Research Catalogue

In the softness of the belly… There is a war on women is a testimony to the lived stories of abortion from a perspective which transcends time and national borders. This research paper is structured around two intertwined trajectories with varying text formats and writing styles. This structure merges the personal with the political and explores their relationship as it reveals how they can’t be separated in a society with deeply rooted structures of patriarchy and misogyny. The first trajectory chronologically tells the story of the author's own experience with abortion integrated with the personal stories from friends and family members. The process of dealing with abortion is gradually laid out starting from childhood memories, proceeding into the practical turmoil and the contradicting emotions surrounding the experience itself, moving onto the mental and physical aftermaths, and lastly processing the experience and slowly healing. In the second trajectory the topic is explored from a more external perspective rooted in history, politics, culture, and society. Through research on the history of reproductive rights and procreation, the permeating role of patriarchy from the past to the presence is addressed. The investigation of patriarchy dives into the misogynist history of witch-hunts, hysteria, capitalism, domestic labor, and into the present where reproductive rights are both improving but also continuously being tightened or removed. This trajectory further explores several socio-cultural aspects of abortion through research-based text and more sporadic and poetic writings. The topics that are addressed are shame, guilt, religion, gender roles, depiction both visually and written, the public discussion, and the perception of blood, violence, and war in relation to women and reproductive rights. The aim of the research paper is to break down and reveal the patriarchal structures which compromise women's reproductive rights, and to state the importance of reclaiming the personal narratives as well as the autonomy over one's own body, narrative, and life.

reposition Journal of reflective Positions in Art & Research - support project for research documentation at the University of Applied Arts Vienna Initiated by Alexander Damianisch, reposition brings together the wide variety of research at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, and reflects on an ongoing culture of editorial structures for research in Arts and Sciences. reposition collects positions from ongoing processes. It offers researchers of all disciplines and departments at the University of Applied Arts Vienna the opportunity to publish their work according to peer-review principles. Colleagues of any level and doctoral students in arts and sciences are invited to share their work. This series showcases their diverse approaches to project-oriented research work and presents current insights, captivating research processes, and ongoing projects from a deeply personal perspective that courageously unearth the work-in-progress.

New creation - Sign Language and Dance - Video Projection and dance

Although I love attending traditional classical music concerts, I have long felt that they missed certain aspects that would make them more relatable to the inner world of the audience. In this research exposition, I argue that this missing aspect is a social element and I guide the reader through a possible application of social themes to a classical music concert. On a formal level, I use the techniques of psychodrama – a form of group therapy – as a tool from which I borrow some fundamental concepts, along with the conception of characters, to understand how social themes can be addressed in a context in which multiple people connect to the same object. In this case, the object of common interest is the representation on stage. On a substantial level, I draw upon material I collected in my interviews with Clara Scarafia to study a social theme she has been directly involved with: suicide. The two levels are brought together in my pilot session, where I experiment through a sample of the complete performance I am designing and an audience questionnaire how psychodrama and the interview interact and influence one another. The goal is to show that the classical repertoire, with its complex emotional kaleidoscope and non-verbal language, can easily bear a social theme and enhance the collective reflection of relevant themes in our times.

GAMPSISS was a comprehensive, 4-year collaborative, transdisciplinary project executed by Erasmus University (EUR), University for Techonolgy Delft (TUD), Willem de Kooning Art Academy Rotterdam, and the conservatoire of Rotterdam: Codarts. 
In Year 1 we each conducted research in our own discipline, namely: on listening (Codarts), on persuasive games (TUD) and aligned these with the cultural sociological perspective (EUR) on concert audiences and concert experience. In Year 2, based on the knowledge gained, we jointly built a prototype of a game called 'Listening Space'. A game for the smartphone, to be played prior to a (classical music) concert to train listening skills, through awareness and playful practice of different listening modes. In Year 3, again with the entire team, we designed an interdisciplinary gamified performance called “Listening Mutant 2021” during which the audience worked through a wide range of listening games and training. This time the games were not only about music listening but also about social listening (listening to other people). The performance was played for a specially recruited diverse audience, and included orchestral music, theatrical scenes, audience participation, a quiz, a debate, a (new) smartphone game, an audio (headphones) story, all integrated into a total experience with a festival atmosphere. Due to COVID-19, it was not produced (in a modified version) until Year 4, and for a smaller audience than we originally envisioned. Year 4 we then finished analyzing, writing and reflecting. 'Listening Space' produced modest positive effects, and 'Listening Mutant' a major positive effect. At the Willem de Kooning Academy in Years 2 and 3, we set up a GAMPSISS course in which all researchers taught. Students were asked to design listening games. Some of these served as inspiration for the games in “Listening Mutant 2021. Two sub-studies were also conducted under the accolade of GAMPSISS, namely a study on what happens when people listen to a piece of music repeatedly (listening diaries, EUR, yet to be published) and a combination of empirical research and extensive desk research (Codarts) on listening from a predominantly philosophical perspective, resulting in a paper titled 'A concise theory of listening' that can be used in conservatories and music practices. The PHD candidate also conducted several more studies on other persuasive games (yet to be published).

Discovering Afro-Cuban music as a classical musician was an outstanding moment in my career. Realizing how unusual it is for French Horns to be involved in this style inspired me to start this research and further develop my skills. Even though it is usual to find trombones and trumpets in Afro-Cuban music ensembles, it is challenging to find examples with French Horn players. Currently, the most successful horn player in this genre is Sarah Willis, who fell in love with Cuban rhythms and decided to share them by creating innovative albums. The methodology of this research includes a literature review of existing works related to Afro-Cuban music, interviews with experienced players in this field, and practical demonstrations in video form. The theoretical framework provides a brief review of Afro-Cuban music from its origins until today, paying special attention to the practically non-existent presence of French Horn players in this field. The practical framework collects data on the challenges that a classical French Horn player may encounter when playing this music and offers possible solutions. As a result of this study, I now have a better understanding of this style and why the horn is not usually included in it. Also, having the experience of playing Afro-Cuban music as a classical musician has clarified the differences and difficulties of approaching this music but more so how it can nourish my musical practice with new skills. The chosen format of presentation will be a public exposition of the results of the research.