ELIA Academy 2025
Life-Integrated Learning

Tech as co-creator

Leroy van Halen, Willem de Kooning Academy, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
This session reflects on the Me-You-Us research project, which explored new pedagogies for advancing the green transition through digitalising fashion education. While students today are more tech-savvy, they are increasingly romanticising traditional crafts and returning to autonomous practices. During the project, the team expressed a resistance towards new media and innovation, pushed by social media that romanticises craftmanship – like Twitch, Tik-Tok, or Instagram. Students prioritise the practical side of design over the theoretical and reflective, such as addressing today’s challenges, distancing themselves from the world and our current and future responsibilities. How can we address the challenge of digitising education and harness new media—such as social media, XR, and AI—to enhance education and work towards more sustainable futures without losing our students? Through the analysis of key moments from the Me-You-Us research project, methods, tips, and strategies to tackle these challenges will be offered, along with a space for an open conversation.

Tech as co-creator

Juraj Blasko, Kristina G. Rypakova, Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, Slovakia
This workshop explores how AI can become a co-creator in design and architecture, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and challenging traditional perceptions of creativity. Drawing on the concepts of "co-intelligence" and "human-AI co-creation", participants will engage in hands-on activities that demonstrate how AI can be integrated into creative workflows as a tool for empowerment rather than competition. The session aims to shift participants’ perspectives on AI from scepticism to acceptance by illustrating its potential to amplify innovation and teamwork. Beginning with an introduction to AI-driven creativity and interdisciplinary collaboration, based on Ethan Mollick’s Co-Intelligence concepts, the workshop will allow participants to define roles for AI personas and engage in structured brainstorming sessions facilitated by AI. Several activities are included in the session: from outdoor photography incorporating an AI persona, to using a multimodal AI tool transforming pictures into concepts, as well as workflow development with human-AI co-creation.

Communities of curiosity

Marie Le Sourd, Secretary general, On the Move & coordinator of the EBA research team; Sophie Dowden, Research team member for the EBA research, France / UK; Demy Papathanasiou, Choreographer, Greece; Birgit Berndt, Artistic Director and CEO, CODA Oslo International Dance Festival, Norway & Editorial committee member of the EBA research
This session will share the initial findings from Europe Beyond Access's (EBA) research on accessibility in higher education for disabled artists, conducted in collaboration with On the Move. It aims to present preliminary trends and patterns, offering a critical starting point for discussions about dismantling barriers in performing arts education, with a particular focus on dance and theatre. Rather than providing definitive conclusions, this session invites ELIA Academy participants to contribute their insights on the accessibility challenges and opportunities faced by performing arts institutions. The goal is to refine these early findings into actionable recommendations for fostering inclusive learning environments. Through an interactive in-person format, participants will engage in discussions to explore how higher education institutions can integrate accessibility into their teaching practices and curricula.

Communities of curiosity

Anna Majewska, Doctoral School of Humanities at the University of Warsaw, Poland
"Wspólmyslenia" is a Polish neologism that defies direct translation, evoking the idea of knowledge as commons and resonating with the new materialist concept of thinking-with—a collective approach to knowledge construction rooted in the politics of nurturing diversity. The grassroots platform named after this term is designed to connect young artistic research practitioners. In Poland, many of these practitioners develop their work outside art academies, where discourse on artistic research is often marginalised. Initially inviting creators to share their experiences of working at the intersection of art and science, the platform evolved into an ongoing self-educational initiative, exploring transdisciplinary methods of collaborative thinking and uncovering situated, decolonial narratives about artistic research. During the workshop, insights from curating this project will be shared, focusing on how the concept of "wspólmyslenia" was embodied in collective self-research processes. Participants will also be introduced collaborative thinking methods and invited to engage practically with one of them.

Topographies of thought

Annette Kriszat, Margaret Rynning, Lene Utigard , Kristiania University of Applied Sciences, Westerdals, Norway
This session explores guerrilla design activism to uncover the neglected, life-integrated knowledge of wild edible plants, unveiling an experimental research-through-design approach, aimed at discovering unconventional ways of breaking the green backdrop of plant blindness. The concept of 'plant blindness', as described by Wandersee and Schussler, refers to the ignorance towards plants in our environment, highlighting the threats modern society poses to generational knowledge of caring for natural resources. Changed living patterns and urbanisation alienate humans from nature, causing the neglect of wild plant harvesting practices. Drawing on the concept of guerrilla design activism, this experimental workshop invites attendees to explore the voice of wild edible plants through innovative design tactics. Focusing on sustainability, the session will address various dimensions that resonate with the audience. By empowering creative processes and learning, participants will be encouraged to reflect on their relationship with nature and challenge plant blindness through unconventional communication methods.

Make it personal

Emily Huurdeman, Fontys Academy of the Arts, Tilburg, The Netherlands
Artistic research is a field where the relationship between the subjectivity of the arts and the objectivity of research are combined. Like the artistic researcher, the essayist is often positioned in the tension between the experiential and the intellectual, which can often clash within academia. Life-integrated learning could be a contemporary description of Montaigne’s essays dating from 1580, where personal, artistic, and intellectual knowledge are combined. The essay could be considered radical because of its fragmentary, enigmatic, and non-dogmatic character, but it is, in fact, a radically traditional form with a multitude of forms of expression. Focusing on essaying as an un-methodical method (Huurdeman, 2022), the workshop will explore this topic from personal (experiential), artistic (sensorial), and cognitive (research) perspectives. The session will start with a lecture performance exploring the personal potential of essaying, followed by a workshop, where participants will collaboratively collect and generate knowledge fragments and place them on a performative map.

Make it personal

Denise Helene Sumi, Valerie Messini, University of Applied Arts Vienna, Austria
Borrowing from Ursula K Le Guin’s theory of the “carrier bag”, a metaphor for a tool for gathering and collectivising, rather than for domination, we aim to approach technology and learning in these terms. This session exchanges on interdisciplinary approaches for learning to overcome a formalised media theory curriculum, interweaving the theoretical, the speculative, and the material. Viewing learning as a process of becoming, we emphasis students' endemic knowledge, creativity, and curiosity, empowering them to co-create content and participate in the dissemination of knowledge.This session invites the participants to engage in rethinking learning, echoing Paolo Freire's words: “Knowledge emerges only through invention and re-invention, through the restless, impatient, continuing, hopeful inquiry human beings pursue in the world, with the world, and with each other.” Together we want to discuss non-conventional methods for bridging the fields of pedagogy, art, media theory, and academia, highlighting the need for more speculative research. The session focuses on media technologies, spatial and bodily experiences of knowledge, transcending conventional methods of the classroom. Carrier Bags: Curiosity for Media Theory asks how we as practitioners can be sensitive in our interaction with different media environments (i.e. ecological, virtual, or imaginary).

Communities of curiosity

Katarzyna Kowalczyk, Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology, Poland
Based on a personal story of Katarzyna's grandmother, this storytelling-led performance explores the intersection of folk art, feminism, and cultural heritage. Fleeing Warsaw during World War II, she travelled across Poland, encountering different communities where women taught her to make traditional crafts. These practices became tools of survival, cultural resistance, and personal expression in times of instability. This contribution combines narrative, sound, and visual art to immerse participants in this intimate story, accompanied by recordings of the grandmother’s voice and Polish folk songs that recovered her memories lost to dementia. Featuring Katarzyna's artistic research, different mediums inspired by various Polish folk traditions explore how women have historically shaped Poland’s visual identity through decoration. The performance uncovers the marginalisation of design and decoration, spotlighting the role women played as custodians of folk traditions. By connecting personal history with broader social and cultural narratives, a reflective space that encourages dialogue is created in this session.

Communities of curiosity

Gabriel Andres Tarazona Orozco, Universidad del Rosario, Colombia
This session is a sound exploration that goes beyond aesthetic design by delving into the use of ceramics in ancestral Indigenous instruments. Inspired by the spiritual connection that master ceramic artisans in the town of Ráquira, Colombia, have with their practice, this workshop explores ceramics as a living element. Taking the form of both a ceramic sculpture and a functional instrument, the piece is designed to invite direct interaction, encouraging participants to explore its sounds and engage with it through touch. The ceramic work also highlights the importance of being critical and deeply invested in a topic when designing—seeking meaningful answers rather than settling for superficial solutions. By stepping outside the classroom, meeting masters in different fields, and connecting with diverse communities, we can find deeper, more authentic responses to the questions that truly matter to us.

Communities of curiosity

Johanne Karen Hagen, Kristiania University College, Oslo, Norway
This presentation illustrates the implementation of Life Integrated Learning in the bachelor's programme of Music Theatre at Kristiania University of Applied Sciences. Students engage with diverse audience groups through an annual concert project, as well as visiting institutions where audiences, for various reasons, cannot attend concerts or other cultural events. Encouraged by the accessibility aspirations of the Norwegian government, it is the responsibility of education to familiarise students with audience groups who typically cannot attend the theatre. Aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goal No. 11, through these encounters, students experience life integrated learning that encompasses physical, emotional, environmental, societal, and political dimensions. Addressing the the role of art in society, research has shown that cultural activities can elevate the quality of life for those engaged in them. In this presentation, the continuation of these encounters with audience groups who lack access to cultural events, facilitated by alumni students, will also be discussed.

Communities of curiosity

Alessandro Tollari, Iuav University Venice, Italy (PerLa - Performance Epistemologies Research Lab) in collaboration with Lavanderia a Vapore (Turin, Italy)
What if a high school could become an artistic and embodied atelier, where adults learn from the unexpected creative talents and subtle life-skills of teenagers? School of Wish is a year-long project by Lavanderia a Vapore in Turin, the House of Dance in Piedmont, Italy, where artists work with students to empower change in schools. This project has already introduced dozens of teenagers to performing arts, allowing them to develop their own practices and, in the process, subvert the traditional structure of school. Moving forward, the project will focus on magic as a source of possible knowledge and skills, where illusions and alchemical transformations become a language to explore life’s dynamics in a mutable, obscure, and promising world. This session will explain the theme, approach, and context of the project, highlighting its relevance to artistic, epistemological, and pedagogical fields, and sharing some pedagogical tools developed by the students.

Communities of curiosity

Teresa Veiga Furtado, Ana Pérez-Quiroga, Isabel Bezelga, Jacira da Conceição, CHAIA - Center for Art History and Artistic Research / School of Arts, University of Évora, Portugal
Four female artists will collaborate in a performance that uses art to reflect on creating intimate experiences in public spaces like gardens or squares, with active community participation. Cooking a Portuguese dish, listening to music while enjoying the sun, or sharing a glass of water connects their personal domestic moments with participants’ experiences. These everyday gestures, tied to their own performative memories, create opportunities to understand themselves and others through art. Participants are encouraged to rethink how we learn, teach, and engage with the world. As both a language and practice, art reveals new perspectives and bridges the gap between individuals and the collective. By integrating personal experiences into artistic exploration, it redefines education as a shared journey of discovery. Sharing — through food, dance, or small gestures — transforms education into a relational experience. It invites connection, reflection, and a deeper exploration of living, learning, and creating as a community.

Breaking the mould

Polly Christie, The Glasgow School of Art and Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, United Kingdom; Judy Willcocks, University of the Arts London, United Kingdom; Taras Lesiv, Lviv National Academy of Arts, Ukraine; Kathy Alliou, Beaux Arts de Paris, France
Art schools have been amassing collections since their inception, using objects as teaching aids that are critical to the study of drawing, painting, and modelling techniques, as well as promoting European cultural aesthetics. Later, collections were viewed as repositories of cultural heritage, reflecting an institution’s history, artistic focus, and pedagogical priorities. Now, a renewed belief in the value of material culture has generated the development of object-based learning as an academic discipline, creating fresh opportunities to promote critical thinking around collections, explore global perspectives, and re-interrogate objects. Coming together, colleagues from Central Saint Martins, the Glasgow School of Art, the Lviv National Academy of the Arts, and the Beaux Arts de Paris are connecting collections of different art schools, and this session invites participants to join the conversation. Panellists will share how archives and collections contribute to education, research, and public engagement, and explore how international connections can support development and change.

Tech as co-creator

Caroline Ribbers, Fontys Academy of the Arts, Tilburg, The Netherlands
Embodied Education values and facilitates the exploration of the breathing, pulsating, living body. It holds our life experiences, the body can be listened to and spoken with, deepening cultural and self-awareness, enhancing well-being, and inspiring daring ideas and resonant artistic practices. Serving as an inner compass, it guides life, learning, and artistry. However, due to the Cartesian body-mind split, much of Western education and society has long overlooked embodied inquiry and ways of knowing. As a result, students often struggle to engage with Embodied Education, having lost touch with their inner lives. In the format of the Embodied Education Lab, participants will collaboratively design a fertile ground for connective, regenerative, and life-integrated education. This session acts as a laboratory for creative, experiential, and participatory educational design, drawing on both individual and collective insights.

Breaking the mould

Guro von Germeten, David Fielder, Kristiania University College, Oslo, Norway
This presentation derives from an ongoing research project investigating the sonics of gender and the human (singing) voice. Recognising the historically gendered vocal instruction and performance practices that limit performers identifying outside the binary, the project explores possibilities for implementing a gender-expansive language, voice view, and vocal pedagogy across diverse settings, including the education of musical theatre performers at Kristiania in Oslo. Under a framework of queering contemporary vocal pedagogy, the research project seeks to create a safe and affirming space for individuals of all genders to enrich their vocal identifications and expression. Central to the research are interviews with gender-diverse performing arts students, whose voices and experiences provide valuable insights into how vocal practices can marginalise or empower the singer. Illuminating how vocal training intersects with themes such as identity, belonging, and artistic agency, the research offers inspiring pathways towards more inclusive and responsible vocal pedagogical approaches.

Breaking the mould

Ollie Palmer, Situated Art, Design, and Technology Group, Caradt, Amy Thomas, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
Drawing on a research project led by Amy Thomas and Ollie Palmer, this session will explore a residential workshop conducted in Tuscany, gathering eight female office workers to explore how office environments often neglect the physical and emotional needs of women. Participants engaged in consciousness-raising techniques and recreated their workplace memories, recontextualising their routines and gaining insights into their professional lives. This reflective process offered participants not only a deeper understanding of their experiences but also a sense of solidarity, even leading to career transformations for some. Capturing this workshop, the documentary ‘Performance Revue’ offers a feminist critique of office design, drawing on the gendered architectural history of the workplace and incorporating theories of performance by Erving Goffman and Judith Butler. This session will reflect on the workshop's methodology, its transformative impact, and demonstrate how integrating lived experiences into education fosters new, interdisciplinary ways of teaching and learning attuned to the complexities of modern life.

Make it personal

Victori Feger, Miron Konurbaev, Florens Deichmann
Play is a powerful tool for self-discovery, communication, and knowledge production. Fiction in games allows us to explore complex themes and spark curiosity about subjects we might never have considered before, learning instinctively, and making overwhelming topics approachable. This session invites participants to engage in a collaborative experience that highlights the potential of games as a pedagogical tool. During the first phase of the workshop, participants will contribute a question and receive a personal response from the group. In the second phase participants will explore various ways to pass on this knowledge through play. Using a set of creative restraints each group will design a mini-game that translates their topic into an interactive format. Focusing on the collaborative process of experimentation, rather than polished outcomes, this session will show participants how play nurtures engagement, deepens understanding, and makes learning fun. Because, at the end of the day—playing is fun, duh!

Breaking the mould

Sandra Julia Reils, Deborah Walkling, Juri Pokorny, Claud Goutrié, Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF, Germany
This session presents a pioneering peer-to-peer initiative by Bachelor's and Master's students at the Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF, who are developing participatory awareness workshops focused on discrimination, power dynamics, and inclusivity in the film context. Co-created with a lecturer, the project integrates structurally embedded awareness concepts into the university environment. Positioned between student-driven change and institutional frameworks, the awareness team navigates complex dynamics while translating socio-psychological theories—such as stereotype threat, othering, and cues of safety—into practical tools for collaborative film work. Supported by expert input in areas like discrimination-informed organisational theory and positioning-conscious didactics, the team reflects on personal and structural dimensions of discrimination. This ongoing, adaptive project not only fosters critical dialogue within workshops but also invites broader student engagement through creative exploration. The session will share insights, challenges, and strategies from the team’s experience, emphasising the importance of systemic change in building a more inclusive film education environment.

Topographies of thought

Inga Uus, Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Tinna Joné, Stockholm University of the Arts, Sweden
The Act-In-Art network, comprising 15 Nordic and Baltic art schools, is committed to integrating arts into solutions for societal and climate challenges. Over the past year, the network has developed 'Building a Sustainable Future through the Arts', a project focused on creating curricula and learning materials for sustainability-oriented arts courses. Designed for degree programmes, these resources foster collaboration among educators and institutions while building a dynamic community of teachers passionate about sustainability and the arts, facilitating knowledge exchange and professional collaboration. Rooted in experiences from the project partners, the project has been co-created with students and faculty. In this workshop, participants will explore the project’s key insights and engage in a hands-on Lego brick session, offering a unique opportunity to experience innovative sustainability education in the arts.

Topographies of thought

Frode Søbstad, Kristiania University of Applied Sciences, Oslo, Norway
Social engagement is central to this teaching approach, using the senses as inspiration for learning and idea development. Underwater, with only breath as a tool, impressions become intense—10 seconds can feel like minutes. The Oslofjord, nearly lifeless with vanished fish and plants, has become a dumping ground. Instead of searching for life, trash is found, and this journey is shared with students. Freediving has been incorporated into three projects. Students created films on major societal themes, starting with immersive experiences—one group was taken freediving to witness the "water desert" firsthand. Another project, in collaboration with the Mirage Film Festival, involved a live broadcast, Oslolive, documenting freedivers collecting ocean waste. In the Kunstforsk workshop, students explored an island, using freediving to understand its environment. Through these projects, students are encouraged to discover new methods of inspiration, fostering creative intersections for innovation.

Communities of curiosity

ELIA Artistic Research Working Group: Ellen Røed, Stockholm University of the Arts, Sweden; Maria Topolcanska, Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, Czechia; Michaela Glanz, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, Austria;
Artistic research is connected to life-integrated learning through relational, embodied practices, often rooted in personal experiences. Motivated by experiential inquiries, artistic research activates communities of practice through interconnecting fields that influence and shape one another. This working session offers space to formulate positions on life-integrated learning across various frames. Collectively, we will explore and formulate how artistic research is integrated into learning practices and vice versa, how this relational process happens, and under which conditions it thrives. By bringing together people from various perspectives within arts education, this workshop will use dialogue and excursion to map the parallels between different terminologies and approaches to artistic research and deepen our understanding of its connection to life-integrated learning. By going outside into "real life" and being exposed to the weather in dialogue, impulses with discursive/performative formats of learning within the community will be developed, reflecting on perspectives across our artistic and academic terrain.

Tech as co-creator

Daniel Kinne, Ravensbourne University London, United Kingdom
This project explores how embracing AI's fundamental otherness can enrich arts education, drawing on Levinas and Derrida's concepts of the Other and hospitality, combined with Japanese notions of amae (mutual dependence) and ma (productive space), and Norwegian dugnad (collective effort). Rather than being opposed to, the project celebrates the difference through a three-part immersive experience: a performance lecture featuring Munch's "The Scream", an experimental vision lab, and a dynamic roundtable. Participants explore ways of seeing through timed alternations between human and machine perspectives, focusing on creating embodied understanding of these distinct perceptual modes by creating a Gefühl/Empfindung (feeling/sensation). Innovatively, the project creates real-time AI analysis of movement patterns and positioning technology as a social infrastructure. Set in Oslo, the project grounds abstract concepts in tangible experiences drawn from the local cultural context. The project creates genuine dialogue between human and machine visions, preparing participants for future creative human-AI collaboration, where difference becomes a source of strength rather than a barrier.

Tech as co-creator

Otto Banovits, Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Budapest, Hungary
Living in an era dominated by the "image", we create and manipulate images of ourselves that we present to the world, constructing the reality accepted as truth. In this interactive presentation, participants are invited to reflect on the failure of primary experience, where the photograph or film becomes the reality instead. Recalling on Roland Barthe's theories of studium and punctum, this session seeks to analyse contemporary society. Crossing themes such as art and reality in the age of generative AI and its impact on the human psyche, the session explores the meaning of being human today, in a world saturated by superficial images. Learning how to understand, accept, and select from the tsunami of images that are targeting us every second of our lives becomes one of the most powerful forms of knowledge we can possess as humans.

The body at work

Corina Forthuber, Iris Laner, Mozarteum University Salzburg, Austria
Although our learning environment profoundly impacts the learning process, art and design educators at universities are hardly asked to design the spaces in which they teach. Learning spaces are often predetermined, without considering the specific needs of learning experiences. Universities must host teaching and practice activities with diverse aims, which requires multi-functional spaces, often resulting in neutral, monochrome designs. Looking at learning spaces in public areas, such as parks, it becomes clear that life-integrated approaches are promote experiences by being challenging, demanding, or inviting. Successful school building concepts involve future users —teachers and students—participating in the creation of a requirements catalogue, contributing directly to the design process. In this workshop, learning spaces in art universities will be contrasted with those in public spaces to reflect on life-integrated teaching methods in art education, considering how the design of learning spaces contributes to the educational experience.

The body at work

Alan Boom, Fontys Academy of the Arts, Tilburg, The Netherlands
The multitude of global challenges, including natural disasters and human rights violations, can instigate feelings of overwhelm and distress. While running away from dealing with such emotions is a natural response, is there an alternative that protects psychological well-being while staying connected to the issues? Fremdkörper is a creative laboratory for exploring “conscious escapism”, a valuable coping mechanism that creates a psychological buffer in times of chaos. By mirroring the setting of an underground nightclub, Fremdkörper aims to bring people to a state of ecstasy, where new ideas are born, and motivation is reignited. After temporarily escaping from overwhelming situations into a reflective, mysterious environment, individuals return to reality feeling motivated to work through the challenges they are facing. The aim of this session is to delve into the transformative power of Fremdkörper’s nightclub-inspired performances, using life-integrated learning as an effective coping mechanism and guide for navigating the complex challenges of our time.

Breaking the mould

Lindelwa Ntshakala, Ringling College of Art and Design, USA
This contribution explores the intersection of visual activism and life-integrated learning, highlighting how art can drive social change in today’s rapidly evolving world. Through an interactive workshop, participants will not only examine historical and contemporary examples of visual activism but also gain hands-on experience in creating their own impactful pieces. These works will focus on global issues such as climate change, social justice, and human rights, using old magazines and a variety of mediums, including traditional art supplies or digital tools. Participants will explore how visual art can transcend traditional boundaries, communicate urgent messages, and inspire collective action. Fostering a collaborative learning environment where participants critically reflect on different dimensions of contemporary challenges, this session aims to rethink how teaching and learning in the arts can incorporate real-world engagement and collective transformation, empowering to connect personal experiences with global movements through creative expression and action.