Digital Explorers

Digital Explorers – Across Borders is a project aimed at developing a digital Artist in Residence programme. The aim is to use digital technologies to encourage the creation of new work and the sharing of knowledge in places where physical meetings are hindered by war, repression or other restrictions. In collaboration with Ukrainian institutions and media artist Constant Dullaart, Dutch and Ukrainian creators are working together on a sustainable digital residency model via the common.garden platform. The intended format is a shared virtual studio for exchange and co-creation, offering options for privacy, presentation and visits by invitation. Together with Make Eindhoven, we are exploring how digital working methods can lead to physical presentations in both countries and to exchanges of artistic, cultural and innovative approaches.

Our ambition is to realise the Artist in Residence (AiR) of the future, in which the core elements of an AiR – such as experimentation, reflection and research – are preserved, but are brought about through digital methods. This ambition stems from our conviction that, in a changing world, we must prepare ourselves for new or different ways of working. Digital structures and cultures are set to play a greater role, but on our own terms by striving for digital sovereignty. We are working closely with Ukrainian and Dutch artists, professionals and organisations on this. The impetus for this came from a meeting with Ukrainian AiR organisations, where we witnessed their immense resilience and learnt how we can draw inspiration from their innovative, experimental approach to work and their embrace of digital possibilities.
Together, our aim is to use digital technologies to stimulate the creation of new work and the sharing of knowledge in places where physical meetings are hindered by war, repression or other restrictions. Our hope is to develop a model that can be applied more widely in the future to support creators whose freedom of movement is restricted by political, geographical or personal circumstances.

The project will launch October 1 2026 with an Open Call. In 2027, we will explore – in three phases – how a digital residency space can be set up, built and used. Each phase consists of a digital residency via the common.garden platform, during which two artists (from the Netherlands and Ukraine) will collaborate for three months. Each residency involves the creation of artistic work combined with work sessions and expert meetings, and concludes with an online presentation.

The main research question of this project is how a digital AiR can be organised and operate in the spirit of a traditional residency, where hospitality is central but there is also room for the expected and the unexpected – such as boredom, failure, encounters and isolation. This gives rise to secondary questions, such as: how do we deal with the openness and privacy of the internet – to ensure a safe and workable digital space?; how do we address copyright and ownership in the context of collaboration and an open-source approach?; and how do we document the knowledge gained and disseminate it responsibly?

In this project, we are working closely with our IZOLYATSIA (UA), the media artist Constant Dullaart, founder of the common.garden platform and his team, and with the workshop / material lab Make Eindhoven. The network organisations Ukrainian Institute, Zapravka and DutchCulture | TransArtists are also supporting the project.

The digital world offers many opportunities, but also presents challenges and even dangers, such as fake news, identity theft, manipulation and the influencing of the public. It is no longer a question of whether we want our lives to be part of the digital world; it is about how – and for that we need artists, designers, writers and thinkers – in other words, digital explorers – to make a difference.

We launched a pilot in 2024. From September to November, Gabey Tjon a Tham and Studio KASBOEK were guests working on digital residency projects within the online environment of common.garden. The working periods lasted two months: Gabey Tjon a Tham from September to October, and Studio KASBOEK from October to November. During these periods, they explored how digital methods influence their work and what it means to work, meet and exhibit online.