Rietveld Sandberg Research
Photo: Monique Kooijmans
Photo: Monique Kooijmans
Patricia de Vries
lector/professor
Research group Art & Spatial Praxis

Patricia de Vries is a research professor of Art & Spatial Praxis at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie. Art & Spatial Praxis is a research group focusing on art, activist, and academic practices that intervene in capitalist enclosures such as cities, urban developments, institutes, and infrastructures. Her ongoing research project, Plot(ting), is an expanding open archive and a research platform for publication.

Plot(ting) showcases the research and art practices of creators and thinkers whose work aligns with Jamaican theorist Sylvia Wynter’s concept of “the plot.” In her work, she explores the plot as a model for practice on a broad scale, exploring how artists, writers, and scholars can defy institutional and capitalist norms to cultivate different forms of understanding, existence, and social relations.

Art & Spatial Praxis – The Climate Imaginaries at Sea festival took place from 19 April to 25 April 2024 in Amsterdam. An event for artistic and participatory research practices that speculate on possible futures in and around water. It was an exciting week with two exhibitions, an open studio day programme, the launch of the second issue of the Making Waves zine, a closing concert and more. In this article we look back on the festival and on the first year of the three artistic research studios of Climate Imaginaries at Sea.

Art & Spatial Praxis – The research group Art & Spatial Praxis launched the digital artistic research platform Plot(ting) on April 17th 2024. Plot(ting) emerges as a publishing platform showcasing art, research, and spatial practices. Currently it harbors contributions by Flavia Pinheiro, Giulia Damiani, Francisca Khamis & Maia Gattás Vargas, Neeltje ten Westenend & Hanneke Stuit, Mariana Balvanera, Patricia de Vries, Amelia Groom, and Liza Prins. Here you can read in brief about the different contributions. Read more on the plotting website: plotting.rietveldsandberg.nl

Take a look at the photos from the Climate Imaginaries at Sea festival that took place from 19 April to 25 April 2024 in Amsterdam. An event for artistic and participatory research practices that speculate on possible futures in and around water. It was an exciting week with two exhibitions, an open studio day programme, the launch of the second issue of the Making Waves zine, a closing concert and more.

Art & Spatial Praxis – This is a video recording of the open studio day programme Studio Encounters on Water #2 of the Climate Imaginaries at Sea festival, at Perdu on 23 April 2024. With talks by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Mikki Stedler, Joy Brandsma, Janine Armin, Carlo De Gaetano, Femke Dekker (Loma Doom), Müge Yilmaz, Kim Spierenburg, Claudine Arendt, Katía Truijen & René Boer (Loom Collective) and Marialena Marouda.

Art & Spatial Praxis – The research group Art & Spatial Praxis launched the digital artistic research platform Plot(ting) on April 17th. Plot(ting) emerges as a publishing platform showcasing art, research, and spatial practices.

Art & Spatial Praxis – Video of the launch of the publication of Plot(ting) on April 17th 2024, hosted at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie. Performances and talks by: meLê yamomo, S*an D. Henry Smith, Francisca Khamis Giacoman, Derica Shields, Patricia de Vries, Liza Prins and Maisa Imamović.

Art & Spatial Praxis – The research group Art & Spatial Praxis launched the digital artistic research platform Plot(ting) on April 17th. Hosted at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie with performances and talks by: meLê yamomo, S*an D. Henry-Smith, Francisca Khamis Giacoman, Derica Shields, Patricia de Vries, Liza Prins and Maisa Imamović and a communal dinner with Lina Bravo Mora and Mayıs Rukel of Radical Roots.

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Art & Spatial Praxis – The Climate Imaginaries at Sea coalition is excited to invite you to our upcoming festival in Amsterdam. An event for artistic and participatory research practices that speculate possible futures in and around water. Join us for an exciting week-long exploration with two exhibitions, an open studio day programme, the launch of the second issue of the Making Waves zine, a closing concert and more. Take a look at the programme below and get your free tickets here: eventix.shop/kuaujj4j

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17
apr '24
Join us for an afternoon with talks, performances, bites and drinks

Art & Spatial Praxis – We are delighted to invite you to the launch of the publication of Plot(ting) on April 17th from 14:30 to 19:00, hosted at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Fedlev Building, Room FL101.

Art & Spatial Praxis – Patricia de Vries, lector of the research group Art & Spatial Praxis, gave a Plot(ting) workshop in collaboration with MediaLabMX in Mexico City last year. Take a look at the zine that offers an insight into the collective mind map that materialised during the workshop.

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11
jan '24
Formulating a Research Question

Art & Spatial Praxis – How to move from a general topic of interest to a topic of inquiry? And how to narrow your topic of inquiry to a research question? Research questions are the questions you answer in or through your work. These questions give structure to your work. The questions you ask are related to the research you do and the work you want to create. During this seminar, you aim to move from a general topic of interest to a more (or less) specified and framed research question that will help you structure your thinking, doing, making and researching.

Art & Spatial Praxis – Artists affiliated with Climate Imaginaries at Sea showcased their work as part of the Warming Up Art Route. This event was a segment of the annual "We Are Warming Up" festival, taking place at Tolhuistuin in Amsterdam from October 30th to November 5th.

Art & Spatial Praxis – You can now order a free print publication of the inaugural lecture of Research Professor (Lector) Patricia de Vries at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie. In this lecture, she elaborated on the research area of her research group Art & Spatial Praxis. The research group Art & Spatial Praxis focuses on artistic practices that broaden our imaginations of alternative social orders and ways of living within capitalist city structures.

Art & Spatial Praxis – In research publications, more often than not media production—be it audiovisual or any other form of artistic practice that isn’t writing—is still seen as somehow inferior; mere support material. A figure that accompanies the text, the main act, and that would fail to be considered as a form of research itself. Producing, distributing and consuming media is not about illustrating previously existing research or knowledge, but about doing things: working with media is actively doing research. In this sense, we should try and facilitate both tools and means for practitioners of this practice-based research, currently not or at least underrepresented in the publishing industries. To put it concisely: what is the role of publishing within practice-based research?

Art & Spatial Praxis – The research group Art & Spatial Praxis (LASP) starts a new Plot(ting) research group consisting of 11 new members. They meet on a monthly basis to discuss theoretical and material manifestations that speak to Sylvia Wynter’s concept of the plot. They had their first fruitful session on May 30th 2023.

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Art & Spatial Praxis – Artists from each of the Climate Imaginaries at Sea Artistic Research Studios will be presenting work as part of the Warming Up Culture Route during the annual We Are Warming Up Festival at Tolhuistuin in Amsterdam from the 30th of October to the 5th of November.

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05
oct '23
with a performative salt-resistant bite by the Brackish Collective

Art & Spatial Praxis – On Thursday October 5, we would like to welcome you to Müge Yilmaz’s lecture on salt and the effects of salinization on Earth. The Research Group Art & Spatial Praxis (LASP) has invited Yilmaz to partner on the Materiality research studio of the Climate Imaginaries at Sea project. During her lecture, Yilmaz will delve into one of the immediate consequences of rising sea levels and ground subsidence: saline water entering flows of sweet water and soil. Before her lecture, you can experience a performative salt-resistant bite by the Brackish Collective. Earlier that day, you also can attend a workshop by the Brackish Collective.

Art & Spatial Praxis – In the International exchange project WASALIWA two groups of artists and writers based in Fiji and Amsterdam came together to look at the ecological history and future of the Pacific Islands through a series of workshops.

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Art & Spatial Praxis – The coalition Climate Imaginaries at Sea invites you to Studio Encounters on Water, a two­ day event filled with workshops, presentations, talks and pod reading sessions where you can learn more about what we’ve done, where we are going and how you can be part of it.

Art & Spatial Praxis – Portraits of Mingling is the name of the artistic research and publication made by students Paulina Martínez Marín, Ilya Lindhout and Mayomi Basnayaka on their project around the Henrick de Keijserplein in Amsterdam. The Rietveld Sandberg research group Art & Spatial Praxis, SIS (Studio for Immediate Spaces) Master’s programme at the Sandberg Instituut and the Municipality of Amsterdam collaborated in the development of this plan area in Amsterdam Stadsdeel Zuid.

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16
mar '23
Publication launch 'Portraits of Mingling: Henrick de Keyserplein'

Art & Spatial Praxis – Sandberg students Paulina Martínez Marín, Ilya Lindhout and Mayomi Basnayaka will present their artistic research and publication made by on their project around the Henrick de Keijserplein in Amsterdam. The Rietveld Sandberg research group Art & Spatial Praxis, SIS (Studio for Immediate Spaces) Master’s programme at the Sandberg Instituut and the Municipality of Amsterdam collaborated in the development of this plan area in Amsterdam Stadsdeel Zuid.

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07
feb '23
Expanded Publishing for Practice-Based Research

Art & Spatial Praxis – In research publications, more often than not media production—be it audiovisual or any other form of artistic practice that isn’t writing—is still seen as somehow inferior; mere support material. A figure that accompanies the text, the main act, and that would fail to be considered as a form of research itself. Producing, distributing and consuming media is not about illustrating previously existing research or knowledge, but about doing things: working with media is actively doing research. In this sense, we should try and facilitate both tools and means for practitioners of this practice-based research, currently not or at least underrepresented in the publishing industries. To put it concisely: what is the role of publishing within practice-based research?

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Research Café is an informal seminar series where you can learn more about various research methodologies from different senior researchers from Rietveld Sandberg Research. These seminars are open to all students, staff, tutors, and alumni of the Rietveld Academie and the Sandberg Instituut.

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29
sep '22
Inaugural Lecture Patricia de Vries

Art & Spatial Praxis – Professor Patricia de Vries will present her inaugural lecture at the start of the academic year 2022–2023. In this lecture, she will elaborate on the research area of ​​LAPS, that will be expanded to ‘LAPS/The City’ in the coming years.

Art & Spatial Praxis – In her inaugural lecture Patrica de Vries outlined plot work as artistic practices that refuse the hegemonic logic of neoliberal production.

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23
may '22
On the Aesthetics, Politics and Philosophy of Preparing for Dystopia

Art & Spatial Praxis – Join us on Monday 23 May 2022 from 16.00-18.30 at Rietveld Academie's Theory Stairs for presentations and discussions on the imagination of the end times in art, design, architecture, and philosophy. For students, teachers, alumni and all interested people.