Nathalie Beekman
Nathalie is an artist, researcher, art teacher, producer and initiator. She has a Masters in Art education and a background in film making. In the 90’s she made films, video clips, and commissioned film work that earned her several international awards. Since the 00’s she initiated the creative media hub Pudding Factory and was artistic director of 3 successive art labs.
Pavlov medialab (2001-2008) was a lab for professional media artists which specialized in interdisciplinary collaborations and urban projects in collaboration with architects, urbanists and entrepreneurs.
Pavlov E-Lab (2008-2012) was a lab with a focus on art-& science collaborations; filmmakers, media artists and composers were brought together with a broad range of scientists.
Currently she is working as an artistic director and PhD researcher for Sparklab, an independent art-&philosophy lab for children that she has developed through participative action research.
Since 2014 she teaches part time at the Master of Art Education of the Hanze University of applied Sciences in Groningen and is involved in artistic research on art projects with a social agenda, in collaboration with Research Centre Image in Context of Minerva Art Academy.
She was programme manager of a workshop based conference about participative action research and produced location based science adventures for beta outreach Science Linx.
Nathalie is co-writer of a book about Pavlov’s urban projects: Cities within your city and editor of A sense of Green, a booklet about biobased design.
Thuur Caris
Arthur (Thuur) Caris is a visual artist producing situation-based art in public spaces since 1992 and a teacher and researcher at the Minerva Art Academy of the Hanze University of Applied Sciences since 2003. As a social scientist he studies art as a conversational space in which learning opportunities occur. Both as an artist and a pedagogue he has special interest in art as a source and a force of social transformation. Caris holds a bachelor in fine arts (1993) and a master (2010) and PhD in pedagogy (2016). Caris graduated at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands in adult education studying informal learning in situated art practices in the Netherlands and New York City.
Current: During the last decade Thuur Caris researched and lectured popular culture, informal learning and cultural innovation first as a junior member of the research group “Diversity and Plurality in the Urban Context” of the University of Leuven and later of the research group “Popular Culture, Sustainability & Innovation” of the Centre of Applied research and innovation “Art and Society” at the Hanze University of Applied sciences. Caris graduated cum laude in Lifelong Learning and Social intervention at the Rijksuniversity Groningen after an extensive study and research as a non matriculate PhD graduate at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City.
Zeros: during the start of the new millenium Thuur Caris took part in the establishement of several institutions of art and education. First the media business space and incubator known as the Pudding Factory was founded where quite soon the Pavlov Medialab was opened. He also helped developing the curriculum for the Academy of Popular Culture in Leeuwarden and was co-founder of the Groningen department of the international MIT Fablab network.
In collaboration with the Bureau for architecture and urbanisme S333 Thuur Caris and the Pavlov medialab also was involved in several projects of urban development in Groningen, Nijmegen and London.
90ties: Being a core member of the Pavlov mediaproduction company Thuur Caris took part as a concept developer, researcher, and as a filmeditor and composer in the pre- and postproduction of many movies and corporate video productions, as well as theatre plays and media performances. At the same time as being a musician, writer and producer he played hundreds of gigs in and abroad the Netherlands with the Rock Steady Big Band Jammah Tammah and the Techno-Punk band Stanza8.
80ties: From 1981 onward, Thuur Caris studied Andragogy at the University of Groningen. Taking part in the flourishing underground scenes of Groningen he also was a member of several New Wave and Punk Rock bands as a performer and song writer. As an activist Thuur Caris took part in the peace movement, and the movement for basic income. Ideas he still endorses.