is mixed up: street, museum and website; cartography and aerosol; witchcraft and 3D printers. These talented designers respond to social developments and leave their mark on them, thereby shaping tomorrow's society, which is the ultimate proof of the necessity of talent development.

Text: Jeroen Junte

Longread Talent #2
Me and the world
Post-crisis design generation seeks (and finds) its place in vulnerable future

Over the past seven years, the Stimulation Creative Industries Fund NL has supported over 250 young designers with the Talent Development grant. In three longreads, we look for the shared mentality of this design generation, which has been shaped by the great challenges of our time. In doing so, they examine how they deal with themes such as technology, climate, privacy, inclusiveness and health. In this second longread: design talent is nourished by a sense of urgency. ‘If we do not turn the tide, who will?’

15 September 2008. 12 December 2015. 17 March 2018. These may seem like random dates, but these moments have left their mark on the contemporary design field. On 15 September 2008, the Lehman Brothers investment bank in New York went bankrupt. The ensuing severe financial crisis exposed the disarray of the global economic system. On 12 December 2015, 55 countries (now 197) concluded a far-reaching Climate Agreement recognising climate change as an indisputable fact. The industrial depletion of existing raw materials and energy supplies is now ‘officially’ unsustainable. And on 17 March 2018, The New York Times reported on large-scale political manipulation by the data company Cambridge Analytica. Fake news and privacy violations shattered the twentieth century’s democratic ideal.

These events – and more, for that matter – highlight the world’s continuing crisis conditions. The more than 250 designers the Talent Development Scheme of the Creative Industries Fund NL has supported since 2014 were trained during, and thus shaped by, these crises. They belong to the last design generation with a clear memory of 9/11 – a generation motivated by a sense of urgency. They understand that if we don’t turn the tide, then who will? They are also devoid of arrogance and well aware of the limitations of their expertise and the disciplines in which they work. Whether product design, fashion, digital design or architecture, they do not harbour the illusion that they have that one all-encompassing solution.

Irene Stracuzzi, The legal status of ice
Irene Stracuzzi, The legal status of ice

MAPPING THE MONEY FLOWS

However, communication is a potent weapon, as graphic designer Femke Herregraven (2015 cohort) understands. She delved into and visualised the financial constructions behind the neoliberal world economy. Herregraven focused on offshore structures and the disconnect between capital and physical locations. Through a serious game, she playfully introduced you to international tax structures in faraway places. Her Taxodus draws from an extensive database that processes various international tax treaties and data from companies and countries. Becoming rich has never been so fun and easy. She also investigated the colonial history of Mauritius and this Indian Ocean island’s new role as a tax haven. Herregraven’s meticulous research and surprising designs reveal hidden value systems and clarify their material and geographical consequences. To reform unbridled capitalism, one must first know its pitfalls.

Knowledge is also power. Thus these designers are trying to determine their place in an increasingly vulnerable world. Vulnerable in a very literal sense because climate change is perceived as the most dangerous threat. As graphic designer Irene Stracuzzi (2019 cohort) demonstrates, geopolitical forces also determine the playing field here. Her installation The Legal Status of Ice details how the five Arctic countries – Russia, Canada, Denmark, Norway and the US – are laying claim to the North Pole. After all, immense oil and gas fields may lie beneath the melting icecaps. But shouldn’t the disappearing ice, which has shrunk by half since the late 1970s, be the issue? Stracuzzi has mapped this contemporary imperialism in a giant 3D model of the North Pole, onto which she maps the overlapping claims and other data. The legal status of ice concerns not only the North Pole but also the uranium mines in Angola and the new space race in search of lunar minerals. It is about a system of exploitation and colonialism. The influential curator Paola Antonelli selected Stracuzzi’s work for the Broken Nature exhibition at the 2019 Triennale di Milano. No one can now claim we didn’t know.

Marco Federico Cagnoni
Marco Federico Cagnoni

LIVING LAMPS

The realisation that the complexity of the climate crisis is too great to confront alone is profound. Designers eagerly collaborate with other disciplines. For example, Marco Federico Cagnoni (2020 cohort) is researching latex-producing edible plants with Utrecht University. Corn and potatoes, among other plant varieties, are still grown as raw materials for bioplastics, but the production process discards the nutrients. Cagnoni is studying food crops whose residual material is also processed into fully-fledged bioplastics.

Designers seek a symbiosis with nature from an awareness that we can no longer exploit Earth with impunity. The roadmap is diverse, and nature is protected, imitated, repaired or improved. Let us not forget, we are in the Anthropocene: the era in which human activity influences all life on Earth. But if humankind can destroy nature, then humanity can also recreate it. Biodesigner Teresa van Dongen (2016 cohort) collaborated with microbiologists from TU Delft and Ghent University to develop the Ambio lamp based on luminescent bacteria. The lamp features a long, liquid-filled tube in which marine bacteria live. When the tube moves, it activates the bacteria to give off light. The better the bacteria are cared for, the more and longer they give light. As well as being a sustainable alternative, her Ambio lamp also functions as a powerful means of communication. So working together with nature is possible; we have simply forgotten how to do it.

Teresa van Dongen, Ambio
Teresa van Dongen, Ambio

This situation explains why designers are looking for ways to restore our relationship with nature. Architect Anna Fink (2020 cohort) proposed a country house consisting of rooms scattered in woods, meadows and a village. Residents must maintain their Landscape as House by felling, planting, mowing, building and repairing. The essence of this fragmented ‘house’ is a daily rhythm of movement from room to room and an awareness of the environment, time and space. Routines and rituals are rooted in the weather’s changes. Seasons become a domestic experience. Fink drew on the age-old, semi-nomadic lifestyle of her ancestors in the valley of the Bregenzerwald in the northern Alps. Here, the hyperlocal offers a solution for global issues.

Sissel Marie Tonn i.c.w. Jonathan Reus, Sensory Cartographies
Sissel Marie Tonn i.c.w. Jonathan Reus, Sensory Cartographies

RAW SATELLITE DATA

However, some designers rely on technology to experience nature. Indeed, why should we long for something that no longer exists? The Anthropocene has already begun. Sissel Marie Ton (2020 cohort) uses scientific data such as seismographic measurements. She combines this complex and abstract data with empathic conversations with Groningen residents about their earthquake experiences, which are common to this region because of gas field drilling. This layered information about both the human and geographical aspects of seismic activity was – literally – woven into a wearable vest in collaboration with two fashion designers. Together with sound artist Jonathan Reus (2018 cohort), she also realised an interactive composition of sonic vibrations to translate the intense experience of an earthquake to a broad audience. Ton’s installations connect natural processes with technology to make humankind’s impact on Earth visible and tangible. It is worth remembering that the earthquakes in Groningen were set in motion by humans.

New technologies, such as life science and biohacking, are reshaping our understanding of the natural world. It is no coincidence that these designers are about as old as Dolly the sheep, which in 1996 was the world’s first successfully cloned mammal. In his Tiger Penis Project, Taiwanese-Dutch designer Kuang-Yi Ku (2020 cohort) extended this genetic replication to healthcare. Many traditional Asian medicines regard the tiger penis as a medicine beneficial for male fertility. As a result, the tiger, already facing extinction, is under even more threat. Ku – who previously studied dentistry – proposed using stem cells to cultivate a tiger penis in the laboratory. This immediately raised all kinds of new dilemmas. Is the tiger penis that is laboratory-grown rather than from a wild tiger still suitable as a traditional Chinese medicine? In short, what are the limits of nature by design?

Kuang-Yi Ku, Tiger Penis Project
Kuang-Yi Ku, Tiger Penis Project

This fusion of biology and technology will eventually lead to a new kind of being: the posthuman. Jewellery designer Frank Verkade (2017 cohort) developed a scenario for this engineered body with his Paradise project. However, instead of technology, Verkade gives plants and animals a prominent role in adapting the human body to modern times. The origin of jewellery is, in fact, to be found in prehistoric peoples who used animal forms and natural materials to harness the mythical forces of nature. By harking back to the ancient, Verkade connects the modern human to its environment.

HACKING TECHNOLOGY

If technology becomes such a determining factor for humankind’s future, then surely we cannot entrust the future of our technology to a small group of wealthy, middle-aged white men from Silicon Valley and the European Parliament? According to speculative designer Frank Kolkman (2018 cohort), the discussion about technology’s quotidian role must therefore be part of our daily life. OpenSurgery is a study into a do-it-yourself surgical robot. These are already being built using 3D printers and laser cutters by people in the US who cannot afford a doctor. The self-proclaimed design hacker exposes technology’s social, ethical and political implications. But what do we think of this, and is this something we even want? After all, turning back technology is almost impossible.

Frank Kolkman, Opensurgery
Frank Kolkman, Opensurgery

Such ambivalent attitudes towards technology are a common thread in the new design mentality. With the tablet at hand and a laptop at school, this design generation grew up as digital natives. Technology plays a prominent role in their lives. However, they also know the risks: robotics, big data and artificial intelligence raise novel ethical dilemmas about privacy and employment. According to data designer Julia Janssen (2018 cohort), multiple times a day, we carelessly dismiss warnings that state ‘I agree with the terms’ or ‘click here to continue’. But what do we actually permit? Who collects what data, and above all, why? And what is the value of such information flows? Janssen’s project, 0.0146 Seconds (the time it takes to click on the ‘accept all’ button), informs us of the invisible economy behind the internet. She published all 835 privacy rules of the website for British tabloid the Daily Mail in a hefty tome. At events like the Dutch Design Week, the public reads this book aloud as a public indictment.

PROSECUTION AND DEFENSE

The new digital reality in which nothing is as it appears and fake news lurks everywhere pushes designers into the role of seeking the truth. To prevent complex global issues, such as globalisation or climate change, from becoming bogged down in an abstract discussion, the design duo Cream on Chrome (Martina Huynh and Jonas Althaus, 2020 cohort) used a fictitious lawsuit, without a trace of irony, to indict everyday objects. A sneaker is arrested and prosecuted for climate change, and a face mask is put on trial for not being present in time to prevent contamination. Cream on Chrome uses this debate between prosecutor and defence to question the mutual recriminations and the search for a scapegoat. In reality, are we not the ones who are actually on trial?

Cream on Chrome, Proxies on Trial
Cream on Chrome, Proxies on Trial

DESIGNING FOR URGENCY

Designers thus assume the role of the canary in the coal mine, warning us about the consequences of 15 September 2008, 12 December 2015 and 17 March 2018. The Talent Development Scheme enables them to do this without the hindrance of a lack of time and money – and perhaps even more importantly, without the pressure of quantifiable returns. Only free experimentation allows for unexpected insights. Who would have thought that Kuang-Yi Ku’s Tiger Penis Project could have prevented a global pandemic if also applied to bats and pangolins? Or that the Daily Mail is no longer recognised by Wikipedia as a reliable news source, as Julia Jansen already indicated?

Instead of conforming to the powers that be, designers take on the opportunity to transform the world; instead of imminent irreversibility, potential improvement is nurtured. The world is explained and improved with speculative and practical, but always inventive, designs. This makes the Talent Development Scheme a valuable resource for individual designers and society as a whole.

Text: Jeroen Junte

Longread Talent #3
Me and the other
Empathetic design talent focuses on people, not themselves (or things)

In the past seven years, the Creative Industries Fund NL has supported over 250 young designers with the Talent Development grant. In three longreads, we look for the shared mentality of this design generation, which has been shaped by the great challenges of our time. They examine how they deal with themes such as technology, climate, privacy, inclusiveness and health. In this third and final longread, the focus is no longer on personal success and individual expression but on ‘the other’.

The refugee crisis dominated 2015. Although people from Africa and Central Asia have been cast adrift by war, poverty and oppression for years, that summer, hundreds of refugees on often makeshift boats and dinghies drowned in the Mediterranean. The impotence, anger, frustration, despair and sadness were aptly depicted in the photo of the drowned three-year-old Syrian toddler Alan Kurdi’s body washed ashore on the Turkish coast. Where the financial crisis of 2008 was almost invisible – indeed, even the bankers were at a loss – it was no longer possible to look away, not only in the media but also on the streets. The misery of the other has become pervasive and omnipresent.

Asylum seeker centres in the Netherlands were full to overflowing. Designer Manon van Hoeckel (2018 cohort) saw the refugees in her neighbourhood during her studies at the Design Academy Eindhoven. Realising she had never spoken to an asylum seeker, Van Hoeckel visited a squatted building that housed people who had been rejected asylum. She saw these people were neither scammers nor pitiful, but rather powerful people who want to participate in and contribute to society – precisely what this group was prohibited from doing. Out of concern and determination, Van Hoeckel devised a travelling embassy for undocumented asylum seekers and migrants in limbo: unwanted in the Netherlands and their country of origin. The refugees, or ‘ambassadors’, could invite local residents, passers-by and officials here for a conversation. The In Limbo Embassy facilitated meetings between local residents and a vulnerable group of newcomers.

EMPATHIC ENGAGEMENT

In many ways, Van Hoeckel’s attitude is typical of a generation that has benefitted from the Talent Development Scheme of the Creative Industries Fund NL for the past seven years. Design is no longer about stuff but about people. This empathic enthusiasm now permeates all design disciplines. Personal success and individual expression are no longer paramount. The designer, researcher and maker are categorically focused on the other. The 2015 refugee crisis has acted as both a particle accelerator and a broadening of the profession because such humanitarian crises require unorthodox and radical proposals and ideas.

Lena Knappers
Lena Knappers

Urban planner Lena Knappers (2019 cohort) studied the spatial living conditions of asylum seekers, labour migrants and international students. As part of her research at TU Delft, Rethinking the Absorption Capacity of Urban Space, she developed strategies to integrate migrants into the host society sustainably. Too often, housing is temporary and informal, such as ad hoc container housing in the suburbs or vacant army barracks. Knappers researched alternative and more inclusive forms of reception, focusing on the interpretation of public space. Ultimately, she has an even greater goal: an inclusive city in which all forms of inequality in public space are investigated and remedied.

The extent to which immigration has become part of the creative disciplines’ everyday reality is evident in the practice of Andrius Arutiunian (2021 cohort). After completing a master’s in Composition at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, he focused on the tension between migration and new technologies. In his development year, he studied the impact of displacement and dissent on society and how this impact can manifest itself in soundscapes. What does the integration of newcomers to the Netherlands sound like? A common factor is the concept of gharib, which means ‘strange’ or ‘mysterious’ in Arabic, Persian and Armenian. Arutiunian does not want to create specific encounters between people or pursue new forms of living. The cultural influence of migration only serves to enrich his professional practice.

SINGLE FATHERS

Inclusivity and cultural diversity are now dominant societal issues. For example, the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States has fuelled intense debate about institutional racism. The other is no longer a stranger to our borders and is our neighbour or colleague. Despite this, society threatens to become polarised, marginalising demographic groups as a result. Designers actively engage in this discourse and apply design as an emancipating force for an all-inclusive society, open and accessible to everyone, regardless of background.

Giorgio Toppin, KABRA (XHOSA), Foto: Onitcha Toppin
Giorgio Toppin, KABRA (XHOSA), Foto: Onitcha Toppin

The emancipation of disadvantaged groups starts with exploring and understanding a shared identity. Only by understanding one’s origins, culture and traditions can one finally obtain a fully-fledged place in society. Giorgio Toppin (2020 cohort) is a proud Bijlmer-Amsterdammer and a Black man with a Surinamese background. His Xhosa fashion label mixes these worlds into new stories, translating them into men’s clothing that fits within the contemporary Western context. For the Surinamese diaspora narratives that inform his collections, he travelled to his native country to research and document local craftsmanship and traditional production techniques. He then manufactured sweaters using indigenous knotting techniques and interpreted a winter coat using hand-embroidered traditional prints from the Saramacca district. Conversely, he reimagined the Creole ‘kotomisi’, which is difficult to wear, with a comfortable and contemporary cut. Toppin’s bicultural fashion strengthened the cultural identity of Surinamese people and thereby increased the understanding and appreciation for their origin among other population groups. After all, Toppin insists his clothes must first and foremost be ‘cool to wear’.

Of course, creative disciplines have always been good at strengthening an identity. Fashion, functional objects, interiors and photographic images are simply excellent means for showing who you are and especially who you want to be. In recent years, however, identity no longer signifies a non-committal lifestyle but can also be a stigma that determines one’s social position. Identity is not always a choice, yet it has considerable influence on daily life – something to which Surinamese, Turkish, Moroccan and Antillean Dutch people, up to the fourth generation, can testify. Any designer that examines fixed identities must be acutely aware of cultural and emotional sensitivities. The designer who simply explains what is right and wrong lags behind the inclusive facts.

Marwan Magroun, The Life of Fathers, Adison & Ayani
Marwan Magroun, The Life of Fathers, Adison & Ayani

Consequently, designers increasingly work from a position of personal involvement or agency (ownership). Photographer and storyteller Marwan Magroun (2020 cohort) captured the world of single fathers with a migrant background in his documentary project The Life Of Fathers. Magroun, who grew up without a father figure for most of his childhood, sought answers to and stories of an often unnoticed but deeply felt fatherhood. He wanted to dispel the notion that fathers from a migrant background are not involved in parenting. His photographic report and accompanying film (now broadcast on NPO3) has given a group of devoted but underestimated fathers a voice and a face.

QUEERS AND EXTENDED FAMILIES

Diversity is embraced and propagated throughout society. Prevailing views on gender, sexuality and ethnicity are shifting. This also means plenty of playing and experimentation with identity and how it can be designed. As a result, designers are no longer a conduit for industry or government but adopt an activist stance. The guiding principle is social cohesion and no longer one’s ego. Renee Mes (2021 cohort) wanted to dismantle the stereotyping of the LGBTQ+ community and thereby increase acceptance. She focused specifically on how extended families are shaped within the various queer communities. This self-selected family is often built as an alternative to the rejection or shame from the families in which queers were raised. But this new lifestyle struggles with legal, medical, educational and other institutional disadvantages. Mes’s approach was that was make being seen the first step toward recognition.

For her research and film portraits, Mes, who is white cisgender, worked with the organisation Queer Trans People of Colour. Collaboration can also generate agency. Besides, whose identity is being addressed? Or, to use the terminology of Black Lives Matter, ‘nothing about us without us’. It is logical – and maybe even necessary – that inclusive design is realised according to these politically correct rules of agency and representation. Indeed, the countless cultural sensitivities demand great care.

SELECTION AND SCOUTING

The creative industries are not exempt from equal opportunities. The design disciplines are not free from stereotypes. The Mediated Bodies research project by Gabriel A. Maher (2016 cohort) meticulously maps the gender relationships in the international design magazine Frame. Eighty per cent of the people in the magazine were male – from the designers interviewed to the models in the advertisements. Moreover, women were mainly portrayed in role-confirming and sometimes even submissive positions, such as bending over or crouching down. Maher’s feminist practice seeks to ‘deconstruct’ the design discipline to identify the existing power structure and prejudices. Only after an active process of self-reflection and criticism can design fulfil its potential as a discipline that contributes to societal improvement.

However, attention to polyphony alone is insufficient. Representation should be proportional, especially in the creative disciplines. The Talent Development Scheme actively contributes to this balance with new forms of selection. Scout nights are available for designers, researchers and makers who have developed professionally in practice, without a formal design training. During these evenings, talented designers who work outside the established creative channels can pitch their work to a jury. Many designers who use these scout nights belong to minority groups for whom going to an art academy or technical university is less established.

Khalid Amakran, Hady
Khalid Amakran, Hady

The self-taught Rotterdam photographer Khalid Amakran (2021 cohort) has developed from hobbyist to professional portrait photographer. After selection during a scout night, he devoted a year to a project about the identity formation of young second and third-generation Moroccan Dutch people. Amakran’s 3ish project comprises a book and short documentary detailing this group’s struggles with loyalty issues, code-switching, institutional racism, jihadism, and Moroccan Dutch males’ politicisation. Representing emerging talents from bicultural or non-binary backgrounds is imperative for the creative industries. Only visible examples and recognisable role models can create a feeling of recognition and appreciation and guarantee the diversity necessary for the creative industries.

ARAB CALLIGRAPHY

The scout nights have selected nine talented practitioners for the 2020 and 2021 cohorts. This number will undoubtedly increase in the coming years. An added value is that these designers are growing the diversity of content in their field through their singular professional practices. Another self-taught recipient is ILLM, the alias of illustrator Qasim Arif (2021 cohort). He mixes the age-old craft of calligraphy with contemporary elements of hip-hop and street culture. Traditional Arabic calligraphy is, by definition, two-dimensional because, according to Islamic regulations, the sculpting of living beings is reserved for Allah. ILLM wants to convert this visual language into sculptures. He also draws inspiration from his own life. He grew up in a metropolis as a third-generation Moroccan Dutch citizen, which informs his mix of calligraphy with pop-cultural icons like the Nike Air Max 1, a recognisable status symbol representing the dreams, wishes and memories of many children from migrant backgrounds. ILLM merges street culture and age-old graphic craftsmanship into a completely new idiom.

DRIVERS OF INCLUSION

The Talent Development Scheme is a necessary social empowerment that naturally coincides with an activist attitude. A sincere and profound commitment to identity and inclusivity guides designers, researchers and makers. Through a capacity for empathy and sensitivity – either innately or through collaboration with the target group – they can catalyse transformative initiatives and constructive debate. This capacity unlocks the creative disciplines’ powerful potential: the realisation of a diverse society in which all sections of society are equal. After all, looking at the other ultimately means looking at us all.

Text: Jeroen Junte

Diamons Investment & the New Oil
by Rosa te Velde

Around 1960, Dutch television broadcast its first talent show, a concept imported from America. ‘Nieuwe Oogst’ (New Harvest) was initially made in the summer months on a small budget. It turned out that talent shows were a cheap way of making entertaining television: participants seized the opportunity to become famous by showcasing their tricks, jokes, creating entertainment and spectacle — in return for coffee and travelling expenses.1

Talent shows have been around since time immemorial, but the concept of talent development — the notion of the importance of financial support and investment to talent — is relatively new. Since the rise of the information society and knowledge economy in the 1970s, the notion of ‘lifelong learning’ has become ever more important. Knowledge has become an asset. Refresher courses, skill development and flexibility are no longer optional, and passion is essential. You are now responsible for your own happiness and success. You are expected to ‘own’ your personal growth process. In 1998, McKinsey & Company published ‘The War for Talent’. This study explored the importance of high performers for companies, and how to recruit, develop and motivate talented people and retain them as employees. In the past few decades, talent management has become an important element in companies’ efforts to maximise their competitiveness, nurture new leaders or bring about personal growth. Sometimes, talent management is aimed at the company as a whole, but it is more likely to focus on young, high-potential employees who either are already delivering good performances or have shown themselves to be promising.2

It was social geographer Richard Florida who made the connection between talent and creativity, in his book ‘The Rise of the Creative Class’ (2002). In this book, he drew the — irreversible — link between economic growth, urban development and creativity. A hint of eccentricity, a bohemian lifestyle and a degree of coolness are the determining factors for ‘creativity’ that provide space for value creation. His theory led to a surge in innovation platforms, sizzling creative knowledge regions and lively creative hubs and breeding grounds. The talent discourse became inextricably linked with the creative industry. The Global Creativity Index, for instance, set up by Florida (in which the Netherlands was ranked 10th in 2015), is based on the three ‘Ts’ of technology, talent and tolerance. The talent phenomenon really took off in the world of tech start-ups, with innovation managers fighting for the most talented individuals in Silicon Valley. ‘Talent is the new oil’.

The idea that talent can grow and develop under the right conditions is diametrically opposed to the older, romantic concept of a God-given, mysterious ‘genius’. The modern view sees talent as not innate (at least, not entirely so), which is why giving talent money and space to develop makes sense. Like the Growing Diamond (groeibriljant), the Dutch diamond purchase scheme in which diamonds can become ‘ever more valuable’.

What is the history of cultural policy and talent development in the Netherlands? Whereas before the Second World War the state had left culture to the private sector, after the war it pursued an active ‘policy of creating incentives and setting conditions’.3 The state kept to the principles of Thorbecke and did not judge the art itself.4 But literary historian Bram Ieven argues that a change took place in the 1970s. It was felt art needed to become more democratic, and to achieve that it needed to tie in more with the market: “[…] from a social interpretation of art (art as participation), to a market-driven interpretation of the social task of art (art as creative entrepreneurship).”5 The Visual Artists’ (Financial Assistance) Scheme (BKR) and later the Artists’ Work and Income Act (WWIK) gave artists and designers long-term financial support if they did not have enough money, provided they had a certificate from a recognised academy or could prove they had a professional practice.6

It was Ronald Plasterk’s policy document on culture, ‘The Art of Life’ (2007), that first stressed the importance of investing in talent, as so much talent was left ‘unexploited’.7 Plasterk called in particular for more opportunities to be given to ‘outstanding highly talented creatives’, mainly so that the Netherlands could remain an international player. Since then, ‘talent development’ has become a fixture in cultural policy. Halbe Zijlstra also acknowledged the importance of talent in ‘More than Quality’ (2012), but he gave a different reason: ‘As in science, it is important in culture to create space for new ideas and innovation that are not being produced by the market because the activities in question are not directly profitable.’8 This enabled the support for talent to be easily justified from Zijlstra’s notoriously utilitarian perspective with its focus on returns, even after the economic crisis. Jet Bussemaker also retained the emphasis on talent development, and talent is set to remain on the agenda in the years ahead.9

The Creative Industries Fund NL first gave grants to a group of talented creatives in 2013. As in the Mondrian Fund’s talent development programme, the policy plan for 2013–2016 opted for a single, joint selection round each year. While the emphasis was on individual projects, it was noted that a joint assessment would be more objective and professional and that this would facilitate the accompanying publicity.10

Who is considered a possible talented creative? To be eligible for a grant, you have to satisfy a number of specific requirements: you have to be registered with the Chamber of Commerce, have completed a design degree less than four years ago and be able to write a good application that persuades the nine committee members from the sector that you have talent. Based on the application, they decide how much potential, or promise, they see in your development, taking into account the timing of the grant for your career. While there are many nuances in the application process, these factors make sure the concept of ‘talent’ is clearly defined.

If you get through the tough selection process — on average ten to fifteen per cent of the applications result in a grant — you enjoy the huge luxury of being able to determine your own agenda for an entire year, of being able to act instead of react. It seems as if you have been given a safe haven, a short break from your precarious livelihood. But can it actually end up reinforcing the system of insecurity? What should be a time for seizing opportunities may also lead to self-exploitation, stress and paralysis. In practice, the creative process is very haphazard. Will the talented creatives be able to live up to their promise?

One of them went on a trip to China, another was able to do a residency in Austria, while yet another gave up their part-time job. Many have carried out research in a variety of forms, from field studies and experiments with materials to writing essays. Some built prototypes or were finally able to buy Ernst Haeckel’s ‘Kunstformen der Natur’. Others organised meetings, factory visits, encounters, interviews and even a ball.

Is there a common denominator among the talented creatives who were selected? As in previous years, this year the group was selected specifically to ensure balance and diversity — encompassing a sound artist, a filmmaker, a design thinker, a researcher, a cartographer, a storyteller, a former architect and a gender activist-cum-fashion designer. Given the diversity of such a group, a joint presentation may feel forced. But presenting them to the outside world as a group enhances the visibility of these talented people, and this is important, because how else can the investment be vindicated?

These are the questions that the Creative Industries Fund NL has been debating ever since the first cohort: how to present this group without the presentation turning into a vulgar, unsubtle spectacle or propagating a romantic notion of talent, and at the same time, how to show the outside world what is being done with public money. And what would benefit the talented individuals themselves? In the past few years, various approaches have been tested as ways of reflecting on the previous year, from various curated exhibitions with publications and presentations to podcasts, texts, websites, workshops and debates.

The Creative Industries Fund NL operates as a buffer between neoliberal policy and the reality of creativity. The fund provides a haven for not-yet-knowing, exploration, making, experimentation and failure, without setting too many requirements. It is a balancing exercise: how do you tone down the harsh language of policy and keep at bay those who focus only on returns on investment, while still measuring and showing the need for this funding, and thereby safeguarding it?

Following input from the talented creatives themselves, a different approach has been chosen this year: there will be no exhibition. Most do not see the Dutch Design Week as the right place for them; only one or two are interested in presenting a ‘finished’ design or project at all, and they do not necessarily wish to do so during the Dutch Design Week. What is more, many of the talented individuals have used the grant for research and creating opportunities. Therefore, instead of a joint exhibition, the decision has been made to organise a gathering and to publish profile texts and video portraits on ‘Platform Talent’, an online database. This will put less emphasis on the work of the previous year and more on the visibility of the maker and the process they are going through, marking a shift away from concrete or applied results and towards their personal working methods. Will this form of publicity satisfy the general public’s appetite and curiosity and will it meet politicians’ desire for results? Has it perhaps become more important to announce that there is talent and not what that talent is? Or is this a way of avoiding quantification and relieving the pressure?

Perhaps what unites the talented creatives most is the fact that, although they have been recognised as ‘high performers’, they are all still searching for sustainable ways of working creatively within a precarious, competitive ecosystem that is all about seizing opportunities, remaining optimistic and being permanently available. So far, there is little room for failure or vulnerability, or to discuss the capriciousness of the creative process. The quest for talent is still a show, a hunt, a competition or battle.

1 https://anderetijden.nl/aflevering/171/Talentenjacht
2 Elizabeth G. Chambers et al. ‘The War for Talent’ in: The McKinsey Quarterly 3, 1998 pp. 44–57. This study was published in book form in 2001.
3 Roel Pots, ‘De tijdloze Thorbecke: over niet-oordelen en voorwaarden scheppen in het Nederlandse cultuurbeleid’ in: Boekmancahier 13:50, 2001, pp. 462-473, p. 466.
4 Thorbecke was a mid-nineteenth-century Dutch statesman.
5 Bram Ieven, ‘Destructive Construction: Democratization as a
Vanishing Mediator in Current Dutch Art Policy’ in: Kunstlicht, 2016 37:1, p. 11.
6 The Visual Artists’ (Financial Assistance) Scheme was in force from 1956 to 1986 and the Artists’ Work and Income Act from 2005 to 2012.
7 Ronald Plasterk, ‘Hoofdlijnen Cultuurbeleid Kunst van Leven’, 2007, p. 5. The Dutch politician Ronald Plasterk was Minister of Education, Culture and Science from 2007 to 2010.
8 Halbe Zijlstra, ‘Meer dan Kwaliteit: Een Nieuwe visie op cultuurbeleid’, 2012, p. 9. The Dutch politician Halbe Zijlstra was State Secretary of Education, Culture and Science from 2010 to 2012.
9 Jet Bussemaker is a Dutch politician who was Minister of Education, Culture and Science from 2012 to 2017.
10 Creative Industries Fund NL, policy plan for 2013/2016.


Text: Rosa te Velde

Anaïs Saebu

Anaïs Saebu

Senior secondary vocationally educated audiovisual maker Anaïs Saebu concentrates on film, music and dance. She was selected at the Scout Night in Rotterdam. Based on themes such as dual cultural identity and immaterial heritage, Saebu wants to become a professional documentary maker. During the development year, Saebu involves filmmakers from her network, like Robbert Doelwijt Jr., Dammes Kieft and Nohaila Gamah. Saebu receives coaching from Tina Farifteh, Amanda van Hesteren and Maaike van der Kloet. With Best Kept Agency and Insan Larasati, she wants to work on an online identity, branding strategy and in particular on reaching the queer Indonesian diaspora. For the presentation of her documentary, Saebu thinks about EYE Film Museum.
Annelieke Rovers

Annelieke Rovers

Annelieke Rovers graduated in 2020 with a bachelor's degree in Design from Avans Hogeschool AKV, St. Joost. In the development year, Rovers focuses on strengthening and clearly defining her artistic practice. She expands her network and skills and deepens her knowledge, posing the central question: 'How can I develop my knowledge in both ecological and technological fields while simultaneously strengthening my identity and position as a maker?' Throughout the year, Rovers receives artistic, substantive and business support from scientist Leodie Kruidhof, creative engineer Daniel de Bruin, light artist Zalán Szakács, designers Kévin Bray and Tharim Cornelisse, branding strategist Eva van Keijsteren and visual artist Heleen Blanken. She also takes courses, including metal casting and stained glass. At the end of the development year, Rovers aims to create an installation where the developments and insights converge. This will be presented at the Draaimolen Festival.
Batuhan Demir

Batuhan Demir

Batuhan Demir graduated from the ArtEZ University of the Arts with a bachelor's degree in Design in 2023. Demir researches and questions the relationship between power and oppression, and how fashion makes self-expression and emancipation within these structures possible. With the development grant, Demir sets himself the goal to deepen his artistic practice and enhance his position in the industry. In doing so, he poses the central (research) question: 'Aren't we all saints?' Refining his design style, researching social themes and expanding his network is a central thread running through the development plan. For this he works with artist Esmay Wagemans and follows a learning trajectory at Marloes Dadswell's practice. He also actively deepens his research methodology. In order to achieve his presentation goals, Demir works with filmmaker and (music) producer Gio Isenia and with stylists Marleen Ettema and Jan Hurxkens. For his final presentation, the designer works with Numéro, Vogue or Glamcult. Another possibility that Demir is exploring is a presentation during Amsterdam Fashion Week.
Bruno Baietto

Bruno Baietto

Bruno Baietto, critical designer and alumnus of the Design Academy Eindhoven, uses humour and satire to make complex themes such as social inequality and inclusion accessible. He researches how characters can stimulate self-reflection and societal dialogues. In the coming year, Baietto focuses on storytelling, character development, animatronics and film. He wants to explore collaboration and collective narrative forms, instead of working solo. Baietto deepens his technical skills via online workshops from the Stan Winston School of Character Arts and receives coaching from experts such as Ben Shai van der Wal, Tom K. Kemp and WET Films. His goal is to develop a new character that analyses the design profession from a satirical perspective through video and object design. This work is presented in a solo exhibition at Huidenclub in Rotterdam. Additionally, he wants to participate in international design and film festivals to further distribute his work.
buro Appelmoes

buro Appelmoes

Architect duo Boukje Klaver and Anne Taeke Meijer studied at the Academy of Architecture in Groningen and form buro Appelmoes. Klaver and Meijer aim to make the quality of local materials more visible and thereby strengthen the identity of the region. Recurring themes are environmental awareness, material waste, circular economy, love for landscape and architecture, pleasure and collaboration and style. Buro Appelmoes wants to develop in graphic design, share their methodology, invest in impact and strategy development, and experiment with and process material applications. They receive coaching from Jan Martijn Eekhof, Berte Daan, and Eileen Blackmore. The results are shared in a project book and via social media.
Chris ‘Ci’ Rickets

Chris ‘Ci’ Rickets

Audiovisual maker Chris 'Ci' Rickets was selected at the Scout Night Amsterdam. In the development year, the maker aims to challenge themselves more and learn about methods of sound recording and production, and in this way further profile themselves as sound designer. In the development plan, Rickets describes four learning goals including personal development, practice development, technology and design development and professionalization. During the year the maker orients themselves in professional networks, specifically those where women of color have built up a practice in audio technology and sound design. Furthermore, Rickets works on the project Resting in Plain Sight together with Black Speaks Back, Braver Spaces Antwerp, Tahira Koulen and Vlaams Cultuurhuis de Brakke Grond. The maker also experiments with analog sound recording techniques and focuses on obtaining new assignments. For this, Rickets works with a communications advisor and works on a professional website, press kit and branding strategy.
Clara Schweers

Clara Schweers

Clara Schweers is a visual designer (MA in Contextual Design – Design Academy Eindhoven 2022). Schweers focuses on the digital representation of human forms and movements, particularly in relation to gender stereotypes. Through digital essays and physical objects, she investigates the influence of digital media on physical gestures and experiences. Schweers aims to further develop her practice through two main methods: creating a movement library with sensual gestures and exploring glass as a medium for digital expression. In the coming year, she conducts interviews, takes courses and collaborates with experts to improve her knowledge and skills and expand her network. By presenting her work in independent exhibition spaces and at events such as IFFR (International Film Festival Rotterdam) and the Salone del Mobile in Milan, she hopes to increase her reach and stimulate the discussion on digital media and physical experiences.
Connor Cook

Connor Cook

Connor Cook graduated with a master's degree in Geo Design from the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2022. In the development plan, Cook describes four goals for himself: using information as the most important medium in Unreal Engine, immersing himself in the fringes of techno-culture, doing more extensive artistic research for an embodied practice, and producing work that resonates with a wider audience. With a thematic focus around cheerleading, Cook uses the development year to develop a practice where digital puppeteering and physical DJ interfaces are reused. For this he receives coaching from writer Alex Quicho and joins a cheerleading team. He also seeks interdisciplinary collaborations with musician Francesca Miazzi, designer Dongwook Jang, animator Will Freudenheim and choreographer Toni Steffens. The results of the development year come together in a performance that Cook presents in V2, Post-office and Hackers & Designers. The final work will be presented during music and technology festivals such as Fiber Festival, Sonic Acts Festival and CTM Festival.
Daniela Tokashiki  Kunigami

Daniela Tokashiki Kunigami

Daniela Tokashiki Kunigami graduated with a master's degree in Social Design from the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2023. In the development year, Tokashiki works on her expertise in ceramics, builds a research-driven practice, and creates space for artisanal views and ideologies, both locally in Eindhoven and in her hometown of Lima. In relation to the professionalisation of her practice, Tokashiki works on developing thorough research, clear communication and conceptualisation, creating qualitative products, and positioning herself strategically. The designer receives support from various experts, coaches, and designers, including Michael Kaethler, Maggie Taft, Nadine Botha, Christina Schou Christensen, Anne Mette Hjorthshøj, and Katrijn Everaerd. Tokashiki categorises the development year into four phases: research, content, material, and positioning and presentation, in order to create a collection of ceramic objects. The collection will be presented during Dutch Design Week 2025.
Delphine Lejeune

Delphine Lejeune

Delphine Lejeune is a product designer (BA in Well-Being from the Design Academy Eindhoven, 2021). In her work, Lejeune integrates traditional craft with modern digital techniques, with a focus on nature, feminism and the digital world. Her practice focuses on 'Neocraft', whereby she develops innovative designs for living spaces by combining historical and contemporary design practices through extensive archival research, digital sculpture and object design. In collaboration with institutions like the TextielMuseum in Tilburg and Crafts Council Nederland, Lejeune refines her Neo-craft techniques and feminist critique. The expected result will comprise professional pieces of textile and ceramics that resonate with feminist discourse and nature-inspired aesthetics and will ultimately redefine the narrative around women in design and craft.
Dyllan Ahinful

Dyllan Ahinful

Self-taught maker, creative director and designer Dyllan Ahinful was selected at the Scout Night in Amsterdam. The motto 'Roots Will Grow Flowers' and his brand L'ORIGINE are central to the designer's work. During the development year, Ahinful focuses on developing his creative direction, makes a small collection of 5 items and a short film. Ahinful makes a two-week research trip to Ghana. Using the concept 'yenko fie', which means 'let us go home', the designer delves deeper into his roots in Ghana. The collection is captured in a short film and outdoor photo campaign. With help from artists like Jay-Way, who also has roots in Ghana, Ahinful aims to create a connection between creatives in the Netherlands and Ghana. Additionally, Ahinful works with other makers like Kweku Yeboah, Kumi Obuobisa, Fifi Aban and Orich Studios for the development of the film. The clothing collection and film will be presented at OSCAM.
Edward July

Edward July

Font designer Edward July, who graduated from the Royal Academy of Art, researches the evolution of alphabets throughout the centuries, with a focus on the Ukrainian alphabet and culture. In the coming year, he wants to collaborate with Ukrainian linguists and font historians like Oleksvi Chekal, and visit important archives and libraries, including the National Library of the Netherlands (Koninklijke Bibliotheek, or KB) and the Ukrainian Free University in Munich. He strives to improve his Python programming skills through courses and wants to create a wider reach for his work by collaborating with creatives like dancers Marta Andreitsiv, Daria Herashchenko and Irina Bashuk, poet Julia Musakovska as well as musicians. July presents the results of his research in lectures at conferences such as Typographics 2025 in New York and organizes on- and offline workshops for art students and starting makers in Europe. He also plans a publication and an event in Nowy Teatr in Warsaw and shares updates on his website. Moreover, he wants to create a platform to support Ukrainian makers in promoting Ukrainian culture and heritage.
Eva van Kempen

Eva van Kempen

Goldsmith Eva van Kempen graduated from the Sandberg Institute and has a fascination for human potential, with a particular focus on medical science. Besides making jewellery on commission, she creates independent and conceptual work. Themes include reproductive freedom, the right to physical self-determination of people with a womb, and filigree knowledge. As a self-declared filigree ambassador, her work and visual identity have, by her own account, faded into the background somewhat. Van Kempen wants to catch up on this during the development year. In collaboration with graphic designer Linda Beumer, she works on a new visual identity and website. She also brings her own artistic vision to the outside world with new work. Van Kempen wants to continue her long-term collaboration with industrial design duo Ming Design Studio, receives coaching from fashion designer Tess van Zalinge and aims to collaborate with the DEMO research group at TU Delft. Her goal is to integrate modern methods and techniques, such as 3D printing and laser cutting, into her filigree art.
Flo Meijer

Flo Meijer

Flo Meijer studied abroad and specialises in fashion film. With her films, she wants to strip fashion of its glamour and make it less inaccessible. A recurring theme is her search for the Dutch fashion identity. During the development year, Meijer works on her new Dutch Dreams fashion film in collaboration with music producer Jaap Valenturf. She receives coaching from Jolein Laarman and producer Margo Mars. Meijer wants to enhance the critical and analytical components in her work by engaging in a discussion with fashion researcher Chinouk Filique and Warehouse. She takes courses through the National Film and Television School in London and Sundance Collab and looks at how she can make her practice more sustainable. For the presentation of Dutch Dreams, she combines distribution through online platforms and festivals with self-organised screenings.
Flora Lechner

Flora Lechner

Flora Lechner is a conceptual designer (MA in Contextual Design from the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2020). With her work, Lechner researches the boundaries of production methods and aesthetics to disrupt conventional ideals and traditional ideas about beauty and craftsmanship. Lechner's work is at the intersection of storytelling and materiality, using experimental and interdisciplinary methods to engage in dialogue about the role of design in our reality. She works with various curators and institutions, such as Zan Kobal and the Slovenian Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO), as well as with companies like Lobmeyer, with the aim of researching traditional crafts and sources of material. In the future, Lechner wants to consolidate her vision and methodology further, professionalise her design practice and expand her network internationally by participating in design fairs, such as Maison & Objet and Fuorisalone.
Gabriel Giordano

Gabriel Giordano

Gabriel Giordano (ArtEZ) is an independent fashion and shoe designer who combines craftsmanship with sci-fi aesthetics. His designs, inspired by subcultures, art and media, explore self-expression and the relationship between wearer and environment. Under the name Nomad, he focuses this coming year on his own cultural identity as a Venezuelan immigrant, independent from stereotyping. Giordano experiments with modular production methods, storytelling and film. Through his platform GUAVE he works with other designers and collectives, and develops new techniques, including knitwear. He receives guidance from coaches such as filmmaker Laila Saber Rodriguez, 3D designer Lisa van der Plaetse and costume designer Francisco Sanabria. Additionally, he works with the Schoenenkwartier Lab and Suzanne Oude for technical research. Giordano wants to present his work on platforms such as Amsterdam Fashion Week or Dutch Design Week, and plans also include the development of a short film and website.
Gino Martina

Gino Martina

Designer Gino Martina was selected at the ABCSSS Scout Night and works in Curaçao. His work focuses on the (re)use of tropical wood from trees cut down due to new construction. In his project Palu Palu he explores the connection between the diverse flora in the Curaçaoan mondi (forest) and the multicultural traditions and stories of society. Through this, Martina wants to create awareness about deforestation and climate change, and emphasize the value and power of nature. During his development year, Martina works with local craftsmen and artists such as Eugène Madurom and Josephine van Wijck. Additionally, he researches the historical and cultural significance of tropical wood in collaboration with anthropologist Richinel Ansano. He takes courses in CNC woodworking and CAD software to strengthen his technical skills. The year results in a collection of approximately 15 products or artworks, in which sustainability and local folk culture are central.
Hanna Rudner

Hanna Rudner

Hanna Rudner is a process-driven architect (MA Architecture TU Delft, 2021). Rudner strives for an innovative approach to architecture practice, emphasizing citizen initiatives and collective ownership to tackle sustainability and housing issues. Through collaboration with citizens and other stakeholders, Rudner, supported by mentor Dr. Torange Khonsari, wants to develop new strategies for community-oriented building projects. Partners include Buurthuis De Bol in Amsterdam and the housing cooperative Het Krakeel in The Hague. These collaborations focus on community building and safeguarding sustainable housing. Next steps comprise further development of practice methodologies, strategic partnerships, and improvement in communication through photography and governance trainings, with the aim of publishing an article and distributing the findings widely.
Hsiang-Lin Kuo

Hsiang-Lin Kuo

Wearables designer, artist and knitting programmer Hsiang-Lin Kuo of Studio Shoon graduated from the Design Academy Eindhoven. The relationship between people and mountains, and wearable climbing tools that serve as tactile expressions of our connection with more-than-human entities are central to Kuo's work. In the coming year, Kuo continues her research into the Dutch perspective on nature from a recreational point of view. She distinguishes two important areas of research. Firstly, building a sturdier vocabulary around the somatic experiences between the human body, climbing gear and the mountain itself. Field research takes shape in hiking, bouldering and top rope climbing. Kuo takes courses at the Royal Dutch Climbing and Mountaineering Federation, does literary research, conducts interviews and visits climbing sports shops. Secondly, Kuo wants to improve her skills in the field of footwear through 3D modelling and casting. She consults choreographer Yen-Jen Lin, shoemaker Luuk van de Waal and mould maker Gabrielle Nasole. Work will be presented in a visual essay at the Dutch Mountain Film Festival or Dutch Design Week 2025.
Ilias Bardaa

Ilias Bardaa

Self-taught visual storyteller Ilias Bardaa works with photography, graphic design, typography and digital storytelling. He was selected at the Scout Night in Rotterdam. A lot of his work concentrates on his bicultural Moroccan-Dutch background. He wants to develop his practice towards creative directing, to allow for more disciplines and more diverse makers. Bardaa receives coaching from LFMC and Jaap Scheeren. In addition, he continues his MAGHREBINE project in collaboration with Qasim Arif, Mohamed Saadouni and possibly with Nassim Nazar, Samira El-Kaddouri and the TextielMuseum. Presentations get shape both on an online platform and at the Creative Muslim Club and OP& Utrecht.
Irene Ha

Irene Ha

Irene Ha is a (fashion) designer (BA - Fashion GRA 2020). Ha's design practice centres around sharing personal experiences and questioning identity. As a second-generation refugee, Ha focuses on the complex relationship between her cultural background and the speed of information in the fashion world. Ha wants to deepen her practice further by building a new website, in collaboration with graphic designer Ken Wenrui Zhao, on which she can present all her activities and ideas. In addition, Ha plans a research trip to Vietnam and Korea to set up new cooperative ventures. In doing so, Ha focuses on integrating local craftsmanship in her work and setting up a sustainable relationship with regional ateliers. Furthermore, Ha plans a solo exhibition in Seoul with curator Jungmin Cho. Ha strives for equal collaborations in which knowledge exchange and experimentation are central.
Izabela Slodka

Izabela Slodka

Architect Izabela Slodka, registered in the architects' register since 2023, researches how urban functionalities can be better integrated. She focuses on the later phases of architectural design and deepens her knowledge about urban communities, landscapes and sustainable materials. For this, Slodka visits locations and workshops, such as Atelier Luma, BlueCity, Assemble + BC Materials, and Superuse. She takes courses such as the Earth Discovery Workshop and MAKE Workshop, and speaks with experts like Jan Kattein and Jan Jongert. Together with Federica Zatta and Lauren Boots, Slodka researches new spatial concepts and their applications. Additionally, she builds collaborations with organizations like BLASt, AIR and Bauhaus Earth. Slodka presents her research through lectures and events, including international platforms such as the Oslo Triennale. Through these activities, she strengthens her practice and connects design concepts to broader societal and sustainability issues.
Jean-Baptiste Gambier

Jean-Baptiste Gambier

Jean-Baptiste Gambier is a designer active under the name JBs stuff (BA in Man & Leisure at the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2020). Gambier's practice mainly centres around construction and deconstruction. He focuses on the way we build and consume things and asks how we can design objects with aging in mind. He wants to build a bridge between gaming culture and design by adding narrative elements to his projects, both through drawing and writing. Gambier works with Félix Panis-Jones, a 3D artist, to explore how design and digital art can influence one another. In addition, he speaks to experts from the gaming industry and the art world to deepen his understanding of gaming culture and discuss the role of play in his practice.
Josianne Coutinho

Josianne Coutinho

Graphic designer and social designer Josianne Coutinho (Paiamento Designs) was selected during the Scout Night ABCSSS and works in Aruba. Coutinho's practice is interdisciplinary, from graphic design and illustration to storytelling and education. Central to her work is the rich cultural history of Aruba and its people. In the coming year, the designer focuses on developing a cultural community house in the form of an adobe dome, a traditional building technique that was originally also found in Aruba. Her goal is to not only acquire skills herself through the development of the dome, but also make the community more aware of sustainable building methods. For this, Coutinho works with local government, including the Department of Public Works (DOW) and Direction Infrastructure and Planning (DIP). When the dome is realized, Coutinho aims to organize workshops and cultural activities around heritage and ecology here.
Kai Udema

Kai Udema

Graphic designer Kai Udema (ArtEZ) develops visual systems and researches alternative ways of visual communication. He is co-founder of the publishing house Soft Concern Hard Concern, focused on artistic dialogue and editorial experiment. In the coming year, Udema focuses on the theme of 'exhaustion' as a creative force in his design practice. This takes shape in the project We can't but let's, which consists of three phases: a theoretical and visual reader based on archive research, experiments with visualizing 'exhaustion', and a presentation of the results. Udema works with various makers and coaches, including Joëlle Tuerlinckx (artistic guidance) and Paul Bailey. He also researches the relevance of print work in a digitalizing world and experiments with alternative approaches to publications. The project offers not only a reflection on creative processes but also explores new ways of collaboration and publishing within a contemporary design practice.
Katiuska Quiñones

Katiuska Quiñones

Self-taught artist and puppet maker Katiuska Quiñones (Kari Qui / Teater di Pòpchi Maletin), working in Curaçao and selected during the Scout Nights ABCSSS, combines writing, illustration, textiles and sculpture. With her puppets, the Quiuppets, she tells personal and unheard stories that contribute to preserving the Caribbean storytelling tradition. In the project Enchanting Threads, Quiñones researches different puppetry and animation styles this year. She works with mentor Rafael Curci, who guides her weekly in the artistic process, and receives advice from artist Giovanni Abath about material use. For her research into Caribbean puppetry and storytelling, she interviews historians and storytellers, and consults archives of Fundashon NAAM and Mongui Maduro. The development year results in a performance in Curaçao (locations including Keizershof Luna Blou or Landhuis Bloemhof, subject to approval) and a documentary that shares the acquired knowledge with a broad audience.
Kotayaman Refwutu

Kotayaman Refwutu

Self-taught designer and maker Kotayaman Refwutu of Studio ARCHE was selected at the Scout Night Eindhoven. He expresses himself through various forms, like clothing, visual storytelling, and instrument-making. In particular, he commits himself to preserving and renewing the Moluccan Tifa-tradition. In the development year, Refwutu focuses on producing a series of tifas, integrating his painting and woodcarving. Refwutu researches the tifa tradition within families, on islands, in regions and the country by conducting interviews with practitioners, connoisseurs and professionals. Refwutu receives mentoring from Huib Akihary and Hyronimus Renrusun. He also takes workshops in woodcarving, painting and narrative art and visual storytelling. Refwutu works with Jaïr Pattipeilohy, Paul Watty and Morris Maturbongs. Lastly, he commits himself to gaining recognition of the tifa tradition as cultural heritage from the National Intangible and Cultural Heritage Committee and the World Museums in Amsterdam, Leiden and Rotterdam. Presentations are planned via his own website and social media, a short film, a publication, and a group exhibition with Awareness Moluccan Identity (AMI).
Lei Nelissen

Lei Nelissen

Lei Nelissen is a design technologist (MA in Industrial Design from TU Eindhoven 2021). Nelissen creates digital products that promote awareness about the impact of technology and data. Nelissen wants to develop technology that gives back control to communities over their own data and protects citizens from manipulation. Collaboration partners, like the University of Amsterdam, the Legal Aid Board and OpenAI, have contributed to previous projects and play a role in the development and implementation of new technologies. The expected results of this project comprise an installation that challenges manipulation and facilitates discussions in that regard, with the goal of creating a more honest and humane internet.
Lydienne Albertoe

Lydienne Albertoe

Graphic designer Lydienne Albertoe graduated from ArtEZ University of the Arts with a master's degree in typography. Albertoe's work is rooted in themes like (Black) identity, heritage, social awareness and self-awareness. In the past few years, the graphic designer worked a great deal independently, setting up her practice, which left little room for research and experiments. In the coming year, Albertoe focuses on placing research and experimentation back at the core of her practice. She asks herself: 'How can I use graphic design to activate and communicate my research?' In the development plan, Albertoe describes her ambition to reintroduce handmade work into her practice through spatial installations, bookbinding, screen printing, ceramics and woodworking. During the development year, Albertoe receives guidance from artist Raul Balai, designer Ruben Pater, music therapist Rendel Rosalia and researcher Yvonique Wellen. Lastly, the graphic designer works on enhancing the visibility of her practice by developing a new website.
Maarten Plomp

Maarten Plomp

Maarten Plomp is an architect (MA Arch TU Delft + Architects' Register, 2021). Under the name Studio Maarten Plomp, he focuses on enhancing the architect's involvement in the production and execution of buildings. Jan Peter Wingender (Office Winhov) and possibly Lieven Nijs (BLAF architecten) act as mentors. Plomp aims for digital documentation of the research results, public discussions about the role of the architect in the production and execution phases, and the development of a distinctive work methodology that enables the studio to take on both larger and more complex projects.
Maria Agatha Prieto Jeanty

Maria Agatha Prieto Jeanty

Maria Agatha Prieto Jeanty graduated in Contextual Design from the Design Academy Eindhoven (2023). She explores themes such as decolonization and feminism. Her work focuses on care, freedom and public spaces. In her development year, she deepens her knowledge of spatial design under guidance of Afaina de Jong and Khensani Jurczok De-Klerk. She improves her technical skills through courses in Rhino, Grasshopper and hair braiding techniques, working with Rachelle Pierre-Louis. Prieto Jeanty undertakes a research trip to San Basilio de Palenque, the first Maroon community outside Africa, with guidance from Louis Jean-Pierre Loriston. The images from this trip form the basis for a new narrative during a residency at MAD Eindhoven, where she works with Phila Hillie and Val Jeanty. The development year culminates in a multimedia installation that brings together her research and creativity. This installation will be exhibited at OSCAM and the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.
Mika Schalks

Mika Schalks

Multidisciplinary maker Mika Schalks graduated from the Royal Academy of Art (2021), combines their passion for analogue animation with a focus on queer representation in children's television this coming year. The development plan consists of three phases: research, production and presentation. In phase 1, Schalks deepens their knowledge with mentors such as Mascha Halberstad and Daniel Sterlin-Altman, and does archive research at Beeld & Geluid and IHLIA. Study trips to festivals such as the Berlinale and Kaboom Animation Festival strengthen this trajectory. In phase 2, Schalks focuses on pre-production, animation and editing, with guidance from experts like Zaou Vaughan and Peter Mansfelt. The result, the short film Het flikkereffect, is shown at The Grey Space in the Middle and Cinekid Festival. Finally, Schalks shares knowledge and work via online platforms such as Vimeo, with the aim of increasing queer visibility in an innovative and accessible way.
Mint Park

Mint Park

Mint Park graduated in ArtScience from the Royal Conservatorium (2020), focuses on sound as multi-sensory material and diversity in language. During the development year Park deepens their practice and audiovisual tools. Park works with mentors such as Dillon Bastan, Brandon LaBelle and Thor Magnusson, and takes part in a residency at the Sound Art Lab in Struer. This leads to the development of a new instrument and various sound productions, presented via Unheard Records. Besides practical goals Park also explores their role as maker, organizer and curator, supported by marketing strategies. The acquired insights are published on a website, while physical results, such as an album and a spatial sound installation, are presented in the Bajesdorp-theatre in Amsterdam. Through this trajectory Park explores a unique position within contemporary sound art.
Nicky Vollebregt

Nicky Vollebregt

Textile, object and product designer Nicky Vollebregt graduated with a bachelor's degree in Design from the Willem de Kooning Academy in 2020. Vollebregt's development goal is to create a strong connection between her applied and physical research and theoretical, conceptual and speculative research. The plan focuses on emotional sustainability, material perception and interaction. In doing so, Vollebregt asks herself questions such as: 'How do material and immaterial characteristics influence the perception of and interaction with materials and objects?' and 'How can material and immaterial characteristics be connected to each other in a contemporary design process, stimulating a longer lifespan of an object?' During the development year, Vollebregt works with master tailor Katja van der Steen, does a work period supervised by Kristina Andersen at TU/e, enters into a collaboration with scenographer Karmijn Lange and receives coaching from social designer Amandine David. Furthermore, the designer works with policymaker Aneeqah Tariq, the Soft Connection Lab of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (KASK) in Ghent and engages textile designer Milou Voorwinden as a mentor. Vollebregt plans three presentations including one at Dutch Design Week.
Noa Jansma

Noa Jansma

Noa Jansma graduated with a bachelor's degree in Man & Communication from the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2020. During the development year, Jansma researches what it means to be food. She argues that people are food as well and wants to conceptualise this idea further in order to explore a non-Western as well as a non-human perspective. According to the designer, the topic connects themes like ecology, spirituality and culture. The maker aims to gain media skills, wanting to become better at making and editing videos. Jansma also intends to take more time to reflect on her own approach to topics and develop a new methodology to do so. She receives coaching from Janis Rafa, Douwe Dijkstra and Maureen de Jong. Furthermore, Jansma makes a research trip to Asturias in Spain, where she wants to experience what it is like to be prey. The acquired knowledge is processed at food events at presentation spots, like Mediamatic, Framer Framed, Micropia and Museum Tot Zover.
Noa Mac Donald

Noa Mac Donald

Noa Mac Donald is an animator (BA in Design from the Willem de Kooning Academy in 2023). Donald's projects explore the integration of traditional printing techniques and textile art with animation to tell stories that reject Western ideals of perfection and emphasise the beauty of imperfections. During the development year, Donald develops two short mixed-media films and expands their international network by means of international residencies and collaborations with queer club organisations, DJs, the TextielMuseum in Tilburg and individual textile artists.
Noukhey Forster

Noukhey Forster

Noukhey Forster is a self-taught fashion designer working under the name OHIM Entertainment. Through his work, Forster strives to break stereotypes and promote genuine inclusion by celebrating and acknowledging the versatility of black masculinity. During the development year, he develops a collection supported by specially designed sets and research interviews, to offer a broader perspective on the shown themes. For the collection, Forster works with the decorative atelier of the Dutch National Opera & Ballet, graphic designer Yessica Deira and coach Margit van Looijen. Additionally, Forster focuses on improving skills through a design course at Akademie Vogue, and in-depth artistic research in Suriname.
Oscar van Leest

Oscar van Leest

Oscar van Leest (Sandberg Instituut) is a sound artist and spatial designer who researches sound as a social and spatial phenomenon. His work includes sound art, instrument design, sound design and experimental musical work. In the coming year, Van Leest works on the project Apparatus, in which the interaction between body and space is central. He works with performance artist Ludmila Rodrigues and takes on a more leading role, of conductor or director, himself. Additionally, he professionalizes his technical practice by switching to printed circuit boards, enabling more sustainable and refined designs. He deepens his knowledge of the history and application of feedback and echolocation, with mentor Brian McKenna. Van Leest also develops his musical skills under guidance of Louis Lecea Romera. His work is presented on platforms such as CORPO in Rotterdam and Kunstfort Vijfhuizen, making new insights and methods in sound art visible.
Promphan Suksumek

Promphan Suksumek

Promphan Suksumek is a typography designer with a master's degree in Type Design from the Royal Academy of Art in 2022. With her practice, she researches the possibilities of Latin letter designs influenced by native Thai script. The goal of the project is to design bi-scriptual fonts, combining both Thai and Latin characteristics. The project includes setting up an online archive of Thai fonts and the development of fonts that bring these two types of script together. Suksumek works with Apon Palanuwech on developing the website and with Santi Tonsukha on visual research. She also consults font designers from India and Malaysia for additional insights. The end result will be the launch of unique, bi-scriptual fonts that are functionally as well as aesthetically attractive to both cultures.
Romy Zhang

Romy Zhang

Self-taught image maker Romy Zhang was selected at the Scout Night in Rotterdam. In her interdisciplinary artistic research practice, Zhang combines audiovisual creatorship, social design and sociological research. She focuses on metropolitan issues, youths, people of colour and women. With Politicizing her Madness, Zhang makes a short film and a digital archive about how women of colour are made sick by a socio-political system. She wants to refine her technical skills in photography and film, further develop social design both substantively and methodologically, develop a strategy for a sustainable practice and investigate her personal artistic identity away from collective activities, commerce and cultural institutions.
Rosana Escobar

Rosana Escobar

Textile designer and biologist Rosana Escobar (Design Academy Eindhoven) combines technical material research with an ecological and cultural approach. She researches natural fibers, such as flax and fig leaf, and develops circular textile projects with attention to craft and industrial applications. In the coming year, Escobar focuses on three pillars: craft, culture and circularity. She expands her work with fig leaf fiber to felt and starts the FiberLAB, a platform for collective learning and public engagement. Additionally, she introduces flax and linen in her practice and works with partners such as the TextielMuseum, Craft Council Netherlands and Lottozero in Italy. Escobar receives guidance from experts such as Marcella Echavarria (strategy) and Annika Tosti (public engagement). Her projects will be presented during Dutch Design Week. Through her work, Escobar explores how materials and stories can create a deeper connection between humans and nature.
Roxana Rodriguez

Roxana Rodriguez

Roxana Rodriguez, designer and illustrator from Aruba and selected during the Scout Night ABCSSS, sees comics as powerful tools for education. She previously worked with the medium to support starters through her own entrepreneurial stories. This year, Rodriguez focuses on a new comic, in which she explores stories and traditions of daily life in Aruba. The development year consists of three phases. First, she collects stories, interviews historians and researches comic traditions in the Caribbean, South America and Japan. The second phase revolves around experimenting with concepts, visual styles and storytelling techniques. Finally, she combines her findings into a comic, focusing on presentation in public space, so that a broad local audience is reached. The project emphasizes the importance of cultural heritage and knowledge sharing on the island.
Runo Hernandez

Runo Hernandez

Self-taught digital storyteller and archivist Runo Hernandez combines photography, video and poetry to record the stories of queer black immigrants. They were selected at the Scout Night in Rotterdam. Hernandez wants to investigate how you can create a permanent archive in today's tech-driven society. In doing so, Hernandez visits different libraries and archives in New York, in the Dominican Republic and in the Netherlands. Hernandez also takes writing and archiving courses. Their findings are presented in a documentary film and a publication. Hernandez aims to hold presentations for their own community at Kunstinstituut Melly, Grey Space in the Middle or DAR.
Sammy Does

Sammy Does

Sammy Does is a self-taught designer. Does's work explores the fusion of body and technology from a queer perspective, with a focus on fantasy and play. Does researches the transformative potential of the body and its influence on subjectivity through prosthetic design. She integrates technological posthumanism and embodied experience, inspired by thinkers like Donna Haraway and Katherine Hayles. During the development year, Does focuses on improving technical skills, strategic development and deepening artistic concepts. She receives guidance from international designers, such as Rebecca Ilse and Tilda Mace. The result is a presentation demonstrating Does's conceptual vision, emphasizing world building.
So-Yeon Kim

So-Yeon Kim

Interdisciplinary graphic designer So-Yeon Kim graduated from ArtEZ University of the Arts. Her work consists of publications, films, drawings and spatial installations. Recurring themes are ontology, anthropology and the evolution of language. In the coming year, Kim wants to research both old and contemporary Western and Asian languages, reconfigure a series of languages and create a new language with them. Kim receives guidance from linguist Leo Mylonadis and artist Marianna Maruyama. She takes part in writing and performance workshops and works with artists Jerome Ellis, Anna-Bella Papp, Seda Yildirim, Manon Fraser and Natthawut Beng Yuengyong. The outcomes are shaped in clay and 3D-printed sculptures, drawings, audio and video works, written works and performances. Kim intends to present these new works in an exhibition, on a newly designed and coded website and in a virtual presentation space.
Souheila Chalabi

Souheila Chalabi

Textile designer Souheila Chalabi graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academie with a bachelor's degree in Art & Design in 2022. During the development year, Chalabi builds on her My Imaginary Souk graduation project, a multimedia installation that functions as a platform for her visual research into identity. In the development plan, the designer describes her ambition to design a fashion collection that offers an alternative to the Western view of Arabic culture. The development year consists of four components, including generating a sensitive database on cultural hybridity, mentoring in branding, developing a collection and creating a virtual experience on a 3D online platform. The designer looks for help and expertise from designer Karime Salame, owner of the Zoubida fashion label, Sophia Kacimi, Youssef Fofana of Maison Château Rouge and Serhat Isik and Benjamin Huseby of GmbH. Furthermore, Chalabi contacts (A)WAKE and Salwa Foundation that specialise in reaching the Arabic diaspora and in organising community events.
Stefan Boerkamp

Stefan Boerkamp

Stefan Boerkamp, a speculative accessory designer (BA in Identity from the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2022), explores his childhood inspirations from video games and science fiction to create complex stories with his objects. His Metacarpus project researches the future of accessories in relation to digitisation and climate change, exploring the impact on the body. During the development year, Boerkamp wants to expand his technical skills, mainly in the field of FX prosthetics and special effects make-up, to refine his designs. In addition, he aims to improve his communication and storytelling, with a focus on creative writing and literary studies. His goal is to make a series of conceptual accessories around the Human Body in Motion theme, working with performers to explore the integration of accessories and the body. Boerkamp plans collaborations with artists like Esmay Wagemans and Bart Hess, and wants to take part in Dutch Design Week 2025 to present his work and expand his network.
Steffie La Haije

Steffie La Haije

Filmmaker Steffie La Haije was selected at the Scout Night in Eindhoven. The audiovisual maker wants to tell stories and amplify voices that are still often overlooked, marginalized or unheard. With the project Later als ik rijk ben, La Haije delves into the lives of different people who make their own place in the world. She asks questions like: 'What does somebody really need?' and 'How do we make sure that we become healthier and more stable?' La Haije works with a personal branding coach on her presentation skills to set up campaigns for awareness tours and deepens her knowledge of journalism. Furthermore, the maker contacts Ashar Medina to learn more about writing and the development of her writing skills. Lastly, the maker investigates the possibilities of AI SORA, a new way of making films, to be able to apply them herself.
Studio WEINBENAMI

Studio WEINBENAMI

Studio WEINBENAMI, founded by Charles Weinberg and Shai Ben-Ami (MA - contextual design Design Academy Eindhoven 2023), works on developing a hybrid design practice that combines spatial design and experimental architecture. Studio WEINBENAMI wants to redefine 'the set' as an independent entity and takes inspiration from historical spectacles like World Expos. They combine theoretical and field research to refine their design practice. Mentors such as Bogomir Doringer, Dan Handel and photographer Noam Levinger play a crucial role. Doringer offers insights in research and exhibition forms, Handel guides the historical research and Levinger helps with documenting field research. The project aims at expanding theoretical and practical knowledge, developing scale models, experimenting with AI image technologies and setting up a professional publication. Additionally, a branding and business strategy is developed for sustainable growth and connections with Dutch institutions and events are made to stimulate more exposure and dialogue.
Theetat Thunkijjanukij

Theetat Thunkijjanukij

Theetat Thunkijjanukij is a graphic designer (MA in Art and Design Werkplaatstypografie 2022) and has an artistic research practice organised as a non-profit organisation. This organisation offers on-demand copying and bookbinding services. This initiative minimises waste, uses local machines and combines treatment, design, production and distribution processes. Thunkijjanukij produces replicas of books with intentionally inaccurate details, due to limitations in tools and budgets, creating a unique tension between mass production and niche value. The development plan includes professionalisation through learning sessions, research trips to Thailand and collaborations with experts and organisations, such as the inappropriate BOOK CLUB and Primary Information. Key activities are a demonstration at Chulalongkorn University, a period at Collective Display Distribute and a collaboration with guest editor Paul Elliman to create a quarterly magazine. In addition, Thunkijjanukij wants to open a physical shop in Amsterdam, where he can offer public services, organise workshops and hold a book launch for the Quarterly Report on the Copy Shop.
Tomi Hilsee

Tomi Hilsee

Architect Tomi Hilsee (TU Delft) uses architecture as a means to explore historical and contemporary socio-societal and technical questions. He questions traditional working methods and works on new forms of commissioning by collaborating with communities and informal groups. His practice focuses on participation and collective ownership, with special attention to how choreography can shape these processes. In the coming year, Hilsee develops a new iteration of his project the Do-it-yourself-workshop, set up as a learning site. Here he researches sustainable ways to refine his approach and clarify methods of collaboration. He involves five mentors in his development year, including Jeanne van Heesewijk, Joy Mariama Smith and Reza Afisina, who each integrate community values in their practice in their own way. With this year, Hilsee wants to gain deeper insight into how architecture can contribute to inclusive and sustainable collaboration models.
Ülkühan Akgül

Ülkühan Akgül

Multidisciplinary designer Ülkühan Akgül graduated from the Amsterdam Fashion Institute with a bachelor's degree in Fashion Design & Technology Studies in 2023. Akgül's work revolves around themes such as transgression, politics, technology, wars, the digital underworld, criminality and different social issues. With the Ethnic Profiting project, the designer wants to amplify migrants' voices as well as hold up a mirror to the Dutch political landscape. Akgül describes the ambition of realising a fashion collection that embraces both the beauty of artisanal craftsmanship and the groundbreaking possibilities of robotics and artificial intelligence. Furthermore, Akgül focuses on exploring the connection between the tactile and digital fashion world. During the year, the designer researches, experiments and converts their conceptual understanding into accessible fashion and couture. Akgül receives support from various professionals from the field, including Theo Janssen, Danie Bles, Renee van Wijngaarden, Jean Paul Paula, Frederik Heyman and Stef van Looveren. The fashion collection will be presented during Amsterdam Fashion Week 2025.
Wouter Stroet

Wouter Stroet

Wouter Stroet is a graphic designer and filmmaker (MA Design Sandberg Instituut, 2020). Using speculative future scenarios, Stroet responds to and reflects on the built urban environment. In the coming year, he focuses on local eco-gentrification and global climate inequality in Amsterdam and Barcelona. Collaboration partners like Arcam, grassroots organizations and Werker Collective guide and support Stroet. The expected result is a visual work that invites urban planners to think about inclusive and sustainable alternatives for urban development.
Yannesh Meijman

Yannesh Meijman

Filmmaker, media maker and organiser Yannesh Meijman studied at Sandberg Instituut and combines audiovisual productions with urban planning. Central themes are spatial justice, ownership and progress, squatting and the desire for order in our society. In the coming year, he studies sustainable space formation, makes visual work with spatial justice as a central theme, participates in the self-organisation of a non-commercial space without squatting, and presents visual work from the principle that the representation of space contributes to the creation of physical space and vice versa. Sunny Bergman, René Boer and Amal Alhaag are Meijman's mentors for the year. Additionally, he does literary research, meets filmmakers in other cities about filming locally, gets editing lessons from Maarten Ernest, organizes screenings, and publishes a zine. In autumn 2025, Meijman aims to present work at for example Nederlands Film Festival, Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam or at De Appel.
Yijun Zhou

Yijun Zhou

Yijun Zhou graduated with a master's degree in Fine Art & Design from the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague in 2022. She has structured the development year into six components: 1. Intercultural communication and interpretation; 2. Collaboration and community building; 3. Creative practice and commercial integration; 4. Printing experiments; 5. Historical and cultural research; 6. Public involvement and impact. Zhou works with Ruben Lundgren. She is also in talks with Martijn van den Broek and Guinevere Ras about an exhibition on Dutch and Chinese makers in the Nederlands Fotomuseum. Furthermore, Zhou travels to Ningbo and Shanghai to do research on Che Chai Zee, one of the first Chinese immigrants to come to Rotterdam and in this regard works with Ren Zeyuan. Lastly, Zhou intends to revive her Mutual Office studio in the Netherlands and in this regard contacts Erik Kessels, who, in her view has found the perfect balance between a creative practice and commercial platforms.
Alessandra Scalora

Alessandra Scalora

'Did you know that bees buzz on a frequency that has a calming effect on humans? Bees contribute more than honey alone.' Beekeeper, artist, museum guide and mother Alessandra Scalora learns a lot from 'her' bees. As an independent beekeeper, she works weekly on the rooftops of Het Ketelhuis and the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven since 2016. She found a sense of peace and quiet with her bees, which provide a literal counter 'noise' to her thoughts. 'My mind goes quiet whenever I'm with the bees. This was also the inspiration for my Humbled by bees project. I wanted to explore making paint pigments from the pollen left behind in the beehive.'

Fast forward to Sicily, where Scalora spent a large part of her youth in her grandparents' lush garden. Highlighting female beekeepers was one aim of her project. She planned to meet local beekeepers and her Italian cousin, a photographer, was going to document it all. However, things turned out differently. Her cousin could not make it and one of the beekeepers had stopped. This was very stressful for Scalora. 'It forced me to make some quick changes but my project ultimately became better because of it. The feminist approach did not appear to be the right one. The story I want to tell is bigger and also concerns my roots in Sicily.' This proved to be her biggest challenge: adapt, refocus, and fight her fear of failure. She decided to start focusing on making natural pigments. 'Besides my own pollen, I also collected local flowers, stones and ashes from the Mount Etna volcano.' In Rome and The Hague, she learned how to make natural paints and ink from these materials.

Scalora intended to create ten works of art, each one framed in wood from her beehive. She now sees the end product differently. 'The actual research, which took more time than expected, is also part of the end result. I would like to record that process in a book.' But first her artworks: Scalora uses her own paints and ink to print the engravings she makes, based on the patterns she finds in the beehives. 'In Italy I explored woodworking, and after this year I'd like to learn wood turning to make my own honey jars.' All the different aspects from her story, about the importance of bees in the broadest sense, come together in this project. After all, Scalora's childhood would have been very different without bees. 'That my grandparents' garden was full of fruit trees is also thanks to the bee.'

Text by Priscilla de Putter
Alyson Sillon

Alyson Sillon

Multidisciplinary designer Alyson Sillon graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academie with a bachelor's degree in graphic design in 2022. In her work, she combines her interest in social themes, often related to subcultures and fashion, with graphic design and performance art. She aims to convey values such as empowerment, enlightenment and connection. Sillon: 'With Before/after I show how techno parties can be an occasion of transformation or self-discovery. I take the audience with me on a personal journey and share my insights. Personally, I do not use any mind-altering substances at parties. I see the rave as a way to explore the limitations and abilities of my body, comparable with a sports or training session.'

Sillon performed extensive research on rave culture and how it has changed. 'Originally, raves were anti-establishment events attended by young people. These raves were illegal, disruptive, hedonistic, dark and transcendental. It was as if people could let their bodies move without any sense of shame. It has now developed into an industry where famous DJ's and light shows have become more significant. I feel that this setting may impact the sense of intimacy, so that the attendees no longer feel they can let themselves go. I wonder how we can bring back this communal need for people to fully express themselves and feel ecstatic in the moment, like how it used to be.'

The final product of Sillon's project – a journey through the night – is an experiment where she aims to enable the audience to experience deep emotions during an event. 'Before the DJ gets behind the decks, there is a warming-up period with meditation and an inspiring art moment, so that the participants can connect with themselves and others.'

Recently, Sillon has been working on further research, on stories that provide a theoretical framework for the themes being explored, and on spiritual clock with twelve plexiglass objects to represent the different moments at a rave. 'I want to emphasise the Black and queer roots of techno with this multisensory installation, based on the aesthetics of Afrofuturism and Egyptian symbolism.'

The final project phase consists of developing the choreography and forging collaborations with DJ's and artists. 'I have to get out of my artistic bubble and ask other creatives to share my vision. This is a challenging and exciting phase that requires dedication and faith in the final end result. Hopefully, this experiment will result in a concept I can present at various locations.'

Text by Iris Stam
Amos Peled

Amos Peled

More than anything else, Amos Peled is driven by sheer curiosity. 'Just look at the aesthetics of medical equipment alone, such as an ultrasound machine,' he eagerly points out. 'It can provide us with the beautiful experience of being able to look inside the body.' The multidisciplinary artist focuses on experimental music, audiovisual installations and performance art. Peled was born in Israel in 1997 and grew up in a hospital environment, where he, as a patient, became fascinated by the medical systems around him. These early experiences now form the basis of his work. 'I've thought a lot about ways to introduce creativity into the medical world', he explains. 'When I got the opportunity to buy an ultrasound machine for five hundred euros, I decided to explore this piece of equipment from an artistic point of view. I started by using the machine as a camera to film my own body after which I started to involve patients and medical personnel to develop creative processes that would use this technology.'

His approach to this creative use of medical equipment drew the attention of various institutions, including Utrecht University, HKU University of the Arts, WKZ Children's Story Bank, UMC Utrecht, Leiden University Medical Centre and De Nieuwe Utrechtse School who could all see the potential. Peled now shows narrative and poetic 'ultrasound films' at film festivals both in the Netherlands and abroad. For these films he uses the human body as an abstract medium to tell stories, with bodily organs becoming characters and landscapes. He will also take part in Betweter festival scheduled for late September 2024 where visitors will be given the opportunity to see inside their own bodies.

During his development year, he also started to collaborate with artist Job Santé with whom he established the Creative Laboratory for the Exploration of Medical Technology (CLEMT). 'The core idea of CLEMT is to create situations where patients can use medical technology creatively on themselves. I want to enrich healthcare through a mix of multidisciplinary approaches and collaborations.' CLEMT also wants to organise a series of workshops in the medical environment to share the creative use of medical technology. By doing so, Peled hopes to deconstruct the hierarchical relationship between doctors, patients, the body, and medical technology. This process is a deliberate attempt to challenge the medically constrained interpretations of the body, injecting subjective biases into frames of supposed objectivity—blending truth with fact, art with science.

Text by Maaike Staffhorst
Ange Neveu

Ange Neveu

May your eyes never look away, may your genitals always be lubricated (porn, pixels, power and the panda desire economy) is the title of the development plan submitted by Ange Neveu. Although the artistic researcher from Rotterdam, who graduated from the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, had three different projects in mind, there is only one component this title specifically refers to. Neveu: 'I really wanted to make a documentary based on my earlier research into panda porn. I grew up with the internet and I'm a bit of a hoarder so when I came across a video with panda porn I couldn't resist adding it to my archive. It wasn't long before I started to obsessively archive these videos to try and understand what I was looking at, i.e. how zoos encourage giant pandas in captivity to mate by showing them porn images and exercising their muscles.'

Neveu's film has become a short, fictitious documentary about the life of the female giant panda Mei Xiang who lives in the National Zoo in Washington D.C. The panda gave birth to a total of seven cubs of which four reached adulthood. Neveu: 'I tell the story from three different angles: the surveillance cameras, the public, and TV journalism. The film looks at the asymmetric relationships between humans and animals, forced procreation and commodification.' Neveu took various courses such as 'scriptwriting' and 'experimental filmmaking' to ensure that the documentary with the working title Drowned in likeness can be shown in both art and film spaces. Neveu also wanted to start a research project on invasive plants and queer migrants – 'two groups that are surviving in hostile environments' – and had hoped to forge a new collaboration to analyse the used research methods. All this required a very strict planning and the artist found it impossible to allocate the necessary time to each separate project.

Still, the year has been very fruitful: 'For me, the most rewarding aspect was the collaborations. This is something that I really used to struggle with in the past but I'm really happy to have met the people that I met and what they contributed. I hope I can continue to work with them in the future.'

Text by Maaike Staffhorst
Anna Torres

Anna Torres

Anna Torres is active in the areas of architecture, research and art. In her design practice, she has recently started to research the role of what she likes to call a 'spatial detective'. Her studio overlooks Warmoesstraat, in Amsterdam's De Wallen red light district. She is fascinated by the area with its myths and symbols, its interesting history, its many different communities and power structures. This area plays an important role in her work which focuses on themes such as spatial justice, feminism, queerness and sexuality in urban spaces. Torres embraces the layers and rawness of these themes. She firmly believes that places, people and concepts should not be made more palatable or acceptable before they can be taken seriously or cared about.

Torres works with sex workers to better understand the complex power structures in the area. 'My goal as an architect is not so much to work for sex workers, but with them. Sex workers are professionals in their chosen area and should be treated as such in collaborations. I seek to inventory how this group presents itself in spatial terms, how we can collectively make space for providers of pleasure through scenarios of promising imagination, and how we can communicate these findings in an understandable way. I connect these aspects in various ways, from soft mapping, drawing, painting and collages to participation in political discussions and the organisation of creative communal workshops. For example, during a “world building” session I encouraged sex workers to imagine the workplace of their dreams, which they did while cutting and pasting in a fun and safe environment. It was beautiful!'

Torres wants to create a publication with all input she has collected from research, sessions, projects and reflection, serving as a love letter to the area. She is also working on a videogame about De Wallen. Currently, she is artist in residence for HXSSY, an art and culture collective that wants to strengthen the relationship between sex workers, artists, neighbours and the community in the De Wallen area through art. Torres also recently started her first collaboration project with Studio Ventura, with whom she created an alternative, queer dark room for the Pornceptual event. 'I learned how satisfying it is to build something 1:1. I'd love to be more involved with these kinds of practical, fast and tangible projects and to experiment with various collaborations and roles. It helps you to understand your own contribution and to reflect on your practice.'

Text by Iris Stam
Anna Zan

Anna Zan

Anna Zań (originally from Poland) graduated as an architect in 2021 at the Academy of Architecture Amsterdam, and started teaching at the same academy. She also set up her own design and research practice. 'My message is that we need to find ways to build without depleting the natural resources. Elevate the ordinary, use the raw materials that have been overlooked so far, upgrade these and reuse them. For example by combining minerals and bio-based materials such as straw, wood and cellulose with the “waste soil” excavated in our cities.'

Zań has been researching the latter since 2023 with research partner Elise Laurent. This year she has continued to work on the project, titled Building cities from waste soil. Zań: 'Vast amounts of soil are excavated in our cities, for instance to expand metro lines, to build new neighbourhoods, and to densify existing ones. This excavation is necessary to ensure safe foundations. What if this soil were to become the primary resource for new construction?'

Zań examined the soil that is excavated in Dutch cities. Although this preliminary research started with just six cities, she already discovered a wide variety of clay and loam soil types. They range from various marine and river clay types to the dark ochre-coloured loam from the south of the country, each very specific to the city's local landscape. She also worked with Rokus Oskam (Oskam VF) to test the soil's application in the production of raw compressed building bricks. Zań: 'The compression creates solid and sustainable bricks, while the process uses just one per cent of the energy spent on producing traditional bricks.'

In project Nieuw Oud Oost Leeuwarden, named after the local district, she worked with M3H Architecten, DS Landschapsarchitecten, Oskam VF, Homes Factory and Strotec to build a prototype for social, affordable, prefabricated and bio-based houses with a healthy indoor climate. 'We developed compressed earth blocks and clay-straw plaster to finish the houses on the inside and outside. To do so we combined bio-based materials such as straw, wood and cellulose with high-quality marine clay, which is excavated on-site to create room for water. These promising results were displayed at the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam 2024.' As Zań sums up: 'Material research, teaching, publishing, exhibitions… What I have learned is that my practice can expand beyond design assignments and include many other activities.'

Text by Iris Stam
Chen-Yu Wang

Chen-Yu Wang

Through her sheer determination to make it as a designer and artist, Chen-Yu Wang made peace with her past as a factory girl, working very hard every day. She now realises how well these three roles complement one another. The former factory girl from Taiwan developed a sharp eye for conflicting situations and capitalism, as well as for the Eastern and Western perspectives on these matters. Her work addresses all these things. 'I use textiles, sculptures and installations to make Western audiences aware of the working conditions and the human stories behind the products that they use in their day-to-day lives. Following graduation, I realised that I wanted to give other factory girls a voice too. This resulted in The rest factory.

The rest factory is, aside from a solution and ideology, a protest against the capitalist world. It challenges existing business models by introducing 'rest' as a key method and by aiming for a reflective and creative production system. 'I believe that art can make a difference in this world. It is my aim to set up a self-sustaining social collective where factory girls play a full part, with fair wages and dignified work.' Wang's biggest challenge this year was to further flesh out this plan. 'I am continuously redefining, looking for the right forms and collaborations.' Wang took courses in sound therapy, sound art, social enterprise, anthropology, lithography, silk screen printing and weaving this year.

Wang's stay in India yielded interesting new insights. 'In Calicut I met weavers Beena and Ramu, who work with shuttle looms. The meditative weaving sound – dhat dhat dhat – inspired me to visualise it. I drew while listening to the sounds of the loom, which I recorded as well, and it felt like a kind of weaving with my pen.' Wang showed her drawing to the weavers and asked them to sign her work. 'I want to tell the story of the workers behind these kinds of artistic processes.' The rhythmic weaving sounds took Wang back to her youth in the factory. 'This is where I was “programmed” to work hard,' she says. 'Hard work is in my DNA. I sometimes wonder if I am even able to rest.' It is just a matter of time before The rest factory allows Wang to create the place she longs for. A place where she can rest her soul.

Text by Priscilla de Putter
Chenda Fekkes

Chenda Fekkes

Chenda Fekkes graduated as a 'creative artisan' from the Hout- en Meubileringscollege (a woodworking, furniture and interior design school) three years ago, with a specialisation in shoemaking. In her first job as an orthopaedic shoemaker, she focused mainly on repairs and adjustments. She worked on her own creations in her spare time: leather masks and lingerie as sexually liberating and empowering fashion accessories. She made her designs to order and sold them on Etsy. Even though this wasn't the perfect platform, she never doubted her design ambitions. Before her application to the Creative Industries Fund NL had been approved, she already quit her job. 'I simply couldn't wait,' says Fekkes, 'I just had to find out if I could turn my passion into a profession.'

Fekkes spent the last year focusing on the development and positioning of her brand, which she has given her middle name: Chisenga. She found a workshop behind the Tolhuistuin in Amsterdam-Noord where she started working on more than just her masks and lingerie. At a tannery in Naples, she searched for the perfect leather to expand her collection with leather skirts, tops, briefs and even a leather wedding dress as well as a website with the right look and feel. 'Up to this point, my masks and lingerie were mainly used as styling props for other people's photoshoots,' says Fekkes. 'I started making mood boards together with a creative director and rebranded my products. My visual materials now completely represent my personal style.'

She describes this style as edgy and feminist with a nod to fetish. 'I don't see Chisenga as a fetish label but more as a fashion brand inspired by the fetish “club kids” and punk culture. I have always been fascinated by masks and want to make them more accessible. I have noticed during photoshoots how a model's attitude changes when they wear one of my pieces. It makes them feel strong and attractive. I see their superpowers emerge. It's a wonderful thing to witness.' She hopes to reach a wider public with her new website. 'I like to create sexy designs that undermine the male gaze and conventional beauty standards.' During the run-up to her launch party in August, Fekkes is already working on the next step. She has just finished a course with the world-famous shoemaker René van den Berg: 'René and I are developing a shoe with a heel inspired by a sex toy. The result remains a surprise, but it is nearly finished.'

Text by Willemijn de Jonge
Cotecreate Studio

Cotecreate Studio

María José Jara Veragua (Cotecreate Studio) embarked on a global journey eight years ago, leaving her native Chile and eventually settling in the Netherlands in 2019. Within a month after her arrival she began her own business, wishing to contribute actively rather than just learning the language. 'I started my own business in a field I had never worked in before: art. Because I believe art is a universal language that everyone understands. I wanted to connect with the community, and this seemed ideal.'

Having to find her way in a new environment but also learn a new profession and build a network was a steep learning curve. She quickly established a practice as an illustrator and social artist and was appointed as the city artist of Leeuwarden for three years in 2020. At the end of this period, she applied for the talent development grant to further professionalise her practice. During this year she felt it was time for the next step: 'My social nature drives my business, but I was searching for a deeper meaning behind my work.'

During a recent artist residency in Chile, she realised that despite her hard work and the appreciation for her art, she doesn't really have a sense of belonging in the Netherlands. She discovered that her work had always been focused on giving space and a voice to others without acknowledging her own story. 'What I discovered is that the most important thing is not just integration but creating a sense of belonging. The meaning of my work lies with people and their experiences. Art is a means to achieve this, not my goal.'

She started researching the concept of belonging through writing, drawing, and interviewing with people from the Netherlands and Chile. She asks her respondents to fill out surveys or create drawings of what belonging or exclusion means to them. She has collected over a hundred contributions, with which she intends to develop a method to increase our understanding of exclusion in society.

In the next phase, Cote plans to organise an exhibition featuring personal explorations of the theme of belonging through text and images. For Dutch Design Week she aims to create an interactive presentation where visitors can contribute their own input. Additionally, she is considering engaging with newcomers in the Netherlands and further developing her method to help them gain a stronger sense of belonging.

Text by Roosmarijn Hompe
Dae Uk Kim

Dae Uk Kim

Dae Uk Kim's objects, characterised by skin, hair, and sexually charged shapes, leave little to the imagination but represent much more. His goal for the development year was to enhance storytelling around his work. 'I make physical objects but miss communicating with the audience.' Through interaction, Kim hopes to better convey his story and be better understood. A graduate of the Design Academy Eindhoven, Kim grew up in conservative Korea, where he felt misunderstood in a culture that upheld the motto: 'Don't have any feelings and suppress your desires.' Everything he once had to suppress — his identity, gender expression, and freedom of choice –– is now embodied in his mutant 'characters.' It's not surprising that diversity and acceptance are central themes in his work.

Kim's Mutant project depicts his hidden desires. 'As a child, I loved playing with long hair, nail polish, and high heels, but I learned this was considered inappropriate. I felt my family's unease and sensed I was different from other boys at school.' In the Netherlands, he found more freedom but still struggled with self-expression. 'Though my surroundings had changed, I found it hard to adapt. A sense of shame lingered. This is why I created objects as alter egos to express myself.' During his development year, Kim aimed to communicate these deeper layers through mediums like video and performance. 'I sought help from MAISON the FAUX, who merge visual arts, including performance, fashion, and objects, into a strong narrative.' MAISON the FAUX agreed to mentor Kim, rather than collaborate. Over the past year, they completed two projects and have another big one planned. 'This was a fantastic opportunity. I learned how they create a visual narrative, like in the Timelesstime project, which featured a performance, installations, and video.'

This year, Kim learned to view his approach differently. 'Previously, I focused solely on objects, but now I begin with the concept and visual package, incorporating my objects.' He has learned to embrace his strengths and passions. 'In my plan, I intended to learn filming and editing, but I now understand this isn't necessary for a strong story. I don't need to do everything myself. As the creator and steward of a concept, I seek specialists who can support my message and objects, enabling me to tell a more powerful story.'

Text by Priscilla de Putter
Denzel Veerkamp

Denzel Veerkamp

Fashion designer Denzel Veerkamp grew up in Amsterdam, with a Dutch mother and Surinamese father. He often felt he was living between two cultures. 'Because I'd never been to Suriname, I started to have more and more questions and felt the need to explore the history and relationship between the two countries.'

Veerkamp started his trip with an open mind. He met his grandfather and other relatives for the first time, and immersed himself in the culture and the home of his ancestors. As a fashion designer, he subsequently wanted to capture his findings in fashion. 'I noticed how Surinamese women like to show off their traditional clothing on special occasions whereas men don't. This is what started my interest in the self-expression of Afro-Surinamese men and I discovered that there is no koto costume for men, for example.'

The story goes that the koto costume, an Afro-Surinamese garment that reminds many people of colonial times, was redesigned by the male colonist because women were no longer allowed to work around the house with bare torso. Women communicated non-verbally with one another through the ways they wore the koto and angisa (traditional headscarf). Veerkamp wanted to explore the significance of expression today. He visited archives, including the National Archive in Paramaribo, and sifted through letters, newspaper articles, magazines, photographs and clothing. With feelings of adoration, astonishment, wonder and pride he translated his findings into new designs. During Keti Koti, a commemoration of the abolition of slavery, he asked the residents of the care home where his grandmother lives to model his clothes, including an angisa, for which Veerkamp obtained his official diploma at the end of 2023.

However, it is still a challenge to produce the designs. The reuse of existing materials is a key pillar of Veerkamp's work. 'In Suriname, I realised that there are cultural and spiritual customs around the wearing of second-hand clothes. Surinamese people won't wear second-hand clothes unless it belonged to a close family member, because you don't know what the person who wore it before you got up to. In the Surinamese Creole culture people believe in spiritual cleansing through wassies, which are perfumed baths that wash away negative energy. I have adopted this custom and now use Florida water to remove any negative energies from the previous wearer.'

Text by Maaike Staffhorst
Dries Verbeke

Dries Verbeke

Dries Verbeke's (Driever) art explores the intersection of craftsmanship and innovation. He describes his work as 'applied art' and although this may be an old-fashioned term, his work is far from dated. Verbeke creates objects that are not only useful but offer something extra too, such as a lamp made from items from stores that give away free stuff or an infinity table with lasered patterns, LED strips and (two-way) mirrors. 'I use these objects to show people that everything is changeable, everything is amazing,' he says. His designs clearly reveal his fascination for mechanics. His work is inspired by the inventions of Leonardo da Vinci, Panamarenko's (flying) vehicles and Theo Jansen's moving beach animals.

Although Verbeke, originally trained as a graphic designer, he has since developed further into a versatile artist and craftsman. He taught himself woodworking, metal working, welding and laser cutting; skills he needed to bring his creative ideas to life. Thanks to his experience with graphic programmes such as Illustrator, he found it relatively easy to switch to 3D drawing programmes. His projects expanded in line with his skills, not just in terms of size but even more so in terms of complexity and layers.

Supported by the talent development grant, Verbeke aims to make his work more interactive this year by integrating technology such as electronics, sensors and Python programming. 'The idea is to let humans literally influence the work, whereby their presence causes the work to respond through sensors,' he explains. This adds a new dimension to his work, with a focus on the interaction between art and the observer. Recent fatherhood has not reduced his ambitions. Although his plan to follow courses in Python and robotics have been put on the back burner since the birth of his son, he continues to develop himself using online tools such as ChatGPT and hands-on projects, such as the restoration of an old electric cargo bike, to increase his knowledge of electronics.

Verbeke has also discovered a new passion in education. He found it very inspiring to share his knowledge in a series of workshops for children of various ages. He hopes to develop this educational practice further in the next few years, in addition to his creative projects. 'I want to make things that survive us. Things that don't only still work hundreds of years from now, but then still have meaning as well.'

Text by Roosmarijn Hompe
Dunya Zita

Dunya Zita

Personal experiences and thoughts are often Dunya Zita's starting point. She then uses her practice as an instrument to truly explore and philosophise about the topics she is interested in.

Zita left for Morocco, her father's country of birth, in early 2024 and stayed for two months. 'He moved to the Netherlands in the early nineties and I've always wanted to know what it would be like to live there. I also wanted to spend time with my family who, except for my father, all stayed in Morocco.' In her project Mejmou3en (together) she weaves together stories and feelings around the themes of spirituality, connection, family, language, the connection between mind and body, and religion.

In contrast with the rest of her family in Morocco, Zita did not have a Muslim upbringing. 'When I saw how important religion is in their day-to-day lives, I started to explore my own spiritual beliefs, experiences and thoughts and looked at the similarities and differences between my family and myself. The language barrier proved to be one of the biggest challenges during this project. Although the power of connection transcends spoken and written language, the lack of shared language made it more challenging to develop closer relationships.'

Zita successfully used her instruments to put unconditional love, the Moroccan culture, (second generation) migration, community and the language barrier in the spotlight. In her practice she combines photography, film, audio and poetry. 'I use my writing to explore my subconscious and to uncover the depth of my thoughts, feelings and issues. I also like to look at ways of communicating that can establish a connection on another level. A level that transcends language, such as someone's energy.'

Her research into the connection between mind and body and the idea that the body can store emotions and experiences was also a key component of her work this year. 'Here, I find the physical aspect really interesting, partially because of my own experiences and also because I think that people in the West tend to focus more on the mind and less on the body.'

The connection between rational thought and emotions is a common thread in Zita's life and work. 'Rational thinking can get you a long way but emotions are more instinctive and, often unconsciously, changeable. It is about the interaction between experiences, emotions and physical responses.'

Text by Maaike Staffhorst
Emmie Massias

Emmie Massias

Massias's plan was to perform research in Vietnam, into the links between the Dutch Imperial Oyster, Vietnamese mother-of-pearl inlays, and the French exploitation thereof. Designer and researcher Emmie Massias, who grew up in France and Vietnam, is interested in this ageold Vietnamese craft as well as in cultural influences, neoimperialism and the colonial origins of the European perspective. 'I want to explore and renew this craft by taking leave of the exoticism and traditional decorative and labour-intensive techniques.' But her development year took a very different turn when she was given the opportunity to work with wild clay and volcanic rock.

Massias had wanted to work with wild clay for some time when the perfect opportunity announced itself. 'I was working as a workshop coordinator for the French artistic organisation Domaine de Boisbuchet, where I met Mexican artists. A friendship developed that led me to being invited for a ceramic residency at Casa Ceniza in Guadalajara. I worked there for four months under the supervision of Maxine Álvarez, known for her research into wild clay and natural ash glazes.' Massias learnt to identify, 'harvest' and process wild clay. She created her own materials, putting together a library of glazes from finely ground volcanic rock, ash and charcoal. 'This way of working required an enormous adjustment after working with industrial ready-made materials.'

Using the wild clay, Massias worked on a series exploring the blurred lines between preservation and conservation which resulted in her first solo exhibition in Guadalajara. She gave something back to the community through a series of workshops about pouring wild clay with modular moulds. This experience taught Massias an important lesson: the impact of a community on a successful collaboration. 'I felt supported in Mexico. Local artists showed an interest and wanted to help and collaborate. I had never experienced that in quite the same way in the Netherlands. It taught me to open up and not wait so long before making connections with others.' Massias put what she learnt into practice: together with designer Marine Col, she established Studio Amalgame. During her time in Mexico, she participated in a workshop organised by marble factory Mármoles Covarrubias, where she worked with volcanic rock. This led to a fruitful collaboration with the manufacturer as well as an exhibition at the first Collectible Fair in New York in September. Another collaboration project saw Massias searching for wild clay and volcanic material during an excursion to Sicily with colleague ceramicist Elena Genesio. This way, Massias passes on the lessons learnt in Mexico.

Text by Priscilla de Putter
Enzo Aït Kaci

Enzo Aït Kaci

Enzo Aït Kaci has a background in graphic design and fashion. They are becoming less interested in creating something wearable. Their current research focuses on the visual and communicative aspects of clothes, both online and offline. How do major brands use visual materials? How do images move across the internet and what is the impact in the material world? 'I am interested in physical things that can be digitised and look at how this digital fashion can be turned into something physical again. My aim is to explore how physical and online things can be brought together in a new production system.' They also want to explore how images can regain their value in the endless stream of images that consumers see online.

One of Aït Kaci's experiments consists of downscaling as an approach to sustainability. They made miniature clothing during a residency in Lottozero, a textile lab in Prato, the heart of the Italian fashion industry. It should, in theory, be possible to make these small prototypes at their true size upon ordering, though their tiny scale is hard to capture in a photograph. Aït Kaci also worked with a web designer to explore how websites can be designed to minimize their environmental footprint. After all, the digital presentation of fashion consumes energy as well.

For Aït Kaci, textile and pixels are inextricably linked. They clearly see a parallel between the internet and the fashion industry. We see the internet as something that is intangible, whilst it is quite a physical thing with cables, servers, electricity and so on. Fashion is another field where the production process largely remains unseen by the consumer. And where people used to visit physical stores to touch and try on clothes, modern consumers often don't see the product until it arrives in the post. This type of consuming also affects the way clothing is visually presented and even the way it is designed. 'When you wear the product, you actually also wear the image that lies concealed within the clothes.'

All their research into issues like this will be brought together in a book that will also cover media and fashion history. 'I wondered how I could write without making any images. How can I translate my interest in visual culture into a critical perspective? One of the key things that Aït Kaci has learnt this year is that they are starting to feel more like a visual critic, rather than just a designer.

Text by Victoria Anastasyadis

Fatima Oulad Thami

Fatima Oulad Thami works as a neqacha or henna artist under the name Hand of Fatima. Initially working on commission at weddings and workshops, her work grew more expressive. 'I realised I had more stories to tell and that my work had a social relevance.' While professionalising and working on her own project, Restore the narrative (through hennafication), Oulad Thami developed and strengthened a distinct personal signature. With her work, she questions the prevailing Western image of North African women using oriental photographs of 'the Arab world' from the first half of the previous century.

Oulad Thami started as a henna designer and entrepreneur to financially support herself and her son. But her artistic ambitions soon overshadowed her practical intentions. 'The decorative side is just one side of henna. The symbolic and storytelling side is much bigger than that.' Henna was originally used to protect brides from the evil eye, with fertility symbols playing a key role, explains Fatima. 'I now translate fertility into growth, with natural symbols. The palm tree gives us sweet fruit in dry conditions, isn't that wonderful?' Oulad Thami's themes became more narrative, technically challenging and expressive. Though starting later than planned, she achieved her ambition of a home studio. 'Following the Procreate course, I now also produce digital designs. I started working with a coach and professionalised my online presence by emphasising the 'arty side' of my work. I learned to talk differently about my work and acquired a new perspective on my processes. I transformed as a maker and I am really grateful for that.'

Oulad Thami got inspired at the Groeten uit de Oriënt (Greetings from the Orient) exhibition at the Huis van het Boek museum. Here, Oulad Thami came across old oriental photographs of undressed women, presented as sex symbols. 'I found this manipulated image of the North-African and Arab world rather disturbing. Particularly, since there is so much negativity nowadays towards veiled women: so whatever you do, it's wrong. While it should be up to us if we want to be naked or covered up.' Oulad Thami covers the nakedness of these women with henna. She 'restores' the images using symbols that represent femininity and strength. 'The next step is to place a photograph on a bndir, a hand-held drum, over which I then apply the henna. The bndir is predominantly played by women as they sing. The instrument symbolises their voice. This is the statement I want to make as I take my first steps into the art world.'

Text by Priscilla de Putter
Ike Melchizedek

Ike Melchizedek

Ike Melchizedek is a multidisciplinary designer. Often mixing stories containing cultural ethical elements and fashion, he describes his work as refreshing and contrasting. 'Some parts of the story can be dark, I like to explain the darker side of things, but the message I want to convey is essentially a positive one, as shown by the design. I don't create from a place of pain but from a place of joy. The clothing has a good fit, appealing colours and a feel-good style. I love that kind of twist. My designs are not just shown by the models but also worn by me. I like to express myself in that way, I am not shy.'

The name of the project, collective and brand, The Gang is Beautiful, is also positive with a twist. Melchizedek: 'It refers to getting together with others, to a good vibe. You may associate the word “gang” with criminality but it is also used to describe for example sports team. We have created a nice contrast by pairing this word up with the more elegant word “beautiful”.'

Melchizedek tells us a bit more about the origin and success of The Gang is Beautiful. 'A couple of years ago, two friends and myself created an Instagram and organised dinners, live music, workshops, games etc. These were events where could people meet. We have grown considerably since then. Our community, predominantly in Amsterdam and Berlin, but also in other cities and countries feel connected to our brand's identity.'

The enthusiasm of the self-taught Melchizedek shines through in his talent development and openness to meeting others. 'With the talents of this year, we set up a group app. We got to know each other better by travelling to the Creative Industries Fund NL meetings together. I have visited some of them at their workshops and this is how I discovered that there are so many more disciplines out there that I would like to learn more about. Take the basic skills for shoe making for example.'

He concludes: 'I have learnt so much this last year at courses offered by professionals. But I am always looking for the next challenge. I'd like to investigate what sort of things would help expand my skills set and my vision as founder, designer and creative director of The Gang is Beautiful. I am proud and happy to have been awarded a talent development grant and it motivates me to work even harder.'

Text by Iris Stam
James Noya

James Noya

James Noya (Hatutamelen) is a self-taught craftsman who learned the skill of wood engraving by making tifa's or Moluccan drums. Since he set up the Awareness Moluccan Identity collective with a group of like-minded people in 2018, he has started to further explore Moluccan symbolism and craftsmanship. His talent development application consisted of three parts: revitalising the craft, the reintroduction and reinterpretation of Moluccan symbolism, and discovering the best way to present his work.

His work Salawaku, active protection through compassion was bought by Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam in 2023. With his interpretation of the salawaku, a Moluccan shield that offers physical and spiritual protection, Noya highlights the hidden power and meaning of this object. The symbolism of the wood engraving, inside the shield, is hidden from outsiders and known only to its bearer. As an heir to the Moluccan culture and craft tradition, Noya sees his practice as a continuation of his ancestors' culture. This year he went through old anthropological publications and digitally accessible museum collections to study the symbols and patterns on Moluccan objects. With his work, he wants to bridge the past and present, as well as different cultures and communities. 'By learning about the craft and symbolism, I feel more connected to my ancestors. I can give these objects my own meaning by acquiring a better understanding of the symbolism.'

He attended an intensive woodworking workshop last year where he acquired technical skills and gained a new perspective on his working methods. By approaching the work as a whole and working the wood layer by layer, the material gains an active role in creating the final result. 'The wood tells me what it wants to be, it's a collaboration.' Noya enters into a dialogue with the materials, with the Moluccan community, and with a wider audience. He is currently collaborating with a videographer on a short documentary to highlight the importance of knowing your own culture and its craft tradition. In today's world, people are becoming increasingly estranged from their (material) culture as everything continues to speed up, including the production of things. Noya thinks it is inherent to human nature to want to create things and to give their objects meaning. This is why he wants to show the value of culture, symbolism and craft in this documentary. 'The symbols that I create, the story behind it, it's actually a very universal story that applies wherever you go.'

Text by Roosmarijn Hompe
Jazmon Voss

Jazmon Voss

'A total of fifteen looks can represent my complete vision and deserve the investment for a great presentation,' says designer Jazmon Voss. Reining in his ambitions was his greatest challenge this year. 'I had originally planned to create and present six collection pieces. At the moment I've got five, but in my head I have finished no fewer than fifteen. I find it hard to let go of that.' Originally trained as a ballet dancer, Voss is inspired by dance, music, movement, and his Afro-native background. He aims to present his work in a performance-style show rather than a traditional catwalk. Voss has already showcased three pieces from his collection at the Fashion for Good Museum in Amsterdam. 'It was a valuable run-up to my final show, that again confirmed the power of performance for me.'

This year, Voss learned that creating a great collection and presentation requires more than being a skilled designer or performer. 'Everything needs to come together – the right designs, materials and collaborations – to create coherence.' Voss created a lot by hand. 'But the materials and shapes I use can be challenging. For some pieces, such as corsets, it is better to outsource them to specialists.' He loves working with leather and recycled materials. 'I created two looks where I only used existing materials: beads, string, leather, and other residues.' His use of raw materials reflects his Afro-American background and indigenous cultures. To achieve the right mix, Voss conducted research, which fuels his vision. 'I am currently looking at a way to translate my vision into a form that is accessible to a wider audience. I would like to present a collection as an artwork and simultaneously make affordable pieces for a larger audience.'

Voss's vision extends beyond the clothes he makes, to the way he presents them. 'I make fashion but I think and work as an artist and performer. My dance background sets me apart from other designers, and I want to tell my story through a captivating performance.' The show will have a mysterious atmosphere, he reveals. The audience will feel they have arrived in another world. 'It will have some ritual components and my models are from all over the world. I make use of a range of influences, without translating these literally. I enjoy playing with elements of surprise and confusion, such as a Congolese woman in a Japanese kimono.' It is new and quite grand, says Voss. 'Imagine me being able to present fifteen different looks. It's going to be epic!'

Text by Priscilla de Putter
Jenny Konrad

Jenny Konrad

Jenny Konrad, like much of society, suffers from sensory overload due to excessive information. Yet bodily we are often understimulated. This realisation followed a severe burnout. Their own neurodivergence has become a driving force in their multisensory practice. 'I now understand how I had become alienated from my body and needs, and I know many people face similar struggles.' Konrad believes that society could greatly benefit from more sensory design.

Rather than adjusting to societal norms, Jenny chose to gently challenge them through their work. 'I discovered who I am partly due to my burnout and diagnosis (autism and ADHD), which now forms the foundation for my artwork.' This led to a shift toward more physical and spatial work. 'Physical work significantly helps in regulating my feelings of sensory overload.' After completing a master's programme in Non-Linear Narrative at The Hague's Royal Academy of Art, Konrad received a grant for their project Sensory potentials within alternative ways of storytelling. 'Sensory perception is crucial in my work. I investigate sensory experiences of people with limitations.' Konrad views limitations as social constructs relative to the norm. 'If you don't meet the standard, your way of being can be deemed disruptive and unsupported. I want to show these societal failures and use a multisensory approach to make information more accessible.' This includes conducting research for a daycare centre for autistic individuals with intellectual impairments. Konrad wants to both shake up society and create practical work. 'I want neurodivergent people to feel heard and seen: nothing about us without us.'

Konrad encourages learning from each other's experiences. 'I'm currently quilting weighted blankets to give non-autistic people an “autistic experience” from a sensory perspective.' Earlier, Konrad created a 'light sensitivity installation' where latex hats represent their own episodes of light sensitivity. Spectators experience Konrad's personal stories through flashing lights, allowing them to understand light sensitivity. The next step is producing multisensory designs on commission. 'This year, I presented at cultural organisations like Mediamatic, Corpo, and Instrument Inventors, and lectured architecture students on sensory design for exhibition venue Beautiful Distress.' Konrad aims to use their experiences and knowledge to contribute to discussions about physical and sensory experiences, ultimately striving to change design norms.

Text by Priscilla de Putter
Jeroen Alexander Meijer

Jeroen Alexander Meijer

According to Jeroen Alexander Meijer, attention is a kind of superpower; an essential resource that we use for all we do in life. But in the current era, with so many media channels and stimuli, the interdisciplinary mindscape artist wonders how we can preserve our attention, what to focus it on, and how long we can sustain that.

'My graduation work at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague consisted of installations that combine light and sound, aimed at researching how stimuli affect our attention. I also wanted to find out how light and sound, when synchronised, can be perceived as a single experience, and then what happens when you pull them apart. It turns out that everyone responds differently to these stimuli, and that our attention is strongly influenced by our environment and personal sensibilities.'

Meijer also discovered his own sensibilities. 'For me, it was often about the importance of establishing contact with your own body. How do you do that? Your body often emits signals that we ignore, particularly in a world where we are constantly surrounded by digital media that mainly appeal to our eyes and ears. This is how I came to the idea of researching which media can help us reconnect with our body.'

Consequently, he developed an art installation that uses a parabolic mirror and an infrared lamp to create the sensation of warmth. 'I wanted to make this an interactive installation, enabling you to steer the sun with your body, as it were.' Meijer sees this project as a way to stimulate people's connection with their body.
Personally, Meijer has learnt that it improves his sense of balance to focus attention on what his body and emotions are telling him. 'This has meant so much for my creativity, my well-being and for how I feel, especially in my relations with other people. People tend to be trapped inside their heads, which can cause tensions in relationships and in society at large. With my work I hope to help others reconnect with their body and to focus their attention on what really matters in their life.'

Text by Maaike Staffhorst
Jesse van den Berg

Jesse van den Berg

'What does my ideal world look like?' Jesse van den Berg used this question as a starting point to explore utopian environments for their new project: places that make you feel so good that you want to stay forever. Van den Berg focuses on photography, audio, installations, and the representation of queer people. 'In my creation process, I want to give love and vulnerability a prominent role. My work is about intimacy and feeling at home in each other's company,' they explain. 'I prefer to stay away from the hard and raw images that I often encountered in articles and documentaries about queer people when I was discovering my own queerness. In recent years, I spent a lot of time working in my studio to explore this.'

Van den Berg graduated in Fine Arts & Design (MA) from the St. Joost School of Art & Design with their ongoing project Reconstructing queer intimacy. This development year allowed Van den Berg to take a major new step: 'Since working in a photography studio has limitations, I wanted to go outside and search for utopian places. My partner is a forest ranger and feels safest and most at home in nature. He also worked as a location scout, which is how we ended up in the Spanish Extremadura region, an area he sees as a truly utopian environment. For me, it also proved to be the perfect landscape for a new photography series.'

The two worked in the region for a week. The place took the photographer back to their childhood: 'This is when I used my parents' camera to start experimenting with photography. Back then, I mostly took pictures of flowers, which I continued to do as a secondary school student. Again in Spain, it was mainly the flower fields that drew my attention. Taking pictures outside has the added advantage of capturing moments of luck that prove to be a real gift to a photographer, such as the play of light and shadows or plant structures that can resemble the human body. It adds more playfulness to my work. I also made a soundscape to accompany the series, using sounds we recorded in Spain to add more context. The series will be shown for the first time at the Pennings Foundation in Eindhoven in the summer of 2024.'

Text by Maaike Staffhorst
Katharina Nejdl

Katharina Nejdl

Have you ever designed something by shaking your head from left to right or making arm gestures in front of your computer screen? Katharina Nejdl writes innovative programs to make things like this possible. She uses creative coding as a design tool, researching its potential and its impact on the design field. She also experiments with new forms of interaction between users and technology. After obtaining a bachelor's degree at the Universität der Kunste in Berlin, Katharina studied for a master's degree at the Sandberg Institute where she graduated in 2022 with the together-online.net project: an interactive online platform where you can co-create a design with others.

'I hope to circumvent the limitations of commercial software by developing my own design tools,' says Nejdl. 'A self-built system with an x number of variables can generate endless surprising results that you couldn't have possibly come up with yourself. Coding allows you to do so much more, both in terms of the output and the role of the designer.' Besides her work as web designer and developer, the grant provided by the Creative Industries Fund NL allowed Katharina to spend more time on research: how can you integrate coding in the design process and how do you design a usable tool?

She started by buying a stack of books. One of these books contained a reference to Joseph A. David's Plaque Découpée Universelle from 1876, a stencil capable of generating every letter of the alphabet. This antique template inspired her to make a digital reinterpretation: GridType.

The program allows you to create custom fonts that defy conventions, offering endless grids and letter combinations. Nejdl: 'This is because of all the different variables you can use, which is what makes it so interesting. And any glitches you may encounter make it even more fascinating. What happens if you start feeding those bugs instead of fixing them?'

The project is still in development, but GridType will eventually become a web-based tool for designers to create and export their own fonts. In the meantime, Nejdl has not lost sight of the connection with the historic Plaque. In the Tetem FabLab in Enschede, she has converted a number of her grids into analogue form using a laser cutter. You can use these plastic templates to work the old-fashioned way with pens or pencils. It emphasises once again that tools, whether they are tangible or not, are also product designs.

Text by Willemijn de Jonge
Lamiae El Hajjaji

Lamiae El Hajjaji

As a child, Lamiae El Hajjaji would spend every day drawing or doing some form of artwork. When she was older, she initially chose a secure career by studying to become a teaching assistant. Three years later, El Hajjaji decided to return to the creative field. 'I started studying communication and multimedia design at the University of Applied Sciences in Utrecht, expanded my network, visited exhibitions and became a freelancer. I joined the LFMC art collective in Amsterdam where I completed my graduation project.'

As a visual artist, El Hajjaji currently translates concepts and stories into visual works. She offers services in the areas of animation and branding as well as graphic design and illustration. El Hajjaji has established a name for herself through her commissioned work, but her busy freelance schedule meant less time to spend on creating autonomous works. 'The talent development grant allows me to find out what area I would like to consistently focus on; what is my own story?'

El Hajjaji describes her personal work as nostalgic, multilayeredand positive. 'I find it important to highlight stories rather than emphasise the struggle. The usual questions such as “How hard is it to be a person of colour?” or “How difficult is it to be visibly Muslim?” simply label people. Instead, I want to show how much fun it is to just be who you are.'

This development year, El Hajjaji will work on a deconstructed cartoon and a number of objects, including ceramics and a screen printed and embroidered headscarf. Her multidisciplinary project revolves around the young lady Hia, which is the Arabic word for she/her. Hia wears a hijab, is Moroccan, with roots in the Amazigh, a nomadic tribe in Morocco. 'You follow her story in which she rediscovers herself and learns to connect with all the different aspects of her life.' El Hajjaji was inspired by the concept of ubuntu. According to this African philosophy, people do not exist as isolated individuals but come to be themselves through a network of human relationships. Hajjaji: 'Ubuntu is very close to my Islamic way of life. The Muslim community is as one, we feel each other's pain and are happy when everyone else is happy.' Lamiae concludes: 'So it is all about “I am because we are”. I hope my work alludes to the importance of community instead of individuals. Because you can draw strength from other people. Their stories shape you.'

Text by Iris Stam
Lashaaawn

Lashaaawn

In their artistic practice, Lashaaawn combines the creation of epic fantasy worlds with online and offline drag performance art. 'I write stories about supernatural places and the people who live there. In my “world building” process, I present a vision of a more evolved society that prioritises wellbeing and peace. As a drag performance artist, I bodily express the aesthetics of those worlds, whereby I become a character from one of my stories as it were. It allows me to claim space as a member of the vulnerable minority, to sweep along myself and others in a brighter world, and to show what is possible in our wildest fantasies.'

During the talent development year, Lashaaawn will focus on the production of the digital variety show Ehmeneehm with Lashaaawn. In addition to drag performance art and epic fantasy aesthetics, the show will feature comedy sketches and a talk show with well-known personalities from the Dutch creative and social design field. Lashaaawn: 'Ehmeneehm is colloquial language. In Surinamese culture it is like an extension of the interjection or filler word “umm”. It is a comical reference to a conversation and it sets the tone for the talk show where I blend Dutch-Surinamese culture with parody and in-depth interviews.' It is a place of organised chaos where the charismatic, yet razor sharp Lashaaawn has candid discussions with guests about both casual topics and, more often, about serious personal, political and spiritual matters. 'The title is also a subtle recognition of the fact that Surinamese and other cultures from former or current colonies enrich Dutch culture.'

'This year gives me the space to continue working on both the short and long-term vision of this project without having to worry too much. I also have an overarching vision where I see my practice grow into a digital powerhouse. The multidisciplinary approach provides a unique framework that we don't often see, particularly not in the Netherlands.' They add enthusiastically: 'I want to inspire both myself and others. I also speak up for marginalised groups that I don't belong to directly, and choose to steadfastly avoid any elements of violence in my work. Afrofuturism is a key pillar since it is an intentionally inclusive way of creating. In my practice, I do my utmost to help build the necessary digital infrastructure to promote and strengthen this valuable artistic-cultural and diverse sound.'

Text by Iris Stam
Le Bateau

Le Bateau

A boat has been built at Amsterdam's Sloterplas Lake that defies all unwritten nautical laws. Laëtitia Delauney and Aurélia Noudelmann want to make the traditionally male dominated ship building sector accessible to a much more diverse group of people. Last year, they invited everyone – women and members of the queer community in particular – to join them at workshop Noorderhof to collaborate on De walvis (the whale). Prior experience was not required, this was all about learning by doing. Through monthly workshops offered by a variety of artists, the participants worked on the boat furnishing and equipment: from the richly painted sail to the mosaic-covered ship's table.

De walvis is the second boat built by Delauney and Noudelmann. They built their first one while studying at the Rietveld Academy. They already noticed then how their instructor doubted their technical skills in this area. 'With this project we hope to challenge these kinds of preconceived notions', says Delauney. Delauney and Noudelmann established Le Bateau after graduation and decided to start a larger scale project with an even bigger boat, a more comprehensive side programme, and more participation from local residents and friends. 'This project is not just about building boats but also about building more inclusive communities where we invite people from outside our own bubble,' says Noudelmann. 'In our participative workshops we like to learn and share knowledge with people who wouldn't usually be involved with such projects.'

They see the workshop as a kind of artistic research platform where they can learn in practice how best to deal with sexism and exclusion. This is why they found it so important that the workshops, meetings and building sessions could be offered free of charge. Working with so many amateurs, they managed to build a very special vessel whereby they not only reframed the typical profile of a ship builder, but also the design itself. De walvis is modelled on a whale's skeleton, and is supported by empty beer barrels. The participants played with ideas of form and counter form to make optimal use of materials. The table is made from discarded tiles and old crockery and the sail has been painted with locally picked raspberries that were left over following an on-site brunch.

This year, De walvis can be booked for events that chime with the goals of Le Bateau. Next year, Delauney and Noudelmann will sail the boat from Amsterdam to the Canal du Midi in Southern France, making stops along the way to show their boat and spread their message.

Text by Willemijn de Jonge
Lena Winterink

Lena Winterink

Five years ago, Lena Winterink graduated cum laude from the Design Academy Eindhoven with two projects that personalise the fabrics that we wear. At their request, she turned people's souvenirs into personal patterns that can be worn close to the skin. She also integrated copper into cotton garments which, depending on use, results in a unique oxidation pattern.

These patterns continue to be an important feature of her work. Winterink translates social patterns into textile designs and also carries out research for various clients, looking at the lifecycle of textiles, from their origin to the production and use. During her development year, she further explored the manufacturing side. She joined a textile network, made new contacts in the industry and, with the support of two experienced weavers, started to experiment on her own loom. These efforts resulted in a new sample archive with innovative weaves for future projects.

The talent development grant also gave her the necessary space to reflect on her position as a designer. Developing a new website fitted in nicely with this. She is currently looking at the possibility of a follow-up to the project Made in: a cloak she designed for the Amsterdam Tropenmuseum (now: Wereldmuseum) consisting of 1300 labels cut from discarded garments. 'These labels are waste products of a waste product, which need to be removed for recycling,' says Winterink. 'In this way, a piece of textile loses part of its history.' Made in makes a statement about the global origin of the clothing we wear and revalues the local context. Winterink: 'I think it's fascinating how people assign such very different values to textiles. In one place textiles are discarded, whereas somewhere else the same textiles might be put in a museum.'

In the meantime, Winterink's networking and positioning efforts have also started to pay off. Winterink has been selected for two new projects in Rotterdam. She will analyse the work processes of textile sorting company Opnieuw Goed for the Versatile Academy: how can she, as a designer, contribute to the sourcing, sorting and reusing of secondhand textiles? She will also be researching the traditional Afro-Surinamese headscarf for Tailors and Wearers, the socalled angisa. How can we preserve and at the same time make these special cultural items more accessible for others? 'These questions tie in very well with the kind of design practice I'd like to have.'

Text by Willemijn de Jonge
Lukas Engelhardt

Lukas Engelhardt

Graphic designer Lukas Engelhardt is interested in autonomous infrastructures of both digital and non-digital nature. It could be a computer that hosts his work files or the studio that provides the conditions to develop his practice. Engelhardt seeks to understand and manipulate these mechanisms. 'It can be very powerful to understand how these things work and to be able to do it yourself.' Accordingly, he builds servers, uses an open source alternative to Dropbox, and self-hosts his new website. He is also eager to enable collectivism and activism by creating places that facilitate collaboration and friendships. 'Collaboration is really the key thing for me.'

Engelhardt can't help but wonder: why does a server look the way it does? It doesn't need to be that way. The way it works, how it feels, but also the way we talk about it. These are all choices. Engelhardt wants to reveal that random aspect by approaching the object as a sculpture, for instance by painting it or by exhibiting it in a gallery. As a result, the public starts to relate to it differently. 'As a designer I have always been interested in how you can communicate things.' Another fascinating phenomenon: desktop backgrounds, showing wonderful natural scenes. On the one hand there's the metaphor of it being your desktop, while on the other hand it's an inaccessible kind of space. It is also quite striking how many words we use from the analogue world to refer to things in digital space, such as files, folders, save, icon, window… These shifting meanings also fascinate Engelhardt. 'It's many different things, but there is a common theme. It's all about the aesthetics of autonomy.'

Engelhardt cherishes the autonomy provided to him to arrange this year however he wishes. He will concentrate on practical matters to support the development of his practice, such as a course in miniature painting, travelling to visit collectives, having conversations with inspiring example figures in his discipline, and arranging business coaching for him and his studio partner. His feeling is that everything is now materialising in his practice. 'It gives me lots of energy and lots of other things besides. It's nice to receive public feedback once in a while, to see that people seem happy with the things I'm involved with.'

Text by Victoria Anastasyadis
Maciej Wieczorkowski

Maciej Wieczorkowski

Technological developments have made our lives a lot more comfortable in the past few decades. Running water and mechanical ventilation, once upon a time only available to those wealthy enough to afford it, are now standard in any average home. The downside is that we experience fewer shared moments nowadays. And what about sustainability?

Architect Maciej Wieczorkowski decided to explore these issues further. 'A fireplace used to be the focal point of the home and formed the backbone of family life. The fireplace is where people came together for warmth, cooking food, drying clothes and sleeping and as such it established a kind of hierarchy in the home. On an urban scale, wells and granaries served as meeting places and a central point for the community. For many cultures, these infrastructural objects were important enough to become a place of religious worship. But such resources no longer have a collective meaning in our modern culture. This shift not only affects society, but also has an impact on architectonic design. Where we used to have beautifully designed objects that were used daily and were created through collaboration between architects and craftsmen, we now have items that are produced on an industrial scale with the involvement of anonymous engineers and climate advisers. These technical installations subsequently require intensive maintenance and frequent replacement and this is expensive and not really sustainable. At the same time, these installations contribute nothing to the aesthetic, architectonic or cultural dimension of the building. Wieczorkowski finds this concerning. 'Should we reconsider our collective relationship with resources?', he wonders.

Wieczorkowski visited communities in Barcelona and Berlin that are still organised around the sharing of resources. He also researched various types of objects that are related to collective resources in the past. 'Currently, I am looking at ways to translate this formal research into a design language. But I also see the entire project as a theoretical, practical and personal knowledge base for my practice. I am convinced that these experiences will be valuable for various ongoing projects, such as the Gemene grond project that I am collaborating on with the municipality of Roermond. They also serve as an inspiration for teaching in a design studio at the Rotterdam Academy of Architecture and various future projects.'

Text by Maaike Staffhorst
Maria Fraaije

Maria Fraaije

This year, Maria Fraaije learned how to 'crawl out of her head'. 'Now I draw worlds to get lost in, rather than worlds with which to confront others.' Previously, the illustrator created projects of a social nature. For DRIFT (Dutch Research Institute for Transitions) she researched societal themes, and initially wanted to weave together the worlds of illustration and research. But that ambition changed over the course of the year. 'I discovered that this wasn't really what I was looking for. Much of my original plan went out the window.'

Fraaije no longer feels the need to stimulate reflection, debate or change through her drawings. Most of all, she wants the viewer of her work to feel touched. 'My drawings are still about themes that mean a lot to me, but in a more gentle manner and with more room for nuance. It's an approach that suits me better. I feel less compelled to explain things.' It changed her process and has made her drawings more poetical. 'I always associated research with rationality. With thinking and understanding. Thanks to this year, I know that I prefer to do artistic research, which can be irrational and explorative. I always felt that I needed to be assertive, activistic and socially engaged in my illustrations, but through the development of my practice I realised that I like to create softer images, through a simple and open research process.' To illustrate: she used to draw mostly indoors, but now she likes to take a stool and sketchbook out into the world to draw what she sees there. 'Later, in the studio, I create illustrations of a spot based on memory. Through this approach, I not only record the facts but also my own truth. The world that emerges in that way is usually more gentle and elusive. I think I also started working more with watercolour and charcoal for that reason, they are more imprecise and harder to pin down.'

Fraaije did a residency in Scotland, where she discovered the kind of work that emerges when she spends all day long drawing outside, in nature. The course she followed at the Royal Drawing School also helped. 'How the instructors and artists talked about their work – explorative, open and curious – was inspiring.' Just like her drawings, Fraaije's own view of her work became softer. 'I discovered this year that one drawing can feel more sincere than another. And that ugly drawings don't really exist.'

Text by Priscilla de Putter
md-2 architects

md-2 architects

As architects based in Rotterdam, Michał Długajczyk and Mahaut Dael of md-2 architects concentrate daily on renovation and transformation projects. 'We study the stories, history and identity of the city, which are aspects often ignored in architecture. And we ask critical questions about the continual demolishment and disappearance of valuable parts of the city.'

Inspired by surrealism, the pair apply their Description by Design methodology to examine themes such as identity, sustainability and flexibility. 'In this development year we are combining research, practice and communication. One goal was to translate our study of surrealistic methods and specifically of the work by the Czech artist Jiří Kolář into techniques for the reuse of scrap materials. We find Jiří Kolář's work inspiring as it offers us creative solutions for contemporary challenges in architecture and renovation. This year we travelled to Prague to examine his work from up close. This yielded lots of new knowledge, insights and contacts, including with institutions that offer the opportunity to exhibit our work abroad. We experimented with surrealist collage techniques for architectonic designs at the Rotterdam Academy of Architecture and Urban Design. We applied these techniques to the Citroen auction hall, a building in Rotterdam. We also visited Rotterdam's ECNI cement factory to learn more about material properties and recycling processes.'

They accumulated even more knowledge by following a course in exhibition design, and they presented their research into surrealistic collage techniques and their experiments with scrap materials sourced from transformation projects in Rotterdam's Oude Noorden district. They also tested disassembly, recomposition and consolidation techniques, and translated their research into mock-ups. They are furthermore renovating a house in Italy, applying new techniques to reuse old roof tiles.

'By acquiring knowledge about materials and construction techniques, we are better able to connect with more advanced project phases and to play a bigger role at the construction site. This development year allows us to further explore our work and to learn how to present our work. This way we can position our work in the field more effectively, make it relevant for contemporary issues, and grow our network. We intend to produce another series of mock-ups and to apply these at actual construction sites. We will also further test surrealistic techniques and specify how these can be translated to contemporary architecture.'

Text by Maaike Staffhorst
Michelangelo Winklaar

Michelangelo Winklaar

The exhibition Kijken met je handen (looking with your hands), held at Escher in the Palace Museum in The Hague in autumn 2021, introduced a groundbreaking approach to museum fashion exhibitions. Inspired by his visually impaired mother, Michelangelo Winklaar developed an haute couture collection that visitors are allowed to touch. With the target group of blind and visually impaired visitors as starting point, this exhibition appealed to a much more diverse audience. After all, who does have the temptation to touch those special silhouettes, textures and fabrics? Through his inclusive approach to fashion exhibitions, Winklaar resolutely breaks with the usual 'do not touch' instructions. Here, touching is permitted, which is an enriching experience for many.

At the exhibition, visitors could experience the sensation of a heavy, rough sequin fabric that feels like scaly skin, as well as the lightness of layers of tulle, fine flowery embroideries or the angular shoulder pads of an 80s blazer. Winklaar designed a series of special display cases inspired by incubators, with holes to put your hands through. This sparked his interest, leading him to apply for a grant from the Creative Industries Fund NL to explore the durability and design of tactile textiles. How can fabric withstand constant touch without wearing out, getting dirty, or fading? And how can the experience be made even more engaging for a diverse audience?

Winklaar aims to revive haute couture by using this new, inclusive approach. This year, he is focusing on professionalizing his practice, culminating in the second exhibition: Kijken met je handen 2.0. In The Hague, he dived into the Kunstmuseum's fashion archives to discover which textile techniques endure best over time. In France, he refined his embroidery skills to produce less fragile embroideries. And he searched for special audio clips at the Netherlands Institute for Sound & Vision to further enhance the sensory stimulation.

He also talked to curators and designers about the exhibition design. 'There is so much to think about when organising an exhibition. I am trying to learn as much as I can about all the various aspects. Additionally, I like to reflect on my way of working. When you're creative, your mind is constantly active. I learnt that it is important to switch off now and again.' He can't afford to switch off for too long though: the pre-launch of the first pieces is scheduled in early October at the Lange Voorhout in The Hague.

Text by Willemijn de Jonge
Michèle Boulogne

Michèle Boulogne

What do artisanal textiles, space, and colonial issues have in common? These seemingly different themes converge in the projects of textile designer and visual artist Michèle Boulogne. This year, she aims to clarify the connections between her projects. 'I want to get a grip on who I'd like to be in this world and for my community. To this end, I combine my tools, textiles, and my subject, space.' Her fascination began in her youth in Martinique. 'As long as people exist, there will be atextiles. The same applies to cosmology. They are both deep-rooted human preoccupations. In the US, I studied textiles within a universal context and learned about the connection between textiles, cartography, and the representation of the sky.'

Growing up on the island with its French colonial history, Boulogne loved nature and the night sky. 'But there was another side to life on the island: of tension and deep-rooted problems related to the colonial history.' Boulogne sees similar contrasts in space. 'It is the ultimate place for wonder as well as for geopolitical issues.' Here, her knowledge and art intersect. 'I feel that I have something to contribute to the debate about voyages of discovery, particularly given today's talk about colonising space. I find that notion and the rhetoric around it very shocking. Given recent focus on colonization's negative impacts, I don't understand why we're discussing this in the same terms.'

Boulogne will conclude her development year with a research project on Caribbean basket weaving techniques, collaborating with anthropologists. 'I want to learn everything about the basics of this skill, using only fibres and your hands.' Simultaneously, she will study satellite images of the island to understand how its resources have been used. This is how Boulogne intertwines her subjects. Acceptance and finding the right balance have been her biggest challenges. 'I am constantly switching between research, working with textiles, and collaborating with others. It can be difficult to achieve the right balance.'

In October, Boulogne will present a series of graphic prints about the human relationship with extraterrestrial resources and a publication on traditional Caribbean basket weaving concerning territorial awareness. She is also preparing a paper for Milan: Caribbean arc and outer space, an academic and visual reflection on exploration. 'For the first time, there will be a colonial panel,' says Boulogne. 'Things are happening with regard to this topic, people from the community want to come together. I have been able to focus on that this year. This is too big an issue to ignore.'

Text by Priscilla de Putter
Michiel Terpelle

Michiel Terpelle

Finding communities was one of the key aims for graphic designer Michiel Terpelle (he/they) this year. Particularly queer communities: places where he feels at home and can collaborate without compromise. 'The basic premise of my practice is that queerness is not so much a way of doing or a kind of layer over the design practice as a neutral entity, but more a way of being that questions and explores the politicisation of queer people in relation to heteronormativity and compulsory heterosexuality.' Terpelle approached various people and initiatives for mentorship, including the Belgian collective Bebe Books. First invited as a resident, he is now a member of the group.

Covid hit shortly after Terpelle graduated from the ArtEZ University of the Arts with a master's degree in typography in 2020. Structures were lacking, collaboration was difficult and there were no facilities available. It feels for him as if his practice is starting to take off only now. One of the projects he has worked on recently has been the development of his drag character Jizz Taco. 'I am active in the drag scene and you can see elements of this culture in my design practice. Elements such as performance and identity but also the platforms provided by clubs, streets and galleries, where I question and explore themes such as gender, sexuality and class.'
Terpelle increasingly aims for a more independent relationship between client and designer. In this hierarchical structure, marginalised people are often expected to adjust to interests that do not serve them. That is why he is increasingly rebelling against heteronormative design practices. 'I don't want to explain queerness “on condition that…” – for instance on condition that heterosexuals can understand it in their language or within their own frame of reference, or on condition that it doesn't offend them or create feelings of guilt, or on condition that it won't cost them anything.'

All the experiences of the past year will be archived. Besides a digital archive, the archive itself will also be an event. A performance, almost like a kind of liturgy, to celebrate collaborations and results. Incidentally, Terpelle also discovered a community at the Creative Industries Fund NL: 'I think talent development is a great way to support people and give them a push in the right direction. You not only receive financial support, but you also get a large group of people who are all at the start of their careers.'

Text by Victoria Anastasyadis
Milenco Dol

Milenco Dol

A series of black-and-white photographs show a portrait of a young man, with each photo becoming progressively darker. On the last photo the subject is barely distinguishable from his surroundings. With this four-piece series of self-portraits, Minco visualises a personal experience. 'This project emerged from a longing to disappear, to dissolve into silence.' The gradual disappearance of the portrayed subject is achieved by gradually shortening the shutter speed on an analogue camera.

Dol wanted to devote this year to making a series of portraits of people just starting out on the job market, and to learning how to work with an analogue camera. From the period following his own graduation, he remembers the sense of having no direction once the structure imposed by the study fell away. 'The feeling I got was: if I don't do anything, then nothing will happen anymore.' However, while working on his project he realised that the portraits were not telling the story he had envisioned. Working with a medium-format analogue camera also required a different approach. 'You can't shoot a thousand pictures and then select a couple later. The picture I take just has to be right.' He decided to stop working according to a predetermined concept and to simply start taking photographs instead. 'It's nice to have the room to just experiment. With an analogue camera, you do look through the viewer but what you're looking at is just a mirror reflecting what you see in front of you. A beautiful image is what is already beautiful when you simply look at it with your own eyes.'

This resulted in an approach where Dol separates the process of making photographs from the editing of a series. He has also learned to develop film and to make analogue prints. Thanks to these experiences and his conversations with various mentors, he has gained a broader perspective on photography. 'When I make a series, it's not just about what I want to say, but also about what another person can see in it.' For Dol, photography is a means to make things visible, but also a way for him to disappear (behind the lens). He tries to capture this ambiguity by letting images tell a story together. The time-consuming and artisan process of analogue photography means a lot to him. 'The time you invest in creating a single image increases its value. You start with nothing and it can become much more. As soon as you pick up an analogue camera, you're engaging with the world itself.'

Text by Roosmarijn Hompe
Niels de Bakker

Niels de Bakker

From Sonology at the Conservatoire to a master's degree in Art Science and a Tech Fellowship at the Royal Academy of Visual Arts: artist Niels de Bakker blends his knowledge in installations that he plays like instruments. This is his way of getting a grip on materials and processes. The tools that he needs are so specific that he makes them himself. 'I have to keep learning so that my work can evolve.' Visiting lectures, he often seeks advice from experts in electronics and mechanics. His efforts are paying off with increasingly improved experiments and faster results, just as he aimed for this year. 'I want to professionalise my practice by expanding my technical skills. For my installation machines, I continue to build further on my existing knowledge.' Because with new knowledge, come new questions.

When De Bakker was completing his application, he thought he would like to do something with optics, lenses and light. However, his plans gradually started to change. 'I built an ecosystem of small computers and electronics that enables me to build new and improved installations more quickly.' Those installations are the result of a deep dive into his personal fascination and of thorough, complex and experimental research. 'For my latest installation I dissolve pigment in a special silicone oil. The colour of the pigments changes as a result of their temperature. De Bakker shows how this process works using an LED screen for which he makes images based on the heat of the pigments: the image continuously changes because of cooling and heating. Complicated? Yes indeed. He also didn't understand it at first, but then that's his biggest drive. 'Something fascinates me precisely because I don't understand how it works. The technical journey I must undertake to gain a better understanding is what I find interesting.'

Understanding and controlling seemingly magical yet natural phenomena is his goal. 'As an inventor, I make my own equipment so that I can control it. I now do the same with magnetic pigments whereby a magnetic field causes colours to change.' By understanding how something works, De Bakker learns how to control and model results. He does so based on compositions. 'Somewhere between building the electronics and writing the compositions, the final work appears.' Everything has been carefully thought out. Still, most discoveries happen by chance. 'I look for coincidences, to be honest. Unexpected results are always the best ones.'

Text by Priscilla de Putter
Peter Peels

Peter Peels

Self-taught interdisciplinary maker Peter Peels of 4DMagnetics was selected during the Scout Night in Eindhoven. His work can take on various forms, from analogue to digital illustrations, 3D design, animations and music. Using the Talent Development grant, 4DMagnetics wants to develop a video game about a Moluccan warrior on a fictitious, precolonial Moluccan island. In light of this project, Peels wants to pool his creativity with technical skills, immerse himself in his Moluccan background and record the stories of his ancestors. He wants to achieve this by taking game development courses as well as an Indonesian language course. 4DMagnetics will work with the Moluccan community and Het Moluks Museum.
Quiana Cronie

Quiana Cronie

Quiana Cronie was born in Curaçao and grew up in Aruba. When she was nineteen, she moved to the Netherlands for her studies at the Design Academy in Eindhoven. Today, Cronie has returned to the island where she grew up. As an Aruban designer, she aims to preserve the island's culture for future generations, through creating sustainable fashion and by visual storytelling. She also researches Aruban traditional dress, which has been influenced by various cultures as a result of colonisation and trade. She enthusiastically explains: 'Aruba has a rich oral tradition and limited written sources. I want to reveal, share and highlight our stories, such as the origin of the Aruban saying come harinja, bisti bari, which means “eat the flour and wear the bag”. It refers to the straight cut work shirts that the hard working women, farmers and fishermen used to make around the year 1800 from empty flour bags, which were strong and breathable. The reuse of this strong material turned the cashaca into a sustainable garment. I hope to revive this innovative tradition with my current project Cashaca. Inspired by the working methods of the past, I produce an upcycled version, made from cotton tablecloths sourced from the local hotel industry. This also refers to present-day Aruba which isn't very sustainable yet, and where the main income source is tourism. Both souvenirs and fashion are mostly mass-produced outside of Aruba. By reviving the cashaca, I want to focus on the islanders' heritage, identity and sense of community. At the same time, the cashaca is a way to tell the untold stories from Aruba via sustainable clothing, meant for everyone. Carrying the culture of Aruba, that is what you do when you wear this shirt.'

Cronie is currently focusing on further improving her sewing skills and visual aesthetics using new media such as 3D fashion and Cinema4D. 'I hope to also appeal to a younger target group by injecting a sense of freshness and innovation into this project.' She also aims to organise a series of popup exhibitions in collaboration with shops in both Aruba and Europe to show her developing work and to get feedback from the community. 'This is an exciting and significant phase. I can fully devote myself to my passion, focus on experimentation, reflection and growth, and start building the foundation for my practice as an independent designer. I am very grateful for that!'

Text by Iris Stam
Ro Buur

Ro Buur

Ro Buur is a graduate of the HKU University of the Arts in Utrecht and the Sandberg Institute in Amsterdam, and active in the areas of film, photography, sculpture (ceramics), illustration and typography. Their work is inspired by a strong need to explore and reflect on certain themes within their day-to-day life. 'My projects tell stories that otherwise remain invisible in our society. I draw a lot of inspiration from the queer community where people encourage me to grow and stay true to myself. My ideas also come from nature, the Dutch landscape and the water that flows through it. The diversity of nature reassures me. There are plants and animals that have both male and female characteristics, non-binary animal species, and some animals engage in homosexual behaviour. This shows that it is natural to be who I am.'

Buur talks about their current multimedia project (working title: Queerdo's), which will culminate in a film upon completion of the talent development year. 'The main character is Birdie, a queer and trans person who suffers from a negative self-image and sees themselves as a monster. Four (imaginary) friends spend some time in nature with Birdie for a ritual that ensures that Birdie can let go of their anxieties and negative thoughts. I based Birdie on a water monster from a scary Dutch folk story that is intended to make sure that children stay away from water. In this project I draw a parallel with how a part of society, that is increasingly adopting normative and binary views, sees queers and trans people.'

Buur used the grant for research, writing and developing the script, whereby they combined research with magical thinking. 'I experimented with various media to tell a narrative, and developed a real passion for clay. It unleashed my imagination, with the characters coming to life while modelling the clay, which I then converted into illustrations and text. I am about to start using the ceramic sculptures as the basis for moulds to make rubber masks, to be worn by the characters in the film. The sculptures will also become part of an installation that I will show at the end of this development year.'

Text by Iris Stam
Rosalie Apituley

Rosalie Apituley

Rosalie Apituley is a graduate of ArtEZ University for the Arts in Arnhem (2022), and in her artistic design practice she focuses on product design, critical design, social design and interaction design. She first explored the theme of energy consumption in her Uit de meterkast project. Apituley: 'My work is socially critical and carefully thought through, but the playfulness and humour makes it accessible to a wider audience. With this project, I wanted to redesign the daily interactions with energy to emphasise that energy isn't something that just comes out of the wall.' Her interest in the theme was sparked by a memory from her childhood. 'Whenever I left a light on, I was told: “Think of the polar bears”. As a novice designer, I started to wonder: why don't I understand how energy works when I am so dependent on it? I wanted to find out what the relationship was between those small acts performed around the house, such as the switching on and off of light switches, and the larger scenario of climate change. How do you, as an individual, have an impact on this?'

Meanwhile, Apituley is increasingly starting to position herself as a designer who focuses on energy awareness. 'I am inspired by questions such as: what motivates people? We can have a real impact on climate change through our actions. The way we design our technology and infrastructure has an influence on our relationship with nature. With my projects I aim to make energy consumption tangible and visible, because it is by understanding something through physical experience that one is motivated to act.'

This year, Apituley will continue to work on her project named It giet oan (meaning it's going to happen in Frisian) which asks if it is possible to adapt our culture to solar and wind energy, with its inherent dynamic rhythms. During Dutch Design Week 2023 she built a so-called koek-en-zopie stall (refreshments associated with ice skating) together with network operator Alliander, where five solar panels supplied power for an ice cream machine. Apituley handed out ice creams whenever the sun was shining but when it was cloudy the machine would stop working. 'I am currently looking at the possibility of running an ice rink in summer that will be powered by solar energy. With this project, I explore how we can adapt our culture and economy to the seasons, with seasonal energy. I am also working on a festival that will be held on the ice rink grounds, with lectures, workshops, a small art exhibition and games around the theme of energy consumption. Together with the audience, I want to find out if we can have collective celebrations when there is an abundance of power, such as when the sun is shining in summer.'

Text by Iris Stam
Samuel Rynearson

Samuel Rynearson

Samuel Rynearson likes objects whose purpose may not be immediately obvious. Examples are fountains, teapots and bird houses in all sorts of shapes and sizes that are not immediately recognisable as such due to their special design. The designer is particularly interested in how these objects influence our habitat and vice versa. Although he mainly works with digital media, his fascination for physical objects has grown over the years. What is more: 'Even though I can still be amazed by digital objects, I am particularly fascinated by the feel, the tangibility and the unsettling aspect of physical objects. I am increasingly aware that it's important for my mental health and quality of life that I start to move away from making digital art only. This is why I'm looking for a new approach where I can combine digital and physical objects' He likes to emphasise the strange or disconcerting aspects of an object. 'This makes you feel that you can't stop looking and this is something I like to encourage. I'd also like the viewer to wonder why it looks that way as well as how it is made.'

During his development year, Rynearson focused on the design and production of bird houses that can now be seen in gardens throughout The Hague. He wanted to create a certain tension between the houses and their surroundings. To achieve this, he collaborated with the designer Jonathan Looman and others. 'After various consultations, we designed objects and explored how to make bird houses that are suitable for their environment and the living creatures that live there.'

The designs, which are far from traditional and have some futuristic elements, as well as the choice of materials and the production process were all part of his research. It is no big deal to print a digital design in plastic but what about ceramic or metal? The designer responded to this challenge with lots of research, experimentation and creating an archive for material use and production processes. This gave him a taste for more: 'I hope to evolve into a designer who does not just create digital art but can also insert and link the digital with the physical (and vice versa) to suggest new connections with our surroundings.'

Text by Maaike Staffhorst
Sandipan Nath

Sandipan Nath

Sandipan Nath is interested in the rapidly growing world of artificial intelligence and machine learning, and how the digital world is increasingly coming under the influence of these technologies. Five years ago he started creating art works that use machine learning and deep learning, and algorithms have since become an important part of his work. 'These technologies influence my creativity, as do government interests and commercial interests. I am worried about the consequences of this computational condition for the physical world.'

In the post-internet era, digital imagery became so abundant that networks and platforms were flooded by media content. In the current post-algorithm era, algorithms play an essential role in interpreting and understanding these images. Image recognition has evolved from the simple identification of lines and edges to recognising complex patterns and even predicting future images. The focus has shifted from user-made content to machine-generated content, which is being produced faster than ever before. 'I am fascinated by these machine-readable media that record the interactions between algorithmic systems and the natural world.'

'In the past year I have accumulated a collection of images, videos and gestural data which are used to train a UR3 robotic arm to perform complex tasks, such as picking up apples. This machine-generated content has strong aesthetical qualities, which form the basis of my creative work in which I aim to create poetic compositions using algorithmic processes.'

Nath has furthermore developed as a composer with a focus on new music that develops organically. 'I approach sound design from an algorithmic perspective and have learnt much about the unpredictable nature of both classic and quantum algorithms. This has added depth to my research into uncertainty and probability, which are central themes in both classical and quantum systems.'

In his current work, Nath is investigating the aesthetical conditions for a post-algorithmic era and how this will influence culture. 'I am working with researchers, artists and academics to understand how modern algorithms influence our social interaction, ecological goals and knowledge production. Although my research is of a theoretical nature, my approach is experimental and intuitive. My goal is to connect artistic with scientific knowledge and to create results that are not bound to any particular place or time. It will be something that evolves over the course of time, or can exist in multiple forms at the same time.'

Text by Maaike Staffhorst
Sébastien Robert

Sébastien Robert

After projects in Cambodia, Chile and Norway where he researched disappearing indigenous music, cultures and cosmologies, this time Sébastien Robert engaged with a project closer to home. His interest in the bagpipes originated in his youth in Brittany, and the low sonorous sound of the instrument continues to evoke feelings and memories. His interest grew when he discovered that the instrument originated in the Middle East and was then spread across Europe by the Romans. With variations found in France, Italy, Greece, Ukraine and Great Britain, according to Robert it can be viewed as the most European instrument, connecting cultures, generations and social classes. 'People tend to see traditions and cultures as national and static entities, which don't change much. But my approach in this project is transnational, trans-European, even trans-Mediterranean.'

Whereas in previous projects he performed field research to investigate and record disappearing music, this time he started with an archive, specifically the collection owned by Marseille's Museum of the Civilisations of Europe and the Mediterranean. 'It feels odd to me that these instruments are there, sleeping in their cases. It's nice to archive things, but it can also be the death of an instrument.' During a residency in Marseille, he had exchanges with art historians, organologists, traditional and contemporary instrument builders, and musicians. Using a 3D scanner owned by the Paris Philharmonic Hall, he scanned five bagpipes from the collection, specifically focussing on the bourdons that produce a constant tone. Back in the Netherlands he worked with Luuk Meints (for 3D modelling and printing), instrument builder Léo Maurel and multimedia artist Benjamin Maus to construct an audio installation using three of the 3D printed copies, which brings together the various European bagpipes. Robert was also assisted by Marie-Barbara Le Gonidec, an ethno-musicologist who helped him to combine his artistic vision with a scientific approach.

Last year's developments culminated this summer in a presentation in The Hague's Grey Space in the Middle, where he can explore the possibilities of his installation. 'This year was all about testing and exploring the idea. I expect that this will give me a fairly clear picture of what I want to do exactly.' Looking ahead, Robert hopes to take his work back to the regions where the instruments originally came from, and to the people who make these instruments. 'In a certain sense I am helping the tradition forward with the use of technology.'

Text by Roosmarijn Hompe