Honours Lab

Do you like to go the extra mile, are you curious and do you want to be intellectually challenged? If so, the ArtEZ Honours Lab is for you. The Honours Lab offers various tracks throughout the year that you can follow alongside to your regular study course curriculum. These are diverse, in-depth courses in which you will engage with current theories, practices and forms of research.

What you will be doing

Deepen your artistic and other research skills in a multidisciplinary environment, choosing from a diverse range of challenging tracks. In the Honours Lab, you will work with fellow students from all years and from other courses – immersing yourself in theoretical and practice-related topics and critical dialogue. Follow one or more tracks in addition to your regular course, spread flexibly over your studies, and earn certificates that you can use for follow-up courses.

With the tracks of the Honours Lab you will venture off the beaten track of your study course. You will challenge yourself intellectually and broaden your horizons. How? By entering into a dialogue with others (usually once a week), asking critical questions, exchanging ideas and looking for new insights and perspectives together. The course includes relevant texts and discussions, but also guest lectures, workshops and excursions. The assignments you will be given are aimed at conducting (artistic) research.

Honours Lab has had an enormous impact on my perspective and approach to dance and art. I found it to be a great addition to my studies. The track refreshed my artistic practice with a lot of ideas and helped me develop a critical yet open mind.

Tracks

In the tracks of the Honours Lab, theoretical depth and artistic practice come together. You collaborate with fellow students from different years and programs. In a multidisciplinary environment, we collectively explore the components of the arts based on current art practice and discourse. Where do concepts and ideas intersect? Do the arts speak the same language? For each track you wish to take, you write a short letter of motivation. Based on the content of your letter and the composition of the group, you will be admitted or not.

Some tracks in 2023/2024 are:

The AI – Artificial Intelligence/Anti-Institutional/Artistic Inspiration track focuses on the creative and critical use of AI in artistic practice. Through this course, you’ll explore how artists can use, hack, and subvert AI tools to imagine new, alternative futures. You’ll learn how to incorporate AI into your own work, while also examining the ethical and social implications of the technology, such as the power dynamics of Silicon Valley and the growing divide between those with and without access to technology. This programme offers both practical skills and deep reflection on the role of art in a world increasingly dominated by AI.
The track IN, OF, AND AROUND THE BODY offers an in-depth exploration of the body and its relation to the human and more-than-human world. Developed by three ArtEZ lecturers from diverse backgrounds, the course delves into various approaches to the body. It kicks off with a symposium where the lecturers engage in a dialogue, sharing their unique perspectives. Through workshops and sessions led by the lecturers and guest speakers, you’ll deepen your understanding of each approach, broadening your own artistic practice. The track concludes with a collaborative student-led symposium.

Practical

In order to avoid clashing with regular courses, the tracks mainly take place in the evenings and weekends. The tracks are offered in Arnhem, Zwolle and Enschede.
The Honours Lab is led and organised by the Theory in the Arts lectureship, which has close links to the other ArtEZ lectureships and external partners such as Radboud University Nijmegen.

If you would like to know more about the Honours Lab, would like to apply or have any questions, please contact us via e-mail: honourslab@artez.nl.

Registration and certificate for completed track(s)

The tracks of the Honours Lab are expressed in ECTS (2.5 or 5 or 7.5 ECTS) to indicate their size. These credits do not count towards your current course, but are valid after you graduate. If you have successfully completed an Honours track, it will be recorded in the student monitoring system (Osiris). If you have obtained a total of 30 ECTS, you will receive a certificate with your diploma in addition to the registration of the Honours tracks. Taking Honours tracks may be advantageous if you wish to gain admission to a follow-up course at a university or university of applied sciences.

I feel that through exploring and discussing a variety of viewpoints over the past six months, I have come to better understand my own perception and understanding of the world.