ARIA Spring School 2026

In this session we will experiment with what Nyna Lykke calls ‘writing academic texts differently’. Starting from a concrete writing exercise proposed in her eponymous essay collection, in which more intersectional approaches to academic writing are put forward, we will explore how to argue for the urgency and/or relevance of your research project and how to engage in (collective) co-feedback. 

A laptop is required for this workshop. Max. 10 attendants.

This workshop explores practical and responsible uses of Large Language Models (LLMs) in academic research and writing. It introduces the probabilistic foundations of LLMs and discusses their implications for reliability and academic integrity. Emphasis is placed on optimising research workflows before and after prompting, including structured inputs and verifiable outputs. The workshop also demonstrates how to run open-source LLMs locally, enabling privacy-preserving and environmentally conscious research practices.

A laptop is required for this workshop. 

A doctoral research process is full of unexpected challenges: projects that move in unforeseen directions, moments of artistic or practical blockage, ideas that resist formalisation, or research directions filled with uncertainty. Hosted by designer, researcher and ARIA-alumni Annelys de Vet, this session creates space to openly share specific problems and collectively reflect on (and map) possible ways forward. The format is informed by the sessions developed by artist and researcher Yazan Khalili during his time as a tutor in the Disarming Design master’s programme at the Sandberg Instituut Amsterdam, where he opened space for ‘problems’ rather than ‘successes’, fostering solidarity, mutual support, and collective thinking.

During a PhD in the arts trajectory, you might encounter several ethical problems; from the materials you use to the participants you work with, from the expectations of institutions to power relations, from your airmiles to consent procedures. In this session we bring concrete ethical dilemmas to the table and try to carve agency in ethical ambiguity, constructing ethical assessment tools and discussing the demands of a brave self-situating practice. We ask the participants to bring ethical questions or dilemmas related to their research project and to be shared and discussed within the group. 

INWARD is a clinical study that is part of Karel Tuytschaever's PhD research project ‘When the artist swallows his image’, developed for and in collaboration with Antwerp University Hospital. The project takes the body as its starting point, as a place of attention, care, and listening, and investigates how physical presence can be experienced when we consciously slow down.

During this experiential moment, we invite you to a short, guided Bodyscan experience of about 20 minutes. Participation is completely painless and consists of simple attention exercises and observation, in a calm and caring setting. The language of the Bodyscan is Dutch; a basic knowledge of Dutch is sufficient.

INWARD is not a treatment or a test, but an invitation to pause for a moment and explore together what the body can tell us when we listen without having to perform.