Lecture Series Committee Interview
Design Academy Eindhoven’s Lecture Series Committee organises DAE’s public lecture series in Eindhoven. They invite designers and other practitioners like artists, architects, curators, educators, and scientists to speak at the Witte Dame engaging students and public alike.
The Editorial team sat down with Aleksandra Alehina, Ise Weier, and Leo Larche Hitchcox to discuss their experiences as part of DAE’s lecture series.
Everyone is welcome to join the lectures. Follow them on Instagram to get the latest updates @daelectureseries
→ Could you begin by introducing yourselves and your involvement with the Lecture Series Committee?
Aleksandra: Hey, my name is Aleksandra. I’m a third-year bachelor's student, currently in Silvia Systems. I joined the committee about a year and a half ago. I tend to be more on the organisational side of the work within the lecture series, which requires email writing and organising. I also invite people to the lectures and look for speakers.
Ise: Hi, my name is Ise and I'm in the second year of the Masters in Contextual Design. I have a background as a media designer. I try and bring this quality into the lecture series. Together with Paul, we design the posters and any other designed communication that we need.
Leo: I'm Leo also from the Bachelors. I focus a lot on the recording of the lectures and the physical setup we have there. I’m trying to create a nice environment in the physical lecture space. But also on the socials, I feel like I'm involved in all the bits and pieces.
→ How does the Lecture Series Committee operate in relation to Design Academy Eindhoven?
Aleksandra: I feel like we can call it a collaboration because, essentially, we are one whole committee, but then, at the same time, there is this student initiative part. The DAE part consists of DAE Events Producer Carline and Lecture Series Programme Manager Ceola. Ceola and the initiative share together the invitation and search for speakers and the organisation of the lectures. Carline manages the production, the space, how we organise the space, the budget, the money that we have and the transportation of our speakers.
Ise: We have meetings with both of them, to discuss everything. So there's nothing like, “Oh, but this is my part” or “This is your part”, within the programming itself. We divide the lectures, between who Ceola invites and who the student initiative invites. But, we discuss all the invitees.
Leo: I think it sounds quite distant, but we are texting all the time, at weird times of the day. We’re all on the same level.
→ What is the process like in curating and organising a lecture program? How do you select your themes or speakers for the diverse interests within our community?
Ise: I think there are several inputs. At the beginning of the year, or like at the end of the academic year, we come together to select a topic or a theme that we want to invite for the next year. So this year is under a theme of —
Aleksandra and Ise together: “Futures and Urgencies”
Ise: But we also ask the student body for suggestions of who they would like to hear from.
Aleksandra: Sometimes we ask our friends. Sometimes, we put up posters in the elevator. Sometimes people reply to our Instagram stories or people reach out via email.
→ As an alumnus I initially experienced the lecture series online. now we've transitioned back to full onsite education. Have you noticed any left-over effects from the pandemic or any change of attitude?
Aleksandra: At the beginning when I joined, we would still sometimes have online lectures, based on the pandemic situation. People could not travel or it was more convenient for them. But, now we don't do that. We try to bring the speakers who give the lectures to the space where the people are. We used to record lectures and put them online, but not anymore because we are trying to encourage people to turn up physically.
Ise: What is visible is how tired people are of online lectures. Even if it is in a physical space with a big screen. What is so lovely about the lecture series is that you have these speakers, and then a Q&A. You have an informal setting with drinks and snacks where you can get to know the speaker. You can make contact if you're interested in the work. With the online lecture, all of that disappears.
Leo: I think that's the exact thought is that if its online, then you won't show up, you’ll miss out on this amazing opportunity to really talk to the person giving the lecture. I think the lecture series is, in a way, one of the student initiatives that brings the entire student body together. Usually, bachelors and masters never meet.
→ Instead of exclusively featuring external speakers, your line-up since last year has increasingly included community members, BA Studio Leaders and MA Department heads. Is it a conscious decision? If so, why?
Leo: It's just as interesting to have someone from within the community. So we do a mix of both. But also try to bring voices that are outside of our usual bubble. The question is, can we bring new influence and widen our listener's perspectives?
Ise: And maybe that's a little bit of like the difference between Ceolas's programming and our programming? We focus on more people from outside who we want to listen to and Ceola brings the perspective of the academy because there are amazing people already working there. Maybe you don't have them because you're in the Masters, and they're teaching in the Bachelors, but then with a lecture, you have a chance to learn from them and even interact.
→ How do you let the lecturers operate within the space, do you always ask them for the same type of lecture or something different?
Leo: We don't want a portfolio presentation. We want some extra insights. Something personal, something that is different.
Ise: I think we want to offer the space and give them the space to use as a tool, right? Rather than asking for a portfolio presentation, they can choose what they want to do.
Last year we had, Lorenzo Malloni, which was not only a lecture, but also a collective workshop with a collective kite flight out on the fields. That was extremely nice. We also had the structure that we built, the kite, at the lecture. His theme was ‘Do It Together’. So that's why he did it like this, the whole day as a physical lecture, everything together, where we could really get to know him.
Aleksandra: We are trying to give the space to people who would come in to not only give lectures but be collaborators and initiators of what they wanted to show and the way in which they wanted to show that.
→ Looking ahead, what is the vision for the Lecture Series in the upcoming year and what can we expect?
Leo: I think I do a lot of work in the lecture space and on the vibe and it's slowly improving. At some point we lost the ability to serve alcohol, which made it difficult to entice people to stay. Originally, we had these normal lights and then we switched them all off and brought mood lights, snacks and different drinks. Once we did that, we noticed more people staying.
Ise: I think you should definitely keep an eye on our Instagram. We cannot tell too much, but we have something planned for Instagram.