Thuis

Artistic research into the power of immersive art in public space

Thuis (“home” in Dutch) is a 2- year artistic research project about the power of immersive art in public space to foster feelings of belonging and connection amongst communities.

Migration movements due to war, a national housing crisis, political fractures in Europe, as well as displacement through gentrification on the city level are urgent challenges in Dutch civic life right now. In this context of rising levels of polarisation between groups, we are researching how a sense of home, and the feelings of belonging and connection that are associated with it, can shape (and be shaped) by immersive technologies.

Thuis plays out in public spaces, positioning immersive experiences as a form of civic infrastructure: a medium for living together in increasingly fragmented public spheres. This research builds on affect lab’s long term inquiry into a sense of neighbourhood belonging through technology that first started in 2019 with our street-based interactive work Good Neighbours. 

Our field work for Thuis takes place throughout 2026 and 2027 in the city of Arnhem. Dance, embodiment, movement and choreography are key elements in our research toolkit. In 2028 Thuis will extend beyond Dutch borders to explore key themes of belonging with the District Six Museum in Cape Town and the Anchorage Museum in Alaska.

Thuis is a collaborative research project with our friends and colleagues at Introdans, Fillip Studios, the University of Utrecht (Media & Culture Studies) and the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (Civic Interactions Design). This work is funded by CIIIC under the auspices of the Creative Industries Fund NL

“It’s taken me nearly 70 years to understandhome. Especially when you can’t go back to whatever you called home. There is this absolute necessity to then find home somewhere else. You can find home in the new place but there are compromises you have to make. You lose things from the old place, but in losing those things it becomes more difficult to find belonging in the new place, because you have left out some of who you are – to be able to adapt.”  Artist-curator, Lubaina Himid