Imagine scrolling through your feed: a viral dance, a political meme, a protest image, a breakfast snapshot. These fragments do not stand alone. Together they form a membrane, a living entity that we continuously shape, remix, and transform.
In this lecture, Roosje Klap explores the digital landscape as a site of sympoiesis—a concept borrowed from Donna Haraway, meaning “making with others.” Where the traditional artistic canon celebrated the singular genius (autopoiesis, or self-making), today’s digital culture emphasizes co-creation, decentralization, and collective authorship.

Drawing on her practice as a designer, researcher, and director of Noorderlicht, Klap reflects on how open-source remix culture, “anarchiving,” and the agency of non-human actors such as AI reshape our understanding of authorship and ownership. Projects like LAWKI serve as case studies for this transformation: demonstrating how humans, machines, and erased knowledges converge to create new, shared narratives.

The lecture addresses key questions:
– How do non-human participants influence creative processes?
– What does authorship mean in an age of infinite remix?
– Can slowing down the digital stream help us resist the speed and profit-driven logic of Big Tech?

Klap argues for a shift from “move fast and break things” toward “slow down and heal things.” By embracing radical plurality, we may uncover a common world built not on singular truths, but on diverse, entangled contributions.

Roosje Klap (she/her) is a dynamic researcher and mixed-media artist who investigates the experimental boundaries of custom-fit design through collaborations with artists, curators, architects, designers, and writers. With her collective ARK (Atelier Roosje Klap), she engages in a hybrid method of exchanging knowledge and developing work that reflects the group's artistic ambition to make modern technologies open-ended, inclusive, and fair spaces of participation.

Effective May 1, 2024, Klap was appointed director of Noorderlicht, a photography and lens-based media platform. Noorderlicht operates at the intersection of artistic experiment and social urgency, addressing issues such as the relationship between humans and nature and the distribution of power and economy. Initially focused on photography, Noorderlicht has expanded its scope to include all lens-based media. Noorderlicht runs an educational program, a publishing house, and its own Canson-certified print lab.

Roosje is a dedicated educator and coach. Specializing in design, media art, and digital humanities, Klap has designed curricula and led workshops for art academies and universities worldwide. Her guidance, knowledge and passion for creativity and inspiration have helped foster equitable relationships in their environments.