For a city to be responsive and inclusive requires the constant exercise of considering the social and economic, politics and aesthetics together. Who gets to participate in ‘the city’? Whose grievances and desires count? Art and design practices are crucial to shape and guide Amsterdam towards more responsive and inclusive futures embedded in the different but relational contexts in which its inhabitants and visitors aim to compose a meaningful life. Patricia de Vries looks forward to continuing her line of research in the kind of vibrant transdisciplinary environment characteristic of the Gerrit Rietveld Academie.

Given pressing social issues such as growing social inequality, the digitization and privatization of public space, and the consequences of climate change on city life, what roles can and should art and design play? These are vital questions to be addressed by LAPS/The City and ones Patricia de Vries would like to further explore in the coming years. In doing so, LAPS/The City aims to foster a relational approach to the role art and design play in addressing societal changes in the public domain. Over the years, De Vries has written on a range of topics – be it on fungal co-existence or facial recognition technology: the relationship between society, art, design and research is always the connecting thread.

Due to limited capacity, please RSVP by sending a message to Birna Björnsdóttir: birna.bjornsdottir@rietveldacademie.nl with ‘Inaugural Lecture’ in the subject line.