DAI Friends & Alumni: Tiny Sofa
Tiny Sofa
Tiny Sofa will introduce the DAI Friends & Alumni Grant, a one-off annual grant for non-EU students in their second year at the Dutch Art Institute. As non-EU/EEA passport holders enrolled at ArtEZ University of the Arts, students are required to pay €26,060 tuition fees (2026 fees) over the two years of their MA, creating a significant financial burden and source of stress.
During APRiCot Garden 2026: If Not Here, then Where? at BAK basecamp, DAI Friends & Alumni are opening the donation for this year and encourage you to participate. Every donation to DAI Friends & Alumni Grant contributes to making education more accessible and less exclusive. We stand for systematic changes in policy and funding of education.
Alongside fundraising, DAI Friends & Alumni will also gather information on scholarships, grants, funds and residencies available to students and postgraduates, building a collective resource to be shared beyond the event. Feel free to come to the Tiny Sofa and share resources that might support students in their study trajectories.
Tiny Sofa will be present throughout APRiCot Garden 2026: If Not Here, Then Where?
On October 3 from 15:00 until the end of the program and on October 4 from 16:30 until the end. Additionally, during the dinner breaks on both DAI Friends & Alumni presents two performances by invited alumni: Tyranny of Silence on October 3 and on October 4 Fagner Lima & Sarmistha Bose. More information below.
Tyranny of Silence
On October 3 from 19:00–20:00, during the dinner break, DAI Friends & Alumni invites dear friends Tyranny of Silence (DAI, 2024), who will bring a sensational sound eclipse.
Their collective spans various cities, forming a network that is both rooted and fluid. Through noise, they incorporate drum machines, synthesizers, found sounds, performance and vocalisation, with a shared practice emerging from a commitment to creation based on affection and political resistance.
Always open to new encounters and collaborations, Tyranny of Silence cultivates a practice of collective listening and action, exploring the potential of sound, noise, poetry, and intimacy as tools against isolation, violence, and oppression.
On 4 October from 20:00–21:00, a participatory performance will take place, sharing through spoken words, texts and poetry thoughts on community, mutual support and kinship. Fagner Ligma and Sarmistha Bose invite participants into a shared space of listening, exchange and collective reflection, where language becomes a means of gathering and being-with.
DAI Friends & Alumni thanks all contributors: Fagner Ligma (DAI, 2026), Ian Nolan (DAI,2024) Kıvanç Sert (DAI, 2024), Saverio Cantoni (DAI, 2024), Celeste Perret (DAI, 2024), Claudia Medeiros ( DAI, 2024), Sarmistha Bose (DAI, 2026) and Chloë Janssens (DAI, 2024).
The DAI Friends & Alumni Grant was initiated by DAI alumni in 2020 and sustained through donations from the wider DAI community.
In 2026, DAI Friends & Alumni is convened by:
Clem Edwards (DAI, 2018)
Lukas Malte Hoffmann (DAI, 2019)
Zachary Schoenhut (DAI, 2020)
Raúl Silva (DAI, 2021)
Anastasia Nefedova (DAI, 2024)