Imagined tools operated by nature freaks
It all started with the plants Minka collected. In the Ooij, a nature reserve close to Nijmegen, Minke collected different types of plants to use in her graduation project. She then went on to create imagined tools that give off the impression a nature freak might use them to pulverise and distil the collected plants — a mortar, a drying box and a still.
“As people in the West, we have to let go of this idea that we exist outside of nature. Everything is connected to everything.” That is the conclusion of her graduation project and the accompanying essay, Een onmenselijke aarde, for which she was inspired, among other texts and artworks, by the work of Timothy Morton, author of the book Dark Ecology. “Nature is everywhere. We really need to start working towards a change in our collective consciousness.”
Home at ArtEZ
“I’m very grateful to ArtEZ for allowing students to study part-time. I have not regretted it for a second, because it is a fantastic course.” Minke has never felt more at home than at ArtEZ. “I have always known there was an artist inside of me, at ArtEZ I learned to truly believe in myself.”
“It is hard work, but it is well worth it.”
Graduating takes one year, during which students can allocate their study credits themselves. The credits are divided between visual and theoretical practice, for example a thesis or an essay. The essay Minke wrote for her graduation project was published in art magazine Mister Motley. She wants to focus on writing and illustrating for the next few years.
“At ArtEZ I truly learned to really believe in myself.”
Fine Art and Design in Education part-time
The part-time bachelor course Fine Art and Design in Education focuses on connecting art and people. Students grow as both person and professional. At the same time, students stay up to date on whatever is happening in the art world and how to use this information for their own practice. During the four-year programme students follow two days of education per week. After graduating, they will have earned a Bachelor of Arts and a first-degree teaching certificate.
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