ARIA Spring School 2024

Bart Eeckhout is professor of English and American literature at the University of Antwerp and has been chair of ARIA since 2017. He has been involved in many PhD projects at ARIA as a supervisor, IPC member, and jury member, mostly in the realm of music.

Nele Wynants is research assistant professor in the field of art and theatre studies at the University of Antwerp (Antwerp Research Institute for the Arts - ARIA) where she coordinates the EU-funded project Science at the Fair: Performing Knowledge and Technology in Western Europe, 1850-1914. She is editor-in-chief of FORUM+ for research and arts, an interdisciplinary peer reviewed journal for artistic research (www.forum-online.be) and member of the Young Academy of Belgium (Flanders).

Thomas R. Moore works as a conductor and trombonist with the Nadar Ensemble and has premiered works as a soloist at notable festivals such as //hcmf, Time of Music, and the Darmstadt New Music Summer Course. Moore was a member of the orchestra at Theater Des Westens in Berlin, has regularly conducted the Orchestra of the Royal Dutch Air Force, and was the Musical Director for the hit Dutch musical, Soldaat van Oranje. In 2022, Moore defended his PhD in the Arts at the University of Antwerp and the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp and now works as the head of brass and a lecturer of artistic research at the Royal Conservatoire. He also serves as the chair of the research council of the Schools of Arts at the AP University College.

Pascal Gielen is writer and full professor of sociology of culture and politics at the Antwerp Research Institute for the Arts (ARIA) where he leads the Culture Commons Quest Office (CCQO). Gielen is editor of the international book series Antennae - Arts in Society (Valiz). In 2016 he became laureate of the Odysseus grant for excellent international research of the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders in Belgium. In 2022 he was appointed by the Flemish Government as curator of Culture Talks. Gielen has published many books on culture, politics, commons and civil action.

Annelys de Vet is a designer, researcher, and educator with a practice for long-term, participative design projects that actively engage in social and political struggles. De Vet founded the publishing initiative Subjective Editions,' collaboratively mapping regions from the inside out. She co-founded 'Disarming Design from Palestine,' a thought-provoking design platform developing artisanal products from Palestine conveying alternative narratives about life under occupation. De Vet established the temporary master's program 'Disarming Design' (2020–2022), at the Sandberg Instituut Amsterdam, where she was the course director of the MA in Design from 2009 to 2019. Currently, she is a PhD candidate at ARIA (Antwerp Research Institute for the Arts).

Vivi Touloumidi’s artistic work is embedded in the intersections of art, cultural activism, and craft disciplines. Her primary focus involves using wearable and portable art to advocate sociopolitical messages, evoke discourse, and place the body within the public sphere. Vivi has participated in international group and solo exhibitions since 2010. Most recently her solo exhibition was held at MHKA Museum. Since 2018, she has been leading artistic research at Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp. Vivi obtained her PhD in the Arts in collaboration with the Antwerp Research Institute for the Arts (ARIA) in Belgium in 2022.