Educators
Turning knowledge into lived experience and lived experience into learning
What happens when learning becomes an experience?
At Via Berlin, learning doesn’t happen at a distance. We bring complex societal questions into the room and turn them into experiences students can enter, feel, question and explore.
Through arts-based research, immersive interventions, LARP, games and artistic methods, students don’t just learn about a subject — they actively engage with it.
Together with universities, schools and educational partners, we create learning environments where knowledge, imagination, emotion and reflection come together.
Because some things are better understood when they are experienced.
At Via Berlin, learning doesn’t happen at a distance.
We transform knowledge and complex societal questions into immersive experiences that students can enter, feel, explore and question. Together with universities, schools and educational partners, we create learning environments where knowledge, imagination, emotion and reflection come together. Because some things are better understood when they are experienced.
“Our long-standing collaboration with Via Berlin brings significant value to our education. Their artistic approach to pressing societal issues closely aligns with the themes at the heart of our curriculum, enriching the learning experience for our students. We look forward to continuing and strengthening this partnership in the years ahead.”
Dr. Michaela Hordijk
Programme Director, Interdisciplinary Social Science
University of Amsterdam
Ongoing Educational Programmes
Arts-Based Research — University of Amsterdam
What happens when artistic practice becomes a way of producing knowledge?
At the University of Amsterdam (UvA), Via Berlin teaches arts-based research, challenging students to approach societal questions through artistic practice.
Students move between academic research and artistic experimentation, learning to use methods such as performance, artistic interventions, participatory games and Photovoice to investigate, create and reflect.
Arts-Based Research Honours Programme — UvA, VU & AUC
In this interdisciplinary honours programme, students from the University of Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Amsterdam University College explore the space where art, science and society meet.
They develop their own arts-based research projects and discover how artistic methods can make questions visible, tangible and experienceable in ways conventional research methods cannot always achieve.
Immersive Education
From learning about the world to stepping inside it.
We use LARP, games, performance and other immersive formats to create learning environments around complex societal themes.
Students take on perspectives, navigate dilemmas, make choices and experience their consequences. Reflection afterwards connects that lived experience back to knowledge, theory and the world outside the experience.
This is where immersion becomes education.
Student evaluations Honours class
“In this course, the creative aspects were central, which I really appreciated, especially in terms of research.”“The course really cultivated my creativity.”“I liked the independence we were given while exploring different artistic methods very much.”“I really appreciated that we stayed true to qualitative arts-based research, without turning it into quantitative research.”“Dagmar is energetic and inspiring. Her enthusiasm is contagious. She takes the time to let everyone explain their work and gives them space. I felt very anxious about presenting my final work, but she made me feel at ease.”Let’s create something together
Are you looking for new ways to engage students, challenge assumptions or bring complex subjects to life?
Let’s explore what art can bring to education. Together, we create immersive, participatory learning experiences that spark curiosity, encourage critical thinking and invite students to explore different perspectives through doing, feeling and reflecting.
Bring us your educational challenge and let’s discover what we can create together.
Contact us: Dagmar@viaberlin.nl
Explore our work
-
Honours Courses
Arts-Based Research Honours Course An interdisciplinary course in which students learn to use artistic methods to investigate societal questions and create research-based interventions.
UvA, VU, AUC, RU in The Netherlands
Hull University England
-
Integration Practicums
Integration Practicum: Interdisciplinary Social Sciences
Students translate social-scientific research into creative interventions addressing real-world societal challenges.
University of Amsterdam
-
Field work
First- & Second-Year Bachelor Fieldwork
Political Science and Sociology students, both Dutch and international, conducted fieldwork around Acts of Citizenship, exploring citizenship and social responsibility through Arts-Based Research methods and artistic interventions.
University of Amsterdam
-
Bachelor/Master courses
Teaching Arts-Based Research to bachelor and master anthropology students.
Radboud University
-
Masterclasses
Arts-Based Research Masterclasses
Master’s students explored how artistic practice can function as a research method, translating research questions into artistic experiments and interventions.
ArtEZ Master Music Theatre
-
Field work
Third-Year Bachelor Fieldwork – Radboud University — Anthropology students conducted fieldwork on Texel, in Suriname and in India, using a specially designed cultural probe to explore local experiences, perspectives and social dynamics.