Essays

1. Beyond the Human. The Hague’s Speculative Lives

   Ekaterina Bogdanova and Antje Jacobs

   In this article, Ekaterina Bogdanova and Antje Jacobs set to explore how the life in The Hague would transform if its urban experience had ceased to be human-centered. To do so, they conducted a speculative ethnography of a multispecies The Hague, where humans and nonhumans co-create and co-habit the public spaces.

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   Ekaterina Bogdanova is a master’s student of Cultures of Arts, Science and Technology at Maastricht University. She received a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Anthropology from Saint-Petersburg State University, Russia. Her current research focuses on digital ecologies and knowledge infrastructures. In her free time, she enjoys a good indie videogame.

   Antje Jacobs is a master’s student of Cultures of Arts, Science and Technology at Maastricht University. She has a background in art history and archaeology with a main emphasis on Belgian contemporary art. Her work focuses specifically on how artists and art museums can interrelate with science and technology.

2. This Too Shall Pass: Urban interactions, artistic interventions and new visions in public space

   Catrin Hâf Feron and Andrea Marsili

   The sudden health crisis left cities empty,  write Catrin Hâf Feron and Andrea Marsili. Interactions, surrounding awareness, connections and the space for future unfoldings reduced drastically and the urban public spaces underwent a deep reorganisation. Feron and Marsili argue that in the process of rethinking and reinhabiting cities again public art has become the catalyser, facilitating meetings, inspiring innovations and imagining beyond.

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   Catrin Hâf Feron is a research master student at Maastricht University. She moved to The Netherlands after earning a first class (hons) VFX degree in the United Kingdom. Now, she uses her knowledge of creative technology to guide her research into broader fields with a keen focus on health technology.

   Andrea Marsili is a research master student at Maastricht University. After a degree in Art Studies and Cultural Policy (cum laude) focusing on public art, his research turned to investigate how culture transforms the state of things: be it culture-led urban regeneration, contemporary art practices or community and urban development.

3. Smart cities and the politics of urban surveillance

   Leo Cardinaal and Styliani Theocharidou

   Looking at a series of art projects, Leo Cardinaal and Styliani Theocharidou seek to figure out how artists engage with “watching” and with “being watchers”. How do they contribute to discourses on the racial biases in acts of watching, and acts of voyeurism? In short, they discuss some the effects of digital surveillance on public space in smart cities, and how artists engage with these. 

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   Leo Cardinaal is a master’s student of Cultures of Arts, Science and Technology at Maastricht University. His bachelor’s in arts & Culture focused a large variety of topics, ranging from political culture to gender studies. His current research focus is on how available technologies mediate cultural interaction. 

   Styliani Theocharidou is a master’s student of Cultures of Arts, Science and Technology at Maastricht University. She has a background in Journalism and Political Science with a trajectory of feminism and human rights. Having a fascination with AI, her work now focuses on the intersection of feminism, human rights and AI technology, looking at Human-Computer Interaction.

4. Walking Until Art Makes Sense: How to Become an Active Spectator

   Anya Shchetvina, Franziska Klein and Romy Roomans

   Anya Shchetvina, Franziska Klein and Romy Roomans realized that, unpurposely, they tend to ignore public art. Inspired by the “walking-with” approach, they attempted to reconnect with art projects in the city. Their project investigates a selection of walking practices by applying them to specific urban artworks. 

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   Anya Shchetvina (she/her) lived most of her life in Moscow, Russia. She came to Maastricht 9 months prior to this research project and is still learning how to walk slowly (a practice that is rare in megapolises). After studying art theory and history in high school and on BA level, her relationships with art are complicated. Within this project she is trying to improve them, seeking new ways of being with art that go beyond a strict traineeship of an art historian and leave more space for movement and speculation. 

   Romy Roomans (she/her) was born in Maastricht but grew up in and around Sittard. She left Limburg for the purpose of higher education in Amsterdam, Reykjavik and Rotterdam, but returned south to pursue her master’s degree in Maastricht. Having ventured off to the big cities, she now enjoys a quiet(er) life taking walks in the valley. Preferably with dogs, lots of dogs. 

   Franziska Klein (she/her) grew up in a small town in the east of Germany, but left looking for bigger adventures and different roads to walk on. Having studied in Tübingen and Durham (UK), she came to Maastricht to combine her two previous directions of study: natural sciences and cultural studies. She usually walks with music, annoyingly mouthing the lyrics as she walks along.