Connecting Notes, Nodes & Networks

Connecting Notes, Nodes & Networks

For the first time, participants of the online ArtEZ course 'Curatorial Practices in Music' will share their insights, findings, and visions with a wider community of musicians, producers, teachers, and curators during an online gathering.

You are warmly invited to join this meeting: reconnect with old friends, meet new participants, exchange experiences, and engage with questions and challenges that may resonate with your own practice. You are welcome to use the link above to join directly.

To help us prepare, we would appreciate hearing from you if you are planning to attend: Connecting Notes, Nodes & Networks - Form. 

1. Curatorial Practices in Music: by Florian Verweij, Nico Schaafsma & Mirjam Zegers

What added value can curatorial practices bring to music? How can such an approach create space for reflection and foster richer, more engaging musical experiences? In what ways might the notion of care — for musicking, audiences, histories, possible futures, and the world around us — deepen your practice as a creative and curatorial musician?

We will look at a specific case: can we still awaken the “dinosaur” of the symphony orchestra with a kiss? Could a curatorial approach help transform these hierarchical institutions into safer environments, where musicians experience greater ownership and agency? And might Jacques Rancière’s concept of the emancipated spectator help dissolve the distance between musicians and audiences, fostering a deeper and more meaningful form of engagement?

2. Post-disciplinary Practices: by Wim Pelgrims, Alistair Sung & Jan Willem Troost

Three curators explore post-disciplinary ways of working, deeper collaborations between artists from different backgrounds, the staging of music, and the implications these approaches may have for the creation and rehearsal of new works. Their respective contexts — Korzo in The Hague (Jan Willem Troost), Nemo Ensemble in Ghent (Wim Pelgrims), and the Cello Octet (Alistair Sung) — provide inspiring points of departure.  

The three curators share a strong desire to re-establish the connection between performer and spectator. What can we learn from other disciplines about creating performances that embrace the art of staging and communication? And what challenges arise when adopting such modes of production? We open the conversation with the participants.

3. Representing the Underrepresented by Sarina van Dijk, David Mastikosa & Rimme Rutten

Sarina develops female hip-hop communities to create more space for women in hip-hop. Rimme connects Enschede’s vibrant music scene to the wider Dutch cultural landscape. David works from Banja Luka to strengthen European networks and foster exchange among living composers, creating new opportunities for performance.  

How are these activities connected? What works, and what does not? What responsibilities can or should curators take on? Whom or what do they represent, and why?