Art for transformative change

The need for social change is tangible, with increasingly alarming reports of climate change, biodiversity loss and social inequality. The major societal challenges we face are global, national and regional. The municipality of Nijmegen also wants to contribute to a sustainable world. This is done by drawing up policy, but how do you ensure that this policy really contributes to solutions and is not part of the problem?

General

For whom?

This Honours Lab is for students of the HAN and RU who are willing to look beyond the borders of their discipline and want to work together with fellow students, artists and system changers to inspire others to think outside the box. BA2, BA3 and/or (pre-)Master's students can participate in this Honours Lab.

Help build the City of the Future

Applying art and creative practices when making policy is not self-evident, but it can help to think outside the box. In this Honours Lab, you will do exactly that: together with fellow students and artists, you will inspire the municipality of Nijmegen and its inhabitants about the city of the future, Nijmegen in 2050.

Issue and client

The Department of Economics of the Municipality of Nijmegen is working on a new economic vision for 2025-2030. They are asking students (college and university) to go a step further and think about the city of the future, the city in which today's students will live. By taking Nijmegen in 2050 as a starting point, the municipality can inspire its residents, enrich policy with long-term insights and thus make more sustainable decisions. The knowledge and expertise of a multi-level and interdisciplinary team of students is needed to think about the future of themes such as living, working, recreation, mobility and environment. You will be asked to inspire and advise the Department of Economics of the Municipality of Nijmegen using creative practices so that they can use this input to develop sustainable and decisive policy.

What are you going to do?

Under the guidance of scientists and artists, you will scrutinize the existing economic vision of Nijmegen and immerse yourself in transformative system change. You will gain experience with artistic research and experience its power. Moreover, you will start designing your own artistic intervention, which you will present in the Latin School to the Department of Economics of the City of Nijmegen, to relevant partners and other interested parties.

What will you learn?

By participating in the Honours Lab, you will learn about:

The economic vision and policy (of the future). You will delve into (self-chosen) aspects of the economic vision of the municipality of Nijmegen and conduct interviews with policy makers.
Transformative change. You will learn what social transformations are, why they are needed and if and how they can be achieved.
Experiencing and designing creative practices yourself. You will explore with artists the potential of creative practices to inspire new ways of thinking, foster sustainable approaches to transformation, and (re)discover emotional connections to the natural and more-than-human world through theater, sound, embodied learing, and social design. You are encouraged to connect insights and knowledge gained to your own field.

Registration for HAN students

Both RU and HAN students can participate in this Honours Lab. Are you an HAN student and would you like to apply? Send an e-mail to Esther Fluijt: esther.fluijt [at] ru.nl (esther[dot]fluijt[at]ru[dot]nl) stating your name, education, CV and a short motivation for your participation. RU students can register using this link.

Starting date

To be announced

Costs

Free

Main Language

English

Intake

Yes

Deadline registration

03 February 2025, 11:30 pm

Maximum number of participants

Show more information

Factsheet

Type of education

Course

Organisation

Radboud Honours Academy

Contact information

Do you want to know more about the Honours Labs or do you have any questions? Please get in touch with the programme director:

Esther Fluijt
esther.fluijt [at] ru.nl (esther[dot]fluijt[at]ru[dot]nl)

Programme

The meetings are on Wednesdays, 15.30 - 17.30 at De Latijnse School, a historic building in the city center of Nijmegen.

Meetings

Wednesday 12 March
Opening session
Opening session in which you get to know each other and the client, the municipality of Nijmegen. You get a first introduction to transformative system change and artistic research and compare the methodology with scientific methods and your own discipline or field. We discuss the trajectory of this honor lab and there is room to ask the client questions.

Wednesday 19 March
Policy review & Wicked problems
In this session you take a closer look at the municipal agenda of the municipality of Nijmegen and explore relevant themes and opportunities in groups. You will form a picture of the system you want to change and examine the wicked problems and turning points. You will be given examples of cases that have been researched using artistic research, social design or complexity thinking.

Wednesday 2 April
Theater session in LUX (Theaterhall, LUX 7, Mariënburgplein 38-39)
In the second session you will have your first experiences with artistic research and theater. We explore how to use theatrical techniques for policy issues, such as a scenario for Nijmegen in 2050. In so-called “scenario sessions,” you combine theatrical techniques such as spatiality, role-play and playfulness to explore complex issues. In this methodology, a policymaker can play the role of one of the stakeholders or a citizen can represent the voice of a tree. The idea behind this is to gain insight into another person's interests through feeling and experience.

Wednesday 9 April
Museum of Edible Earth
The third session focuses on a uniquely different artistic intervention: sharing, touching, smelling and eventually possibly tasting earth stories.
For the session, you are invited to bring samples of earth or earth-like substances (such as clay, chalk, limestone, sand, topsoil or even compost). This may sound strange to your ears, but its purpose is to explore the relationship between humans and more-than-human, a relationship that is often lacking in developing new policies. The session will introduce, discuss and ultimately experience the practice of geophagy (eating earth and earth-like substances). We will approach its connection to food practices, policy and notions of “normality,” along with marginalization.
As an assignment for this session, you are asked to think about how you experience your connection to earth and its sensory experiences in the form of an essay, object, illustration or cooking practice.
Nb. Tasting earth during the session is at your own risk, it is not recommended by food authorities.

Wednesday 16 April
Housing and food
This session focuses on housing and food in a changing natural environment. In this session, you will explore a scenario in which housing and food are one. You will look at a possible hybridization of industry, agriculture, urban life and nature from the perspective of human and non-human relationships. What role could biofabrication, sustainable agriculture and waste management play in the Nijmegen of 2050?
With objects, you will playfully engage in imagining a possible scenario for the city of the future yourself, in order to form as many different sets of ideas as possible in preparation for your own artistic intervention.

Wednesday 23 April
Work session I
Work session I in which you will conceptualize and elaborate your artistic intervention. For this you will use your newly acquired knowledge of transformative change and artistic research.

Wednesday 30 April
Work session II
Work session II: you work together with the artists and policy makers to further elaborate and shape your ideas. The policy advisors of the municipality of Nijmegen are available for feedback and advice.

Wednesday 14 May
Final presentation in the Latijnse School
In the Latijnse School the developed artistic interventions will be presented to the client and other partners and institutions involved. Together we will reflect on the process, the final results and the possible implications for Nijmegen 2050 policy.

Teacher(s)

Teachers

A transdisciplinary team of scholars and artists work together in this honors lab.

Ilse Schaminée is a theater maker, director and performative designer. She is the founder of The Living Parliament; A social design studio that designs artistic interventions for organizations and policies in complex social issues.
Dr. masharu (they/them), is an earth eater and earth lover, a founder of the Museum of Edible Earth. With a doctorate in mathematics and a background in photography, they combine scientific research with artistic and cultural practice, exploring human and more-than-human interactions through ingestion of the earth.
Catinca Tilea is a multidisciplinary artist and designer. She is interested in how expressing one's creativity can be used to address social dilemmas. Her work often combines installation, artistic research and design elements with engaging her audience in the creative process. https://catincatilea.com/
Thijmen Sietsma is coordinator of Radboud Green Office and PhD student focusing on how art can stimulate transformative change by changing values in decision-making processes.
Dr. Peter Scholten is a musician and scientist. He is co-founder of The Living Parliament. He conducts research on how to use art experience to tap into other potentials and how a more physical and emotional focus affects policy processes and decision-making to initiate transformative change.