• DATES

    Jan - June 2024
    Online Sessions
    Every Wednesday
    18:00 CET

  • MAIN LECTURERs

    Bonnie Hvillum
    Zuzanna Skurka

  • GUEST LECTURERS

    Kim Lenschow
    Chrissie Muhr
    Fernando Laposse
    Benedetta Pompili
    Agne Kucerenkaite
    Sarmite Polakova
    Tim Ingold

  • LOCATIONS

    Phase I & II: Online
    Phase III: Online & Copenhagen (June 12-14)

  • fees

    2200€ per participant

  • submissions

    Open until December 20th, 2023
    SUBMISSIONS CLOSED

    LOCAL BIO-BASED MATERIALS

    I. RESEARCH
    JAN. 10th —  FEB. 28th 2024
    This phase consists of eight sessions dedicated to material development, covering biomaterials essentials, methodologies, and technical/technological support around materials creation. Part of these sessions are focused on group discussions, fostering collaboration and allowing students to learn from one another's work and experiments. The main objective of this phase is to provide participants with in-depth knowledge and independent tools for material development and research, empowering them to initiate their own conceptual and project development.

    II. PERSPECTIVES
    MAR. 6th — APR. 24th 2024
    This phase was designed to broaden participants' perspectives on their artistic processes. Throughout this phase, we will persist in our material exploration, employing a design-driven approach and integrating external inputs to explore diverse approaches and creative directions aligned with each participant's research. In collaboration with our guest lecturers, we will assist participants in acquiring the skills necessary to construct a conceptual framework and develop narratives that revolve around their material research.

    III. EXHIBITION
    MAY 15th — JUN. 24th 2024
    In the third and final phase of this program, we will prepare, organize, and showcase students' final projects in a thoughtfully curated space in Copenhagen, Denmark. Our goal is to raise awareness about material-based research, design, and art on a broader sense. We seek to inspire meaningful conversations and foster a deeper understanding of our educational platform.

    COURSE CONTENTS

    USEFUL INFORMATION

    FORMAT

    —Weekly online sessions: every Wednesday from 18:00 to 20:30 (CET).
    —Final Exhibition in Copenhagen: June 12-14, 2024.
    —All sessions and lectures will always be recorded and available online for reference or in case of absence.
    —There will be access to digital study materials folders.
    —All sessions will be in English.

    SELECTION OF STUDENTS

    Approximately 12 participants will be selected to join our international program on Local bio-based Materials. The selection will be based on students' profiles, previous projects/creations, and intent. We are committed to group diversity and coherence throughout the selection process.

    Prospective candidates should submit the following documentation using the online submission form:
    —Resume of your practice (artistic, theoretical, scientific, pedagogical...) with a maximum length of 500 words. It can be around an ongoing or new project.
    — Research or artistic portfolio.
    Submissions will be accepted until December 20th, 2023

    SUBMISSION PROCESS

    After submitting your application using the online submission form, you will hear from us within two weeks. In case you are selected, we will email you the final details to complete your application (payment methods and list of required materials). Then, your application will be confirmed once you send a proof of payment to info@thematerialway.com, by January 2nd. After that, you will receive your invoice and will be able to register on our online platform and access the course content.

    IMPORTANT DATES:
    Submission of applications | ongoing until December 20th, 2023.
    Notification of admission | Applicants will receive feedback within two weeks of submission.
    Payment and enrollment | Payment of the first installment should be made by January 2nd.

    FEES & PAYMENT

    FEES
    The fee for each International program (Bio-based Materials & Natural Materials in Ceramics) is 2.200€ per participant (VAT incl/exemption for educational events).
    It includes registration, online sessions, course presentations, and final exhibition production/participation in Copenhagen. It doesn't include: Ingredients/materials to develop your projects and transportation of works to Copenhagen.
    PAYMENT DETAILS
    The course fee can be paid in a lump sum or in three installments.
    If payment is done in a lump sum, students will benefit from a 10% discount.
    If payment is done in three installments:
    First installment: 60% should be paid before the beginning of the course;
    Second installment: 20% until February 29th 2024;
    Third installment: 20% until April 30th 2024.
    PAYMENT METHODS
    Payment should be done by direct debit/bank transfer. For alternative methods, please contact info@thematerialway.com.

    CANCELLATION OF APPLICATION & REFUND POLICY

    If, after applying, being accepted, and making payment, you wish to withdraw from the course, the following terms apply:
    - If cancellation occurs up to one month before the course starts, you will receive a 75% refund of your first payment.
    - If you decide to withdraw from the course midway, you will not be entitled to any refund and will be responsible for the remaining installments, except in cases of medical, family, or financial emergencies.

    PROGRAM RESPONSIBLE & MAIN LECTURER

    BONNIE HVILLUM

    NATURAL MATERIAL STUDIO
    Founder of Natural Material Studio, a Danish cross-disciplinary design company that drives toward expanding our collective understanding and relation to materials. The studio works from a renewable and circular point of view, with both science, biology, technology, design and art as the building blocks to create the new normal for sustainable living.

    COURSE LECTURER

    ZUZANNA SKURKA

    NATURAL MATERIAL STUDIO
    Designer, craftsman, researcher, and material translator. In her transdisciplinary practice, she works on translations between materials, systems, and ways of understanding. She believes in the role of a designer and craftsperson serving as a mediator between fields of knowledge and work with materials not to create industrially innovative products but to broaden our understanding of materials. Zuzanna Skurka started her education at a Fine Art Academy in Katowice (PL), studying painting. Later graduated from the Royal Danish Academy, School of Architecture, Design and Conservation, with a degree in Craft majoring in Ceramics.

    GUEST LECTURERS

    KIM LENSCHOW

    Office Kim Lenschow | architecture and design
    Through architecture and design, Kim Lenschow seeks to reveal and challenge ingrained values, beliefs, and material narratives in established building practices and ways of life.
    Office Kim Lenschow aims to cultivate a more aware and authentic engagement with the world and the structures that surround us. Kim Lenschow Andersen holds an artistic research position at the Royal Danish Academy.
    Photography Asger Ladefoged

    BENEDETTA POMPILI

    Design and Material Research
    Benedetta Pompili is a social designer based in Amsterdam. A dedication to materials with a focus on their narratives and environmental impact identifies her practice. She rethinks manufacturing techniques and their aesthetics toward circular making. Her research aims to share knowledge, motivate care, and retrace tradition by thinking and acting in an interdisciplinary way. In parallel with her own studio practice, she is a technical advisor and glaze professor at Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam. 

    FERNANDO LAPOSSE

    design with natural materials
    Fernando Laposse is a London-based Mexican designer.
    He specializes in transforming humble natural materials into refined design pieces. His works are the result of periods of research that are developed into objects where materials and their historical and cultural ties to a particular location and its people take center stage. He often works with indigenous communities in his native Mexico to create local employment opportunities and raise awareness about the challenges they face in a globalized world.

    AGNE KUCERENKAITE

    design / material research
    Agne Kucerenkaite works with secondary raw materials and waste, engineering them into practical products, methods, and systems. Her approach is rooted in comprehensive research, analytical methodologies, and a hands-on orientation, all influenced by historical and sociocultural contexts. She also explores the evolving global socio-cultural landscape, using this understanding to create projects with scalable potential.
    In 2020, Agne established the Ignorance is Bliss brand, a continuous research-driven initiative focused on repurposing industrial waste and secondary materials into high-value interior and exterior products. The project redefines waste materials and their relationship with the built environment, all while emphasizing planetary health. Ignorance is Bliss serves as a comprehensive umbrella for continuous cross-disciplinary experiments, evolving into techniques and products well-suited for application in both interior design and architecture.

    SARMITE POLAKOVA

    Studio Sarmite | DESIGN and RESEARCH STUDIO FOR NON-HEROIC MATERIALS
    Studio Sarmite is a materials design and research studio. Led by Latvian designer Sarmite Polakova, the studio work focuses on transforming industry waste and various by-products into new closed-loop concepts. Material and product lifecycles take a central role within the designer's work resulting in unique concepts that emphasize circularity over plain longevity.
    The studio's design practice consists of hands-on experimental research with the manipulation of existing designing and production methods. This playful approach leads to surprising findings that also question our existing ways of producing, consuming and discarding.

    CHRISSIE MUHR

    Architect, researcher and curator
    Chrissie Muhr studied architecture at the University of Stuttgart. She has worked on a wide range of projects for practices such as the IGMA Institute at the University of Stuttgart, Arch+ Magazine, the architect Arno Brandlhuber+, and Walther Koenig publishers. Her approach reflects her transdisciplinary definition of architecture: a continuous research process, exploring and negotiating architecture, design, and art through content and form.

    TIM INGOLD

    British anthropologist, and Chair of Social Anthropology at the University of Aberdeen
    Emeritus Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Aberdeen. Ingold has carried out fieldwork among Saami and Finnish people in Lapland, and has written on environment, technology, and social organisation in the circumpolar North, on animals in human society, and on human ecology and evolutionary theory. His more recent work explores environmental perception and skilled practice. Ingold's current interests lie on the interface between anthropology, archaeology, art and architecture. Ingold is a Fellow of the British Academy and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. In 2022 he was made a CBE for services to Anthropology.

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