Calendar
WHAT IF EVERY FAREWELL WOULD BE FOLLOWED BY A LOVE LETTER?
A book by Giulia Crispiani (DAI, 2017)
".........the philosopher who best anticipated the ongoing viral apocalypse is Donna Haraway. In Staying with the Trouble she suggests that the agent of evolution is no longer Man, the subject of History. The human is losing its centrality in this chaotic process, and we should not despair over this, like the nostalgics of modern humanism do. At the same time, we should not seek comfort in the delusions of a techno-fix, like the contemporary transhumanist techno-maniacs do. Human history is over, and the new agents of history are the “critters,” in Haraway’s parlance. The word “critter” refers to small creatures, small playful creatures who do strange things, like provoking mutation. Well: the virus." (Franco "Bifo" Berardi in Beyond the Breakdown. Three Meditations on a Possible Aftermath).
~ please keep returning to this page ~ updates & new links are regularly integrated here
28 May 2020: SOME GOOD NEWS !
The Dutch Governement has announced that students who in the period from September 2020 till January 2021 will be obtaining their masters degree (so delayed because of Covid-19 and thus not before August 31, 2020 as was the intended day of graduation ), is eligible to receive a, one-off return of max 3 months of their college fees ( in total € 535 max). To be transferred in January 2021. Please be aware that you will have to pay tuition for the additional months that you are enrolling. The refund offers a compensation for these costs of reenrolment to a max of € 535 - which will first have to be prefunded by yourself.
We are very relieved to see that the Dutch Governement has now officially declared that the arrangement includes non-EU passport holders who are paying the institutional tuition. They will also be eligible for this compensation of € 535 max. ( so unfortunately not fully covering the actual costs of the institutional tuition for 3 months). For this reason DAI will continue to program in such a way that it will be possible to graduate before September 1, albeit under less ideal conditions. We therefore also fully acknowledge that many students will want to buy extra time to finalise part of their graduation work. The gesture of the governement offers at least some compensation.
For more detailed information keep an eye on the ArtEZ website's Covid-19 pages and updates.
Last time updated: 22 May, 2020
Most recent Covid-19 update from the part of the Dutch Government: University and Academy buildings will slowly and coordinatedly open up again from June 15 onward. Public transport in the Netherlands will resume its normal schedule, while travelers are required to wear face masks.
For DAI, not housed in any of the ArtEZ Universities buildings, and composed of a very international, roaming community with many among our students and faculty not living in the Netherlands, we have decided that we will continue to organise our study groups, seminars, Kitchen sessions and one on one tutorials in digital or other distant ways till the end of June. From than onward DAI will very cautiously support other forms of gathering, but will not force students or tutors to join if they are not comfortable with traveling (for example because of quarantine regulations upon return). In those cases we will facilitate digital participation and contributions.
For the upcoming academic year 2020-2021 we are confident that we will be able to manage the kick-off of our new program under the condition of "one and half meter distance" between all the bodies present in a space.
CALENDAR
CONFIRMED details of the revised program will be published as monthly DAI-BULLETINS, as well as Month-to-Month addenda to the COOP (see its Covid-19 updated main page) & HTDTWT (see its Covid-19 updated main page) & KITCHEN (also with a Covid-19 updated page). The students will be personally informed by their theory tutor and COOP tutorial team about any changes in the proposed new time line for the study group sessions, seminars and f2f tutorials.
May:
See: BULLETIN | WEEK 6 - May 2020
June:
DAI ONLINE ~ HTDTWT study groups, HTDTWT f2f meetings, HTDTWT thesis tutoring, COOP study groups, Planetrary Campus: Kitchen, Kitchen coaching and Post-Kitchen f2f's & Factory 2.0.
July & August:
COOP study groups: between July 1 and August 22 (not later !), the COOP study group are warmly invited to decide for themselves about how and where to organise the final workweek (initially scheduled towards the end of August): on line (if desired the on line meetings can be spread out over (part of) the entire period), or alternatively, opt for an in the flesh gathering of several days at a location of their choice (St. Erme, Arnhem, Berlin, Amsterdam or any other place that the group collectively agrees upon could be possible under the condition of "one and half meter distance" between all the bodies present in a space). DAI will facilitate such gatherings per study group as good as it can. During this last period of collective work, each study group finalises the outcome of the project. DAI hereby proposes to cancel the initially scheduled COOP SUMMIT, instead we will be fully committed to facilitate a festive LAUNCH of the research outcome (in whatever format) of all 6 study groups, during the opening week of sonsbeek20-24, in the presence of the current second year students, by then all alumni (DAI, 2020). The opening date has not yet been confirmed but will most probably be somewhere in the Spring of 2021.
A collective DAI decision still needs to be taken about the how, where and when and in whose presence, of the Graduation ceremony and party: directly after the AEROPONIC ACTS ( in the abscense of the first year students...) or during the sonsbeek20-24 opening week in 2021.
August:
AEROPONIC ACTS are now scheduled for August 23-27: we invite all graduating students, all theory tutors, guest respondents plus our crew, including Giulia Crispiani to come together either in France or in the Netherlands (to be decided in relation to the Covid-19 developments in each of the two countries.) Under the Covid-19 restrictions it will not be possible to organise the first year Final Kitchen in the same time frame and at the same location as the AEROPONIC ACTS. The 3 days of the FINAL first year Kitchens will be postponed till the introduction week end of September/ beginning of October.
September 25 / October 2:
INTRODUCTION WEEK ~ TIMELINE AND LOCATION SOON TO BE CONFIRMED
Combined Introduction Week & 3 days of the FINAL "first year" Kitchens.
CARE
So many people are struggling for survival both literally as well as economically, as the world's flagrant injustices and inequalities are being enlarged and becoming ever more visible due to the pandemic: the pain caused by the Covid-19 crisis is not at all distributed evenly and we are very aware that this also applies to our student body.
Among the DAI crew we have formed a Care Team: its task it is to look into urgent problems and difficulties, caused by or amplified by the Covid-19 crisis:
Krista Jantowski (in regard to our living room at WALTER and our bed room at the DREAM in Arnhem).
CARE of ArtEZ and the Dutch Ministry of Education
Questions in regard to regulations and tuition fees (with the exception of the Project Fund which is entirely run by the DAI itself) can only be taken on board by parent institution ArtEZ University of the Arts, more particularly the Student Affairs department. You are however welcome to share your questions about the protocols in place at ArtEZ with the DAI's Care Team - we might be able to offer at least some assistance while navigating the rules and regulations around tuition fees, registration, visa or otherwise.
- general information
Support during Covid-9 at the website of ArtEZ.
Students’ essential rights and obligations are defined in the ArtEZ Student Charter.
Covid-19 page of Nuffic (the Dutch organisation for internationalisation in education).
News and updates on the visual art sector by Platform BK.
Het Juridisch Loket for free legal advice in the Netherlands
Guide for international students and artists in the Netherlands, Student Union GRA & Sandberg
- loss of income & struggle to survive;
Appeal to the ArtEZ Student Support Fund.
Please note that this newly erected fund is entirely build upon donations, large or small. Everybody who is able to make a small contribution continues to be more then welcome to chip in:
https://www.artez.nl/en/help-a-student-in-need
Compensation for freelancers in the Nethelands : ZZP (self-employed people) can apply for benefits (max. 3 months).
Tax authorities to apply for postponing tax payments in the Netherlands
- payment of the 2019-2020 tuition fees;
ArtEZ is offering postponement of installments
- study delay and deferal in relation to tuition fees, in a nutshell;
LATEST UPDATE STUDY DELAY ( 28 May 2020)
The Dutch Governement has announced that students who in the period from September 2020 till January 2021 will be obtaining their masters degree in this period (and not before September 1 as was the original plan), is eligible to receive a, one-off return of max 3 months of their college fees ( € 535 max). To be transferred in January 2021.
The arrangement includes non-EU passport holders ! They will also be eligible for a compensation of € 535 max.
For more detailed information keep an eye on the ArtEZ website's Covid-19 pages and updates.
- mental health care
You can speak confidentially with the ArtEZ student counsellor, who can be reached via the ArtEZ website.
As said: the DAI's Care Team is available to help you to support your case, to help you to make connections, to help you navigate the rules and regulations of ArtEZ (in relation to all topics mentioned above).
CARE of DAI
In case you are struggling with one or more of the issues listed below the DAI's Care Core Team is available to look at your personal situation together with you.
- loneliness, feeling alienated from the program due to the lockdown
- home sickness, concerns about your loved ones back home
- housing issues
- questions around (mental)health and health insurance
- payment to the DAI's Project Fund
of the annual contributions towards covering catering, accomodation and partial coverage of travel costs.
DAI is working on a proposal for a proportionate reduction of the payment.
This will be communicated via e-mail.
CURRICULUM
Fueled by the massive input from the part of DAI's student led Crisis Group, (itself informed by the DAI's student led General Assembly*, and in ongoing, and equally rewarding conversation with the tutors and our partnering institutions, thereby also considering the very regular updates from the part of the various governing bodies and participatory councils of ArtEZ, we, the DAI Dynamic Team ( Nikos Doulos, Florian Göttke, Rik Fernhout and Gabriëlle Schleijpen) are deconstructing the curriculum as it had been designed and fully organised for the entire academic year 2019-2020 and are working together towards several alternative pathways - in order to anticipate various possible scenarios that might unfurl in the months to come. It is obvious that at
*Our 61 students have managed, during what was coined a, by all means epic effort, to set up an online conference meeting between all of them, which reportedly lasted for more then 3 hours, resulting in an 11 page long communique. This collective text is an important and warmly embraced contribution to what we are currently developing.
- both Covid-19 and the related postponement of sonsbeek20-24 (important partner for our initial 2019-2020 curriculum in June, July and August) forced us to cancel or postpone arrangements with hosts and we are now re-orienting towards possibilities for gathering later this summer or, if necessary in the fall.
- Not only do we need to comply with all the governmental health regulations, we also need to work with the regulations of the Central Exam Committee of the ArtEZ University of the Arts. The CEC has published its first Note of Exception. More editions are likely to follow, depending on how the crisis evolves.
- In line with the Dutch Governement's decree we will not organize gatherings of more than two people till (officially) May 20, but realistically speaking we are not even thinking of any in the flesh gatherings before July.
On April the 24th the Dutch Government had not shared any communication about general permission for a (cost free) extension to the running academic year (which in the Netherlands officially begins September 1 and ends August 31 after which students have to re-enrol if they have not yet been able to succesfully conclude their exams). However: Dutch newspaper NRC announced that the Minister of Education is willing to compensate additional tuition costs in case of study delay caused by the pandemic during a student's FINAL year. At this point we do not know any further details. Does this apply to students of all nationalities ? We think it should, but the article is unclear about that.
While closely monitoring the national and institutional decisions around Covid-19 as well as the global developments and more particularly the situations in the different countries where our students and tutors are based, we aspire to publish the adapted and confirmed DAI-planning for May at the end of April, the adapted and confirmed planning for June at the end of May. We will confirm the program for July, August and possibly September2020 as soon as there is maximum certainty. Until then you will find the scenarios under scrutiny on this page.
ONLINE TOOLS & TECHNICAL SUPPORT
DAI crew members Ricardo Liong-A-Kong and Peter Sattler can be contacted (make an appointment first !), to support all online DAI group meetings, seminars, tutorials etcetera in Teams, a tool that has been made available by ArtEZ since 2019. ArtEZ like most universities in the Netherlands (and elsewhere) has committed to very strict online privacy rules. Read more.
Please find the division of tasks between Peter and Ricardo here
REGULAR CRISIS MEETINGS
STATEMENT OF INTENT
"They say that through the digital, the body of flesh and bones, the physical and mortal body, will be freed of its weight and inertia. At the end of this transfiguration, it will eventually be able to move through the looking glass, cut away from biological corruption and restituted to a synthetic universe of flux. But this is an illusion, for just as there is no humanity without bodies, likewise, humanity will never know freedom alone, outside of society and community, and never can freedom come at the expense of the biosphere." From: The Universal Right to Breathe ~ Achille Mbembe, 13 April 2020
Due to the global spreading and high risk of contamination of Covid-19, our students, crew and tutors are currently working from their (sometimes temporary) home bases in a wide variety of countries in Europe and beyond, FOR AS LONG AS THIS WILL BE NECESSARY. Apart from the one-on-one thesis guidance for second year students (which will continue in April as it was already scheduled between tutors and students) and the one on one Post-Kitchen conversations, all other aspects of the DAI's curriculum are currently under scrutinity in order to become re-configured.
At the core of our efforts and considerations in relation to the current academic year are five things:
- Health, safety and wellbeing of our students, tutors and crew and all the people around them.
- The proliferation of financial problems among students, who are very often also free lance (art) workers. While many were already living precarious before the Covid-19 outburst, the unprecedented scale and duration of the lockdown has dramatically decreased the possibilities for students to find jobs to sustain their studies. This particularly applies to the cultural sector which has been hit very hard.
- 'Embodied research' is what we do, what we are. We cherish that, so far, we had managed to resist the digital classroom as a structural method within our program. The current crisis forces us to adapt our curriculum and to temporarily cancel our in the flesh gatherings: for now our bodies must stay where they are. That we can still mobilize our intelligences in a virtual (or postal way:)) implies that we must for the time being rethink and make the best out of the disembodied classroom (in a creative variety of formats). We are partly moving specific tutorials on line, but at the same time we are firmly decided that another substantial chunk of our intensive collaborative, cooperative, collective work can not be easily substituted and we insist that we will need to find meaningful ways to come together and prepare for an embodied grand finale to the 2019-2020 trajectory WHENEVER THE CONDITIONS ARE RIGHT. To quote from a text by the 11th Berlin Bienale: "each and every vulnerable body is of value for the collective being that is the world".
- Concurrently with our efforts to think of a format for a gathering, projected somewhere in the hopefully near future, we are working hard to secure timely graduation for second year students who are in no way in the position to dedicate time beyond the initial time frame of this academic year.
- Under the current, short-sighted and dangerous tendencies of re-nationalisation in response to global crisis and collapse, PLANETARY solidarity, resistance and collaboration, pleasure and love are more than ever needed and as DAI, we will do our utmost to keep the spirit of Édouard Glissant's "one world in relation" alive as one of the driving forces behind our program and our praxes.