UNIC-ART: UCC researchers co-lead Artistic Methodologies workshops in Rotterdam

6 Mar 2025

UCC colleagues co-developed and delivered a dynamic afternoon of creative workshops at Erasmus University Rotterdam on March 6th.

Dr Yvon Bonenfant - Head of Theatre and co-lead of UNIC Thematic Line Arts, Culture and Creativity (UNIC-ART) - led the UCC delegation which also included UNIC-ART postdoctoral researcher Dr Brice Catherin (Theatre) and UNIC Teaching and Learning representative Dr Anna Santucci (Centre for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning). This UCC group worked with UNIC colleagues from Malmö University (Sweden), Erasmus University Rotterdam, and the City of Rotterdam.

How can artistic methodologies enhance problem-solving, communication, and innovation within education? UNIC-ART is an initiative designed to integrate artistic research methods while exploring challenges, fostering new ideas, and expanding their perspectives.

Sessions on March 6th involved participants in a series of hands-on exercises, interactive interventions, and speculative explorations, and creative strategies to:

• Foster improvisation and radical speculation toward new solutions
• Develop empathy and cross-cultural communication
• Express abstract and inexpressible ideas through movement, metaphor, and storytelling
• Strengthen voices and narratives in decision-making processes

The activities not only had an impact on the participants themselves, but also enabled UNIC-ART to further develop the model of artistic methodologies.