Roundtable #2 The Waves of Collectivity: An Honest Roundtable on the Trials and Triumphs of Collective Research
This open roundtable will delve into the overlooked realities of collective research in the arts, featuring members from various collectives focused on ecology, feminism, music, and technology. How do we navigate the complexities of researching together?
Audience members are encouraged to join the conversation using the fishbowl method.
While the idea of an artist collective and researching collectively is enticing, the reality involves a complex mix of dreams, successes, challenges, and constant negotiation. This open roundtable will bring together members from different collectives for an honest conversation about the highs and lows of collaborative research in the arts. Following a round of short presentations from members of different collectives doing research in the fields of ecology, feminism, music, and technology, we will delve into what occurs behind the scenes:
How do we navigate authorship and collective decision-making? What happens when motivations shift or funding runs dry? How can a collective be sustained across different geographies and cultures? How do we manage post-project blues?
The roundtable is facilitated by Nur Horsanalı, who will kick off the conversation by sharing insights from her involvement with Sympoietic Society. The session is designed to be a relaxed, reflective space for peer learning and exchange. Using the fishbowl conversation method, any audience member is invited to step into an empty chair at the roundtable at any point to join the discussion, sharing their own experiences and tools for collective research.
With /
Nur Horsanalı of Sympoetic Society (moderator)
Sympoietic Society is a pan-European collective addressing environmental loss through site-sensitive artistic interventions. Their initial research focused on glacial ecosystems, where they developed artistic scores for environmental storytelling and rituals that foster mourning and community-building.
The collective embraces sympoiesis (a term introduced by Beth Dempster and popularised by Donna Haraway), stemming from the Greek words for "collective" and "production." This term emphasises the interdependence and cooperation within living systems. For the collective, sympoiesis serves not only as an ontological concept but also as an ethical framework that guides their practice and research in interdependence and collectivism. Ultimately, they advocate for a sympoietic society where humans and more-than-humans engage in a shared process of creation and becoming.
Nur Horsanalı of Sympoetic Society (moderator)
Sympoietic Society is a pan-European collective addressing environmental loss through site-sensitive artistic interventions. Their initial research focused on glacial ecosystems, where they developed artistic scores for environmental storytelling and rituals that foster mourning and community-building.
The collective embraces sympoiesis (a term introduced by Beth Dempster and popularised by Donna Haraway), stemming from the Greek words for "collective" and "production." This term emphasises the interdependence and cooperation within living systems. For the collective, sympoiesis serves not only as an ontological concept but also as an ethical framework that guides their practice and research in interdependence and collectivism. Ultimately, they advocate for a sympoietic society where humans and more-than-humans engage in a shared process of creation and becoming.
Anja Groten of Hackers & Designers
Hackers & Designers (H&D) is a conglomerate of practitioners from different fields and backgrounds (technology, design, art, and education) currently operating between Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Brussels. H&D is organized in a cooperative fashion, distributing responsibility over finances and decision making.
Anja Groten is one of the H&D members. Besides that, following obtaining her PhD at PhDArts, she became assistant professor Design of the Academy of Creative Academy and Performing Arts (ACPA) of the Leiden University.
Anja Groten of Hackers & Designers
Hackers & Designers (H&D) is a conglomerate of practitioners from different fields and backgrounds (technology, design, art, and education) currently operating between Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Brussels. H&D is organized in a cooperative fashion, distributing responsibility over finances and decision making.
Anja Groten is one of the H&D members. Besides that, following obtaining her PhD at PhDArts, she became assistant professor Design of the Academy of Creative Academy and Performing Arts (ACPA) of the Leiden University.
Emma Williams and Chloe Prendergast of MusicBox
MusicBox, founded by PhD candidate of ACPA Emma Williams and Chloe Prendergast, is a cooperative that breaks down barriers surrounding conventional Classical music concerts. This manifests itself as both a concert series based in the Netherlands and a podcast called Outside the MusicBox. We believe that Classical music should be accessible and shared with all. Often people are discouraged to interact with Classical music based on elitist language, intimidating theatres, formal dress and expensive ticket prices. We aim to create open, inviting, safe spaces for people to come and enjoy a range of wonderful music that has been touching the hearts and minds of people for over 300 years!
Emma Williams and Chloe Prendergast of MusicBox
MusicBox, founded by PhD candidate of ACPA Emma Williams and Chloe Prendergast, is a cooperative that breaks down barriers surrounding conventional Classical music concerts. This manifests itself as both a concert series based in the Netherlands and a podcast called Outside the MusicBox. We believe that Classical music should be accessible and shared with all. Often people are discouraged to interact with Classical music based on elitist language, intimidating theatres, formal dress and expensive ticket prices. We aim to create open, inviting, safe spaces for people to come and enjoy a range of wonderful music that has been touching the hearts and minds of people for over 300 years!
Sophie Allerding of POSSY, Radio Echo Collective and .ZIP
Sophie Allerding (she/they) is a multi-media artist and designer driven by an interest in versatile modes of storytelling and creating immersive spaces for meaningful interactions and play.
Sophie is active in the feminist collectives POSSY and Radio Echo Collective and part of .zip, an artist-run interdisciplinary project space in Rotterdam.
Sophie Allerding of POSSY, Radio Echo Collective and .ZIP
Sophie Allerding (she/they) is a multi-media artist and designer driven by an interest in versatile modes of storytelling and creating immersive spaces for meaningful interactions and play.
Sophie is active in the feminist collectives POSSY and Radio Echo Collective and part of .zip, an artist-run interdisciplinary project space in Rotterdam.
Pangaea Collective (Elisa Piazzi and Johannes Equizi)
Patatrac, have you also become a We?
Pangaea is a collective based in The Hague (NL) initiated by Elisa Piazzi and Johannes Equizi. They address social and environmental issues by combining self-publishing, architecture, speculative, and game design. Collectivity and co-creation are investigated both as methodologies as well as research topics.
Pangaea’s first project, Patatrac, have you also become a We?, is a publication that explores the complexities of collaboration through conversations with various collectives. It reflects their desire to understand what it truly means to work together in a world increasingly shaped by individualism. With this dialogical research Pangaea aims at creating a terrain to stimulate exchange of knowledge and experiences.
Pangaea Collective (Elisa Piazzi and Johannes Equizi)
Patatrac, have you also become a We?
Pangaea is a collective based in The Hague (NL) initiated by Elisa Piazzi and Johannes Equizi. They address social and environmental issues by combining self-publishing, architecture, speculative, and game design. Collectivity and co-creation are investigated both as methodologies as well as research topics.
Pangaea’s first project, Patatrac, have you also become a We?, is a publication that explores the complexities of collaboration through conversations with various collectives. It reflects their desire to understand what it truly means to work together in a world increasingly shaped by individualism. With this dialogical research Pangaea aims at creating a terrain to stimulate exchange of knowledge and experiences.
