Table of contents
Course overview
Parallel Worlds is a course for artists and designers about finding the things you notice and care about. You will identify the many worlds you have inhabited, and find ways to bring what matters to the front of your work. In other words, you will learn to notice, and take care of, the things that you want to notice and take care of.
We carry parts of the many lives we live everywhere we go. The places we’ve lived, the people we’ve known, the languages we’ve spoken, the changes we’ve made - it all shapes how we see the world now. Nobody has lived your life, and nobody has your insight. How do you communicate this unique blend of experiences to another person? How do you identify which parts are important, and which parts to leave behind?
How it works
The course has been honed since 2019, and uses a mix of techniques, including dramaturgical and autoethnographic ones. Most of what we do is practical, and we do it together. You mostly need to turn up. There are small things to do in between, but not much reading. This is a course about noticing what you already have. There is a lot of value in the way you are, and we learn to find it, transform it, and perform it into your work, then turn it into practical activities.
In days two and three we go through a complete design research technique, the whole process of making a project. The project we make is about care, because this whole course is about care.
Assessment
You will be graded on two things:
- An experience of 5 to 8 minutes that you create for the whole group to experience together. It translates how you perceive the world into something everyone else can enjoy. It could start from what it feels like to be you, or from an experience you’ve had. It could also be fantastical, how you wish the world were. Either way, it frames the world from your perspective, as a designed experience. We will collectively decide if there are additional constraints or considerations as a group.
- A reflection on the process: what you experienced on the course, the research you did, the decisions you made, and what you have learned. Throughout the course we will be recording reflections on our work.
All students are expected to be present for each others’ presentations. All experiences must be for everyone.
Assessment criteria
Experience
60% of total grade. To be presented in a format chosen by the student (e.g. video, performance, curated experience, audio installation, etc).
A well worked out experience comprises the following:
- The student creates an innovative experience which frames their intended mode of practice in the future, taking into account the ways in which an audience might hear about, experience, and reflect on their work.
- The experience reflects the students’ overall artistic and creative aims, folding the methods and positioning developed through this course into their work.
- The student has selected appropriate methods and media for creating and presenting their work.
Reflection on experience
20% of final grade. This is given via oral presentation, before or after the examiners have seen the ‘experience’.
A well worked out reflection comprises the following:
- The student is able to clearly articulate and explain the positioning they are presenting, the methods they have selected, and the rationale behind their choices.
- The student shows an iterative working / thinking process that takes into account both their own intentions and the way in which these are framed for an audience.
Participation in course
20% of final grade.
A good participation grade comprises the following:
- The student is an active participant in group conversations and exercises.
- The student is supportive of peers, offering feedback that enables other students to grow.
Grading process
The student will be judged on each criteria, with points from 1 to 10. The combined value of these grades will determine the final grade; a 5.5 or above is a pass. The student will be given a PASS or FAIL in Osiris.
| Element | Weight | Maximum points to be obtained (score times 10) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Experience | 6 | 60 |
| 2. Reflection on experience | 2 | 20 |
| 3. Participation in course | 2 | 20 |
| Total | 10 | 100 |
Overall, this adds up to:
| Grade | Quality | Pass/fail |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Outstanding | Pass |
| 9 | Very good | Pass |
| 8 | Good | Pass |
| 7 | More than satisfactory | Pass |
| 6 | Satisfactory | Pass |
| 5 | Almost satisfactory | Fail |
| 4 | Unsatisfactory | Fail |
| 3 | Very unsatisfactory | Fail |
| 2 | Poor | Fail |
| 1 | Very poor | Fail |
In addition to the above grades, the following results can be registered in Osiris: Not present (NP), if you registered for the test but did not take part in the test. The registration counts as a used test opportunity. Ungradable (UG), if your test could not be graded because you did not meet the requirements (for example formatting requirements or attendance requirement). This also counts as a used test opportunity. Exemption (EX), if the Examination Board has granted an exemption from a test.
Resits
Students have the right to one further attempt to pass an exam in the same academic year. Resits are scheduled to take 5 weeks after the first assessment. Tutors must write a specific assignment in the grade center Osiris to be carried out and ready for examination by the resit date. Students must be notified of the assignment (at the latest) 7 days after the examination taking place.
Inclusion
This course is designed to further your creativity and allow you to explore new ideas, techniques, and concepts. In order to do this, we have a collective responsibility as a class to make sure that everybody feels able to express themselves in a safe environment. It is critical that we are able to show respect for all world-views and perspectives expressed in class.
At The Master Institute of Visual Cultures we embrace an atmosphere of creativity which is enriched and enhanced by diversity along a number of dimensions, including race, ethnicity and national origins, gender and gender identity, sexuality, class, and religion. The school is especially committed to increasing the representation of those populations which have historically been excluded from participation in Dutch higher education.
If you have a name or pronoun which differs from the one we have on record, please let me know.
If you feel that something said or done in class is troubling or has caused discomfort, please contact me confidentially. Like many people, I am still in the process of learning about diverse perspectives and identities, and am always eager to hear from students how I can improve in this respect.
If you feel like your performance in the class is being impacted by your experiences outside of class, please speak to the tutor, or contact the Renaat Casier, Avans’ student counsellor. You can make an appointment by calling the Student Information Desk at +31 88 - 525 75 50. You can also find out more information about Avans student services at studentinfo.avans.nl/international.
Feedback
This course is designed for you! If there is anything that is unclear, anything that could be better organised, or you have any ideas you think might make the course or your experience better, please just tell me.
Tutor
Dr. Ollie Palmer is an artist, designer and film-maker. His work critically questions control systems and contemporary use of technology, and takes place across installations, films and performances. Projects often include collaborations with scientists, dancers, and other people outside of his own discipline. From 2015-16 he was Pavillon artist-in-residence at the Palais de Tokyo, Paris. He is head of Design Research at the Master Institute of Visual Cultures, St Joost School of Art and Design, and a tutor on the Situated Design MA, as well as a researcher in the Situated Art and Design group in the Centre of Applied Research for Art, Design and Technology.
He has previously exhibited a large human computer at the V&A Museum, dancing ants at London Zoo and FutureEverything Festival in Manchester, and an over-knowledgable surveillance camera at the Royal Institute of British Architects. He formerly taught at Masters level at TU Delft, the School of the Art Institute Chicago, and the Bartlett School of Architecture - where he also completed an Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded PhD by Design entitled ‘Scripted performances: designing performative architectures through digital and absurd machines’ (available online).
Commercially, he has worked as a design consultant with clients such as BBC Worldwide, University College London and the V&A Museum, as well as leading projects for a number of other UK-based companies. In between all of the above, he has travelled around the world solo, hitchhiked across Iceland, and taught IT in the depths of the Amazon.
For more information, see olliepalmer.com
Additional resources
The course has an 8-week podcast that students might enjoy; several weeks of daily activities, essays, interviews, that will help with the course. It’s open and available to all. See the podcast.
Open access
The website and podcast for this course are open access. Please feel free to take and adapt any of the learning material, try the exercises, start teaching your own course, etc. If you do re-use the content, please let me know! It’s always nice to see material take on new forms. :)
Whilst the site and course are open access, there are copyrighted materials on the site. This includes students’ work, and images from relevant films, etc. Copyrighted material is clearly marked as such: please respect the original copyright holder. If you like the look of something on the site (e.g. a film, podcast, book, etc), please support its creator! :)
Open source
The website this course runs on is open source; you can find the whole code-base on Github. The website is built with Jekyll, and uses a slightly modified version of Just the Docs. The site uses ‘Monofur for Powerline’ by Tobias B Koehler for its titles - font licence and description can be found over here. Please use, adapt, and modify the site as you see fit.