The texts and images of the workshop experiences were taken from the first year students' descriptions in their Skills reports.
“This was a great way to start a school year. I am very happy about the introduction weeks topic as it is close to my interests. Learning with and from nature was nicely combined with getting to know each other and forming a close group. Tutors were well selected, Jan greeted me in my mother tongue which is a very pleasant coincidence but besides that it was valuable to meet hands on artist and to learn from tutors in different fields. I think combination of foraging, sound and exploration paved a way to a successful start of semester. I made a project about seaweed. I was inspired by foraging workshop.”
“I took part in introductions for wood, metal, textile, textile dyeing with natural pigments, 3d printing workshop, sewing workshop and paper making workshop. Introductions were great but I found it uncler with some workshop if the introduction is necessary to use the workshop, another thing is that in the hallways i saw workshops that were not on the list that we had so left a bit of the question mark if they can be used. Overall introductions were great and tutors are very helpful and kind. I hope to continue including things i learned from from workshops.”
“In Guy Livingston’s workshops, we learned not only how to create sound but also how to appreciate silence. He invited us to his studio, played the piano, performed a short piece, and took us on a silent walk through the city, where we were only allowed to observe. In another workshop, we were tasked with creating a musical instrument from everyday objects.”
“The workshop with the second years was created by one or two students at a time, creating tasks that we, the first years, were invited to participate in. In one workshop, we were building sculptures out of trash. At first, we had to choose a partner and were randomly assigned two words. According to these words, we were individually interpreting them through sculptures. One of my words was “Chaos,” and I interpreted it through a folder where a lot of pages were crumpled around and falling out of it, as an antithesis to a usually very organized folder representing order. At the end, we made an exhibition, and everyone was presenting their work by explaining how they had interpreted it.”
“In another workshop, we were coming together in the auditorium. Here we were first doing an exercise that reminded me of the game in which you create a long queue of humans, and everyone has to paint something on the back of the other person. After that, we had to guess if the chosen collection of printed pictures fit better as a sacred place or just architecture. This was really nice because every person was seeing something different in these pictures, which led to a diverse discussion. The rest of this workshop involved closing our eyes and forming a sculpture out of clay with our hands based on different words.”
“In a different workshop, we were learning about our school garden. In this, Angie explained the species living there and what impact they have on nature. To understand this topic better, we transformed into one animal or plant and mimicked this for several minutes. After that, she asked us to draw as many species as we could find in the garden. At last, we were choosing one object to investigate more. My colleague Joyce and I were building a shelter out of softened sticks for the fish in the ponds after we found out that they didn’t have any hiding spaces.”
“All in all, I liked the workshops and the very diverse topics. All of them were engaging and a lot of fun! On the one hand, I liked that they weren’t too long, so we could investigate several topics, but maybe it would have been nice to spend more time in the workshops to develop something deeper.”
“Use waste to make a chair in a short one day. • two pieces of wood board from basement and bottles and can from supermarket = a chair • quick observation and imagination is trained in this workshop.”
“This workshop was a journey into the human mind. Jennifer Kanary’s lesson opened my eyes to the complexity behind psychosis, including how generational trauma can contribute to the condition. The 3D headset experience was particularly impactful, giving me a visceral understanding of how disorienting psychosis can be.”
“During the model-building workshop, Bas Leemans encouraged us to experiment freely with materials and focus on translating our story into the design.”
“Since many of us, myself included, didn’t yet have a clear design for our model, I started building intuitively during the session. This approach worked to my advantage. I explored a variety of possibilities for my model and experimented with different materials to determine which ones were most effective for my storytelling.“
“The photography workshop was a rare and valuable experience, because it allowed me to learn about the process behind professional photography. Using professional equipment, I was able to think more critically about how to capture better photos that effectively present my work.“
“This workshop was a day of discovering new aspects of my peers. Theater, as always, is a great tool for selfexpression and revelation. Through some dramatic exercises, I felt I saw new sides of all my classmates. During the feedback session with my partner Anna and Tjyying, their ideas were valuable resources. Tjyying's positive and encouraging energy made the experience enriching and I’d love to attend more workshops with them.“
“When I talk to Tjy about my project, it is always a time to reflect and adjust how I explain it. I think when I’m so into the project, I already know my topic pretty well, but for someone who doesn’t know it yet, things might not be so clear. Tjy, being a listener, brings questions that help me realize which parts of the storyline I can adjust or clarify. Through these conversations, I also learn how to switch perspectives, stepping out of my own role and into that of the audience, try to explore how to communicate my concept more clearly and effectively. It’s a process of rethinking not just what I want to say, but how others might receive and understand it.“
“Engaging with the Polis school and the different departments was a nice learning experience. While I tried to broaden my perspectives, I naturally gravitated towards an interest in small-scale details and human traces. Observing these details allowed me to collect and tell stories, which became the foundation of my final presentation. Through this, I realized my deep interest in capturing and narrating details.“
“Through this workshop, I learned how to approach the creation of an essay film. By exploring a range of references, I was able to expand my understanding of the essayistic approach to filmmaking. Key references included the works of Robert Smithson, such as Central Park (Stepping into Time), Mirror Displacement, and Hotel Palenque. His dialectical perspective—particularly articulated in his Artforum writings, where he describes “a way of seeing things in terms of a multitude”— was especially influential.“
“During the observation workshop we learned about various ways to use observation as a tool for our research and design. We focused on artists that use this type of practices and analyzed examples of their work. Also, Neeltje shared her own work and experience through her projects. Finally, we spent time observing the market in Afrikaanderwijk and discussed our results. This workshop changed the way I am starting the research towards a more mindful approach, where giving time is an important element.“
“This workshop was really inspiring for me from the personal production of Cengiz and even to the ideas behind it. For my studio 3 research paper i wanted to investigate the urban banality, the fact that we detached ourself visually with the urban space from a matter of routine and not looking. His project about documenting the front stores of the city shops evolution really highlighted this idea of visual repetition, even to the letters of the shops everything have to be controlled and standardized. At this time i didn’t knew yet that this was going to be my topic and so my production was a bit more abstract and funny/ playful.“
“Years after the end of INSIDE, citizens, students, and historians are invited to reflect on the significance of certain objects through a LARP. Seated around a table and assigned specific roles, we each selected one object and discussed why we believed that item, belonging to INSIDE 2025, should be preserved in the new museum. We explored the emotional or familial connection behind it, and questioned its value, whether personal or collective. We also solved a series of “puzzles” in order to reconstruct the story of INSIDE and understand how the school eventually came to an end. Once again, I was reminded of how much I enjoy involving people in the research process, especially after experiencing the engaging work we carried out as a group. I also deeply appreciated the performative aspect of the workshop.“
“Elisa Piazzi's workshop kind of brought me into a different world. She showed us many ways to present a project as a booklet. I learned that through designing a booklet, you can really celebrate your project, it helps make the design feel more complete and coherent. I also got to understand more about the behind-the-scenes process of publishing a booklet, including how layout, sequencing, and production choices all play a role in how the work is perceived.“
“This workshop was divided into the part where Jan was presenting his past projects and how he is using wasted material to create spaces. I think this was very inspiring to see since I am very interested in how he brings people together with his work. Additionally, it felt very fitting to the Afrikaanderwijk since the Grondstoffenstation offers a lot of materials to build and create with. In the second part, we were tasked with activating public space through a design intervention. I decided to use a disco ball on a stick extension to invite people to dance. I was collaborating with Pien, who created a stage and used music. Together, this was a really nice experience to see if we can activate space, but I realized that most people maybe feel a bit too frightened in public space to dance. Whereas the people that knew us felt very comfortable using the stage and interacted in a very happy way with the installation.“
“With Esther we had several workshops about grapic design. In the first meeting she showed us some book samples where we could see what types of different layouts, design and sizes there are. I really liked to see and feel them in my hands. I feel that’s very important if you talk about the design. She was also giving tips to type design and papers. After the introduction we had private talks about design ideas but at this point I didn’t had big ideas yet. Second session we had online and talked about the design ideas, which helped a lot but since it was online it was harder to feel and talk about design. In the last session we were discussing the final layouts, more details about type, colors and sizes. All in all Esther tips were very helpful and I like that she can give very spontaneous good advice. To have a graphic designer really helps to discuss about this since I never did book design before. So I did learn a lot and its nice to feel like you are not alone in the process.“
“The Furniture Workshop with Luka Smisek was unexpected. I thought we were going to make furniture, but instead, we destroyed it. Brilliant. I’ve always believed destruction is an essential part of creation. Once something is broken, you can begin again, building something new from the remains. But this time, I also learned that you don’t always have to rebuild. You can accept the destruction and the end as it is, with no continuation. There’s something incredibly beautiful in that. I think I need more time to fully absorb it.“
