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![The Sun, My Father]( "The Sun, My Father")
infoSynaesthetic installation Aluminium, Quartz, Custom-made LED light Installation view - Biennale des Imaginaires Numériques © Pierre Gondard
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![Magnetic Fluctuations]( "Magnetic Fluctuations")
infoReal-time generative sound installation In collaboration with Rob Stammes (Polar Light Center) Make Noise shared system + LED screen Installation view - Biennale des Imaginaires Numériques © © Pierre Gondard
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![The Lights Which Can Be Heard]( "The Lights Which Can Be Heard")
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![The Lights Which Can Be Heard]( "The Lights Which Can Be Heard")
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![Back-and-Forth]( "Back-and-Forth")
infoInstallation view Into The Great Wide Open © Myles Merckel
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![Rite of Passage]( "Rite of Passage")
infoInstallation Wood, Glass and Electronics Installation view - KABK Graduation show © Charlotte Brand
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![Study of crystal growth]( "Study of crystal growth")
info2020
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![As Above, So Below]( "As Above, So Below")
infoLive premiere at FIBER Festival 2020 © Pieter Kers
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![Ak]( "Ak")
infoEngraved sandstone
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![Timeshift]( "Timeshift")
infoAudio-photobook in collaboration with Mark IJzerman Field recording, photographs, electronics, wood,
Sébastien Robert (1993. Nantes, FR) is an interdisciplinary artist and researcher who develops a practice at the intersection of visual and sound art, technology, science and ethnography. Most of his projects revolve around a research cycle, You’re no Bird of Paradise, through which he explores disappearing Indigenous sonic rituals and cosmologies. Beyond simple documentation, yet not an ambitious ethnographic archiving project, he aims to translate these immaterial resources into long-lasting tangible works of art made of materials that echo the traditions of the communities encountered and the geo-specificities of the territories explored. Through his work and research, Sébastien searches for possibilities to create an engaged and expanding artistic dialogue between non-Western perspectives and new technology while questioning our perception of our environment and highlighting the epistemological diversity of the world we inhabit.
Websites
Social media
Lid van Beroeps- / Kunstenaarsvereniging
Field Records
Curriculum vitae
Opleidingen
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2018 - 2020ArtScience (MA) Den Haag, Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten Diploma behaald
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2011 - 2017Entrepreneurship (M.B.A) ESDES School of Business and Management Diploma behaald
tentoonstellingen
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2024ZÉRØ1 Festival France Ⅰ - Musée Maritime La Rochelle, Frankrijk Solo
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2024Dans La Nature Espace Multimédia Gantner Bourogne, Frankrijk Groep
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2024Sonic Acts EYE Museum Amsterdam, Nederland Groep
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2023SSSSSSSST AG (HKU) Utrecht, Nederland Groep
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2023Green Art Lab Alliance festival UFRO Campus Pucón, Chili Groep
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2023FIBER Festival - Fragments DOOR OPEN SPACE Amsterdam, Nederland Groep
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2023Obsoletely New! SIGN Groningen, Nederland Groep
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2023Superluminal Light Art Museum Budapest, Hongarije Groep
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2023Scopitone Festival ESBANM Nantes, Frankrijk Duo
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2022Schemerlicht Festival Goffertpark Nijmegen, Nederland Groep
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2022Biennale Chroniques Bibliothèque Méjanes Aix-en-Provence, Frankrijk Solo
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2022Nordlyst Festival Andenes Lighthouse Andøya, Noorwegen Groep
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2022Ayarkut - Terrestrial Voice Online Yakutsk, Rusland Groep
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2022Changes on Northern Shores Arktikum Rovaniemi, Finland Groep
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2022ZER0|1NE Festival Hansen House Jerusalem, Israël Groep
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2022Sonic Acts OT301 Amsterdam, Nederland Groep
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2022TodaysArt x SHAPE The Grey Space in the Middle The Hague, Nederland Groep
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2022Into The Great Wide Open Oost-Vlieland Vlieland, Nederland Groep
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2022STRP Festival Pullman Hotel Eindhoven, Nederland Groep
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2021Intangible losses 5020 / fünfzigzwanzig Salzburg, Oostenrijk Groep
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2021Transliminal (Uncloud Festival) Pieter Baan Centrum Utrecht, Nederland Groep
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2021Meakusma Cinema Eupen Eupen, België Groep
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2021Warping Halos TivoliVredenburg Utrecht, Nederland Groep
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2021Situated Sounds Arraymusic Toronto, Canada Groep
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2020ArtScience graduation show KABK The Hague, Nederland Groep
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2020Instability (FIBER Festival) Tolhuistuin Amsterdam, Nederland Groep
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2020Rewire x Korzo Paard van Troje The Hague, Nederland Groep
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2020Polarities - Psychology and Politics of Being Ecological MU Artspace Eindhoven, Nederland Groep
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2019Piet Zwart Institute graduation show UBIK Gallery Rotterdam, Nederland Groep
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2019The LIMA Collection: New Work LIMA Media Art Platform Amsterdam, Nederland Groep
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2019Amsterdam Art Weekend Westergasfabriek Amsterdam, Nederland Groep
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2019Rewire Festival Grey Space in the Middle The Hague, Nederland Groep
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2019Dimensions Magick City Brooklyn Groep
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2019Agri/Cultures.Seed-links Exhibition Global Seed Vault Svalbard, Noorwegen Groep
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2018Salone del Mobile Museum Diocesiano Mlian, Italië Groep
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2018Present Progressive De School Amsterdam, Nederland Groep
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2018Field Records: Future History OHM Berlin, Duitsland Groep
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2018mnml ssgs x Field Records night DOMMUNE Tokyo, Japan Groep
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2018Organik Festival 2018 Niushan Huting Hualien, Taiwan Groep
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20172_gather Art Center Nabi Seoul, Zuid-Korea Groep
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2017Interstice Festival Église du Vieux Saint-Sauveur Caen, Frankrijk Groep
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2017Mirage Festival Les Subsistances Lyon, Frankrijk Groep
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2017Change The System Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen Rotterdam, Nederland Groep
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2016Smoke Machine Night Korner Taipei, Taiwan Groep
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2016Field Records Label Night Vurt Seoul, Zuid-Korea Groep
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2016France + Singapore Photographic Arts Awards Alliance Française Singapore Singapore, Singapore Groep
projecten
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2022
Back-and-forth Nederland sebastienrobert.nl/Back-and-forth Back-and-forth is the result of several residencies in Vlieland (NL), where Sébastien discovered that at irregular intervals - but according to a ritual schedule - a powerful electromagnetic signal passes through the island for 20 minutes, before disappearing again into silence. This signal turned out to be a Weatherfax (or WEFAX), a weather map transmitted via radio waves from Hamburg (DE). This obsolete technology, used since the 1940s to share information with ships at sea and remote locations, originated from the work of Dutch cartographer and meteorologist Nicolas Kruik (1678-1754). Born in now disappeared West-Vlieland, he was the first to graphically represent weather data and to introduce symbols which are considered the forerunners of those used in today's weather maps. In the form of a site-specific generative installation, Back-and-forth, captures incoming Weatherfaxes transmissions, decodes them and draws them in the island’s sand, before being overwritten again. In addition to the literal visualisation of the data sent, the work gives the island the opportunity to express itself during the creative process: the surface of the sand changes over time according to variations in temperature, humidity and wind. The project brings a forgotten technology back to its birthplace while offering a critical look at our Cartesian desire to constantly predict the future, in contrast to the unpredictable reality of the island, as Sébastien experienced during his visits. The result is the creation of ever-changing abstract cartography and archives, materialised through a dialogue between technology and the forces of nature.
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2022
The Lights Which Can Be Heard Noorwegen sebastienrobert.nl/The-Lights-Which-Can-Be-Heard The Lights Which Can Be Heard is an artistic research project on the sounds of the Northern Lights, long witnessed by various indigenous communities in the Arctic. Despite the numerous testimonies, the Western scientific community denied their existence for decades until some hypotheses about their origin began to surface in the 1950s, which are still subject to debate today. Among the different theories, some think that the observer- er/listener can perceive in their environment the natural VLF (Very Low Frequency) radio waves produced by the Northern Lights. Some natural elements, such as minerals or crystals, would act as receivers and transform the electromagnetic radio waves into the audible, acoustic spectrum. Without rejecting any of them, this is the one that caught Sébastien’s attention for his project. Despite successful recordings following a three-week residency in Andøya, Norway, Sébastien realised that the VLF waves emitted by the Northern Lights are becoming increasingly difficult to perceive due to anthropocentric activity. Drowned by artificial signals, these natural radio waves are bound to disappear from our perception. Inspired by this unique context and in continuity with his previous work, Sébastien approached this ongoing debate from different angles: indigenous, poetic and scientific, giving voice to each stakeholder while incorporating his own vision. The result is four interconnected works at the intersection of visual and sound arts, technology, science and ethnography, which allow the audience to perceive the sounds of the Northern Lights while preserving them in the light.
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2020
As Above, So Below w/ Mark IJzerman Chili sebastienrobert.nl/As-Above-So-Below As Above, So Below explores the changing landscape of La Araucanía region in south-central Chile through live visuals and sound. This audiovisual performance probes into the dualism of man’s relationship with nature via sonic research made by Sébastien Robert and investigative visuals created from satellite imagery as well as microscopic and drone footage by Mark IJzerman. During a residency in Chile they researched the logging industry that has been eroding the biodiversity of the region, causing disruption to the ecosystem.
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2019
The Kultrun of Cañon del Blanco Chili sebastienrobert.nl/The-Kultrun-of-Canon-del-Blanco In La Araucanía region of Chile, ancestral Mapuche rituals are under threat due to drastic changes caused by climate change, land expropriation and logging on the ecosystem in which they live harmoniously for thousands of years. As the landscape disappears, so do their associated advanced knowledge of the natural world. The Kultrun of Cañon del Blanco studies the influence of the Kultrun - a Mapuche drum - on the crystallisation of the Araucaria Araucana’s resin – a Mapuche sacred tree considered as living fossil – and explores the possibilities of preserving its ancestral rhythms in that medium. With his installation, Sébastien carries the rhythms of the drum in the resin and documents their influence on the formation of the crystals. This is being done using a technique called sensitive crystallisation that allows the formative forces of any organic material to be revealed pictorially.
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2018
The Forgotten Melodies of Pleng Arak Cambodja sebastienrobert.nl/The-Forgotten-Melodies-of-Pleng-Arak Pleng Arak, an ancient music performed during shamanistic ceremonies almost extinguished during the Khmer Rouge period (1975-1979), is now facing new risks: the rise of modern medicine as well as lack of belief from the younger generation. There are few musicians who desire to learn this spiritual healing practice and much knowledge will be lost when these older musicians pass away. In that context, Sébastien went in 2018 to record one of the last bands of Pleng Arak. The musicians allowed him to photograph them and record their repertoire, provided that it will never be sonically shared. Because it is exclusively performed during sacred rituals, listening to this music outside of its original context - besides being inappropriate - could potentially put the listener at risk. Sébastien therefore translated the recording’s sonograms into a coding system based on the graphic score of one of the instruments used in Pleng Arak. These abstractions were then engraved on tablets made of limestone and sandstone - the most common in Cambodia - and stored for eternity in the coal mine alongside the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway.
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2017
Timeshift w/ Mark IJzerman Zuid-Korea sebastienrobert.nl/Timeshift Time shift explores the acoustic ecology of South Korea, and documents this in a unique medium, an “audiophotobook”. By using photos made in the winter of 2016 by Sébastien Robert and recording soundscapes in the summer of 2017 by Mark IJzerman in exactly the same locations, Time shift explores both the differences and similarities between what one sees and what one hears in these environments at different times of the year. By capturing the locations in both audio and picture, it gives the viewer a fuller understanding of the locations.
Internationale uitwisselingen / Artist-in-residencies
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2023Bergen Center for Electronic Arts - BEK Bergen, Noorwegen
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2023The Arctic Circle Svalbard, Noorwegen
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2023IMéRA x Mucem Marseille, Frankrijk
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2021Arctic Wave Stave, Noorwegen
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2020Into the Great wide open Vlieland, Nederland
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2019Valley of the Possible Temuco, Chili
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2018WeTransfer Phnom Penh , Cambodja
publicaties
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2021Emerging Threshold Vinyl/Lp Meakusma Eupen, België
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2020Exploration or Appropriation? The position of contemporary sound artists towards Indigenous music Boek The Hague, Nederland
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2017Mydriasis Boek Paris, Frankrijk
Recensies
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2023Entretien avec Sébastien Robert, chercheur en résidence à l’Iméra (2022-23) TV Iméra www.youtube.com/watch?v=Joj984Oz6GE
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2023The Lights Which Can Be Heard, audible Northern Lights Magazine Neural neural.it/2023/11/the-lights-which-can-be-heard-audible-northern-lights/
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2022À Aix-en-Provence, tendre l’oreille vers les aurores boréales Radio Arnaud Laporte www.radiofrance.fr/franceculture/podcasts/affaire-a-suivre/a-aix-en-provence-tendre-l-oreille-vers-les-aurores-boreales-8771531
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2022Scientific research, cosmologies and human encounters to put into perspective a century-old debate Website obsolete.studio/blog/the-lights-which-can-be-heard/
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2021Mark IJzerman & Sébastien Robert on their collaboration, travel and cultural appropriation Website Lucia Udvardyova shapeplatform.eu/2021/mark-ijzerman-sebastien-robert-cultural-appropriation-is-something-we-both-take-very-seriously/
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2021Using art to study endangered indigenous rituals and music Blog/Vlog Régine Debatty we-make-money-not-art.com/using-art-to-study-endangered-indigenous-rituals-and-music/
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2021The formidable, ancient power of nature in conversation with the needlepoint behaviour of technology Blog/Vlog Oli Warwick www.juno.co.uk/junodaily/2021/04/01/the-best-new-albums-this-week-3/
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2020In conversation: Mark IJzerman & Sébastien Robert Website Holly Dicker www.rewirefestival.nl/feature/mark-ijzerman-sebastien-roberts-as-above-so-below-in-conversation
Prijzen en stipendia
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2023Talent Development Grant Creative Industries Fund, NL Rotterdam, Nederland Granted
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2023Artistic Project Mondriaan Fund Amsterdam, Nederland Granted
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2023Mobility Grant Culture Moves Europe Brussels, België Granted
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2022Experiment Creative Industries Fund, NL Rotterdam, Nederland Granted
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2022Residency abroad Creative Industries Fund, NL Rotterdam, Nederland Granted
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2021Fonds [SCAN] Région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Lyon, Frankrijk Granted
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2021Pro Onderzoek Stroom Den Haag The Hague, Nederland Granted
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2021DICRéAM CNC Paris, Frankrijk Granted
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2021Corona-overburgging Mondriaan Fund Amsterdam, Nederland Granted
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2021Face of We Are Europe We Are Europe Tromsø, Noorwegen Selected
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2021ACT 1 AWARD STRP Eindhoven , Nederland Granted
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2021Shape Artist 2021 - 2022 SHAPE Platform Nederland Selected
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2020Royal Academy Master Thesis Award Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten, Den Haag Nederland Finalist
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2020ArtScience Department Award Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten, Den Haag Nederland Finalist
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2020Royal Academy Master Award Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten, Den Haag Nederland Winner
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2020Pro Onderzoek Stroom Den Haag Nederland Granted
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2016FR + SG Photographic Arts Award Alliance Française Singapore Finalist
artistieke nevenactiviteiten
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2021 - 2022Research Assistant - Studio Antimundo
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2019 - 2021Freelance Art Handler - Hizkia Van Kralingen
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2018 - 2018Curational Assistant - Mirage Creative+ (Dolus & Dolus)
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2017 - 2017Grant Assistant - STEP travel grants (European Cultural Foundation)
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2017 - 2019Supervisor - Museum Voorlinden (Stichting Voorlinden)
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2016 - 2016Production Assistant - European Lab Seoul (Arty Farty)
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2015 - --Project Manager - Field Records Loopt nog
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2015 - 2016Project Manager - Coded Matter(s) (FIBER Festival)
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2014 - 2014Project Assistant - TodaysArt Festival