Hi, I'm Jelger Kroese, a social designer, facilitator and applied researcher. I help people grow high-trust learning environments and guide teams working on societal transitions together with researchers, public organizations and social initiatives.
My approach draws on academic, artistic and contemplative practices to cultivate environments and cultures of inquiry and care. These practices expand our capacity to navigate complexity and systemic tensions - within and between people, fields, values and organizational structures. This opens up space for new, more holistic visions, shared meaning and collective action.
I co-lead the Collective Futures MSc-minor at University of Amsterdam, am a member of art collective Shock Forest Group, and am part of cooperatively built and managed workplace De Ceuvel.
Contact me via e-mail.
Learning environment design
Collective Futures: transdisciplinary MSc-minor at University of Amsterdam (2023)
A 5-month full-time program for MSc students, which I co-initiated and co-designed. Link.
Workshop series on collective research and improvisation, with Shock Forest Group at Van Abbemuseum (2023)
A 3-week workshop series leading up to a collective performance and radio broadcast at Van Abbemuseum. Link.
Inner Development exercise for Transition Makers Toolbox (2023)
A series of exercises for teachers and students to open up imagination and cultivate a sense of awe in mundane activities. Created with help from Dr. Hanneke Scholten and Dr. Thomas van Rompay. Inspired by Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman's research. Link.
Research & design for transitions
Listening towards an ecological Self (2022 - current)
Research and spatial sound experience in collaboration with Hanneke Scholten and Thomas van Rompay from Twente University. Inspired by the Internal Family Systems model, we examine design principles for digital media that support young adults to develop a connected sense of Self through encouraging meaning-making, active imagination, and awareness of bodily sensations and emotions. The project is kindly supported by Creative Industries Fund NL.
Climate emotions campaign - Climate Majority Project & Collective Futures (2024 - current)
Designing classroom initiatives that provide psychological support to help students navigate the climate crisis, and more generally the meta-crisis. Link.
Integral collaboration & value-oriented communication - KWR Water Research & Collective Futures (2024 - current)
Developing an approach to facilitate value-oriented communication and holistic approaches for collaboration in transdisciplinary research teams.
Sounding urban nature - Waag Amsterdam, ARISE Naturalis & Collective Futures (2023)
Combining AI, sound walks and a landscape intervention to study the interplay of sound, biodiversity and psychological wellbeing at Amsterdam Science Park. The project was exhibited at the "Met andere ogen" landscape festival and featured in the Urban Ecology Field Atlas.
Art exhibitions, residencies & publications
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2023 - Shock Forest Group presents Radial Seedscape at Van Abbemuseum, part of 3-week residency.
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2023 - Created a new website for Shock Forest Group, archiving our work of the past years. It also includes a web version of The Entity.
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2023 - Shock Forest Group presents Cosmic Radio at STRP festival: The Art of Listening, part of 3-week residency.
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2022 - Listening Towards an Ecological Self: 2-month residency at Medley Berlin.
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2022 - essay by Shock Forest Group entitled "This Forest Was Built To Be Bombed". Curated by Xenia Benivolski for e-flux digital exhibition and research project entitled "You Can’t Trust Music".
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2020 - Entangling Territories: 4-week residency at V2_, Rotterdam and Museo Zer0, Tavira, Portugal
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2019 - Chapter 2WO: 2-month residency and exhibition with Shock Forest Group at Het Hem, Zaandam.
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2018 - Liu, D., Kroese, J. & van der Heide, E. (2018). The Development of Bǎi/摆: An Oscillating Sound Installation. Interactivity, Game Creation, Design, Learning, and Innovation. Springer, Cham, 2018. 69-79
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2016 - 2020 - See: archive.
Workshops & talks
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2023 - Talk at World Forum for Acoustic Ecology Conference 2023, about research project Listening Towards an Ecological Self.
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2023 - Workshop at Willem de Kooning Academy, titled: "Transdisciplinarity: emerging ideas in an ecology of relationship".
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2023 - Workshop on imagination for The Changemaking Project at University of Amsterdam.
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2023 - Talk at Media Technology Msc, Leiden University, titled: "Emergence and relationality between humans, technology and environment".
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2023 - Q&A with Shock Forest Group at Van Abbemuseum, hosted by Charles Esche.
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2023 - Workshop together with Hanneke Scholten, on play, moral imagination and hope in times of climate change, at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
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2022 - Workshop on play and connection at Mozilla Festival's Neurodiverse Wellbeing space in collaboration with Shauna Jin.
Background
Education and training
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2024 - Microsolidarity intermediate practice program
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2023 - Science and Interbeing: 2-week residency at Life Itself, Bergerac, France.
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2023 - Make It Rain, coaching program for social change - Coaching for Collective Transformation
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2023 - Values-and-Meaning Based Design - School for Social Design
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2023 - Microsolidarity practice program fall 2023
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2023 - Microsolidarity practice program spring 2023
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2022 - Meditation retreat at Plum Village France
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2021 - The principles of humanistic and positive psychology - Center for the Science of Human Potential
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2021 - Emotional Intelligence (based on EFT) - Amsterdam Mindfulness
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2021 - Doing Good Better - Effective Altruism Netherlands
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2017 - MSc in Media Technology, at Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science, cum laude.
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2013 - BSc in Liberal Arts and Sciences with a Major in Ecology, at University of Amsterdam
Bio
Since 2016, I work part of my time as an independent designer and applied researcher, creating and participating in group experiences and sound art works as a way of learning and investigation. My work has been presented and exhibited at World Forum for Acoustic Ecology Conference (Listening Towards an Ecological Self, 2023), Medley, Berlin (Listening Towards an Ecological Self, 2022), V2_ (Entangling Territories, 2020), NIME, USA (Perturbation, 2018), ArtsIT, Portugal (Perturbation, 2018), Midsummer Night Festival, Leiden (Teaching Plants, 2017) and Eureka Festival, Amsterdam (Emerging Traces, 2016).
In 2019, I joined decentralized art+research collective Shock Forest Group. We have done residencies and exhibitions at STRP festival, Van Abbemuseum (Cosmic Radio, 2023) and Het Hem (Chapter 2WO, No Camouflage, 2019). We also contributed to the e-flux digital exhibition and research project You Can’t Trust Music (2022) with the publication This Forest Was Built To Be Bombed.
Since 2022, I work at University of Amsterdam, where I co-initiated the Collective Futures MSc-minor program in 2023. I have set up and collaborated on applied research projects together with Climate Majority Project, Waag, Naturalis, Dutch Institute for Nature Education (IVN), KWR, De Ceuvel, Anatta Foundation and Municipality of Amsterdam.
From 2017 to 2021, I was part of Leiden University's Learning & Innovation Centre. I helped found and led experience design and software development at a team working on immersive educational technologies. Our work primarily explored embodied and spatial interactions to enhance learning experiences. In 2016, I was a trainee at Studio Roosegaarde, doing R&D and production support for the projects Glowing Nature, Smog Free Tower and Waterlicht. From 2014 to 2019, I was co-founder of Habitat, organizing cultural events to invite crossovers between art, music and science in Amsterdam.
Since 2021, I'm part of cooperatively built and managed workplace De Ceuvel.
In my free time, I enjoy practicing meditation and improvisational house dance.