Crossroads

It is a project where students tailor their work as much as possible to the physical space. This way, they experience how a presentation and a context influence the way you see your own work, but also how the audience experiences your work.

The boundaries between different design domains (such as photography, illustration, film, and animation) blur, and the range of possibilities grows rapidly. The job market needs designers who can navigate the boundaries and possibilities of the new media landscape and make conceptual and visual choices. Crossmedia Design students engage with questions like: What do I want to communicate? How can I use my goal as effectively as possible? What tools do I use?

Pavilion is the collaborative project of AKI and Concordia, in which discovering the art world and one's own position within it is central.

In architecture, the term pavilion refers to a standalone building with its own function, but always with a clear link to the main building.

Concordia's art space is a temporary pavilion in this exhibition series, a place where AKI students can showcase their work in an autonomous, personal way that is briefly disconnected from the academic bubble they inhabit the rest of the year.

The art space serves as a place to experiment, to showcase ideas and research. It is a project where students tailor their work to the physical space, and learn how a presentation and context influence the way you see your own work, but also how the audience experiences your work.

Since early 2024, AKI and Concordia have been collaborating on this project, and a designated AKI space has now been established in Concordia. Here, we jointly showcase the work of young passionate artists.

Marit Greevink is a second-year Crossmedia Design student at AKI in Enschede. She is characterized by her interdisciplinary approach, combining a sense of refinement and playfulness, which is evident in multiple media, from illustration to spatial work.

RADIUS

This project focused on exploring a material. We were tasked with creating a series, and after several sketches, I arrived at the subject of this wall shelf: extension on an arch. I started with small models made of popsicle sticks that I bent using warm water, and soon I found myself in the workshop learning to bend and glue wood. At first, the final result of this project was far from clear, as it was really about mastering the bending technique and creating a working, sliding arch. After much trial and error, I eventually had a working arch, and then the question arose: what should I do with this? I ultimately decided to make a wall shelf by affixing a stand to it, allowing objects to lean against it. I kept the design as minimal as possible to also give it a sculptural look. The shelf can also be hung in multiple ways, and since it is extendable, a new view can be created each time.

Senta Schmidt is a multidisciplinary designer and artist from Leipzig. She is currently studying Crossmedia Design. Her work traverses illustration, photography, graphic design, and sculpture, often allowing these disciplines to converge.

I enjoy observing my surroundings, taking things apart, and exploring what they could become. My work often starts with something simple – a shape, a material, a person, or an object – and grows through experimentation. I love switching between projects and media and carrying small discoveries from one project to another. I am interested in unexpected moments and the connections I can discover in the world around us.

Bogenlampe

Bogenlampe began with material research and experiments with laser cutting, metal, and abstract shapes. During this process, I became interested in developing these shapes into a functional object and decided to work towards creating a lamp.

The final design is made of bent metal and built around the repetition of the same circular shape. I wanted to keep the construction simple while using repetition to give the lamp its character. The project also provided the opportunity to explore metalworking and develop the shape directly by working with the material.
 

BIKE

BIKE is a zine of 64 pages, printed in four colors using the risograph technique, based on shapes found in bicycles. I began by visually dissecting the bicycle into its individual elements – circles, lines, frames, and smaller details – and used these as the basis for the entire project.

From this limited collection of shapes, I created patterns, compositions, and ultimately an alphabet, dedicating each page to one letter.

Vergessene nächte (photo series)

This photo series focuses on the youth culture I engage with and am very interested in; especially after my move to another country, I noticed how subtle the differences are in the way we connect or spend our evenings.

Instead of staging specific situations, I photograph moments that arise naturally – during a walk through the city, at gatherings with friends, at home, or just hanging out.

In addition to portraits, I photograph details, places, and small moments connected to the person and their daily life. The city and the surroundings are also part of the series, creating a broader picture of the person, their friendships, and the environment in which they move.

Emma Ouderkerk, third-year Crossmedia Design, mixed-media artist residing in Almelo.

My starting point is often the absurdity of daily life and a strong social critique; in my projects, I explore the ridiculousness of the society we live in and the systems we've established. I like to utilize humor and am not afraid of the grotesque or disgusting. I am not a perfectionist; rather, I embrace things considered ugly, imperfect, stubborn, or too chaotic.

I create artworks in the form that the idea requires, without limiting myself and by simply following what comes to mind. This ranges from projections on a dollhouse to sewing clothing, photographing trash bags, and sticking stickers on ceramics.

In my work, I enjoy exploring the combination of different media; I often switch between techniques to see how digital and physical methods can reinforce each other.

Dollhouse

This work is inspired by *The Virgin Suicides* by Jeffrey Eugenides. In this story, five sisters slowly become isolated from the outside world due to their strict upbringing; as their world shrinks, they retreat further into their home. Their mental decline reflects the condition of the house itself, which quietly falls apart around them. This idea formed the basis for an installation: a physical dollhouse onto which four rooms are projected. Each room displays three moving scenes that depict the decay of the interior, with each subsequent scene being grimmer and in worse condition than the previous one.

A motion sensor activates the transitions between the scenes. This symbolizes the core of the novel: from a distance, everything seems fine, but as you get closer, you understand it...