Marleen Hartjes is a connector of art and people. She currently works as chief editor and project leader at We Are Public Brabant and she is coordinator of the Van Abbemuseum’s Special Guests program, where she has implemented Europe’s very first museum robot and made the museum multi-sensory accessible for blind visitors. She has also worked for the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten, Unfair Amsterdam, HKU and Museum De Pont. Until recently she was the director of Kunstpodium T, an art space for talent development where for a period of six years she was responsible for the Apprentice/Master project, which coupled young, talented artists from 25 European art academies with contemporary masters.

Joy Arpots has been artistic director for various stages: pop venue Doornroosje Nijmegen, Chasse Theater Breda, Koninklijke Schouwburg Den Haag, concerthall Vredenburg Utrecht and Koninklijk Theater Carré Amsterdam. Joy was deputy artistic director of 2018Eindhoven, candidate Cultural Capital of Europe. Since 2015 he is artistic scout of the Brabant C Fonds. Arpots was counselor of various cultural organizations and member of various cultural advisory committees, like Fonds Podiumkunsten and Raad voor Cultuur.

Wendy Andreu has devised a system for producing water-proof fabric. She makes these items of clothing without sewing or cutting patterns. Called ‘Regen’, the fabric is double-sided with water-repellent latex on one side, and cotton rope on the other. Regen products are made by coiling the rope around a laser cut steel mould and covering it in latex. Where the dark latex seeps between the light rope it creates shading and textural detail that make each item unique. All the moulds can be used multiple times without any loss of quality, adding to the value of this innovative sustainable tool and material. Wendy is hoping at Bliksem en Donderdag for advice for future of Regen and perhaps even making a robot. Read more about Regen.

Moda is a museum for digital art that uses media rooms as exhibition spaces. The networked museum aims for a better understanding of technology through digital art. Moda especially focusses on secondary schools and combines high quality exhibitions with educational programs. At Bliksem en Donderdag Jurian is looking for ways to professionalise the project, embed it in a larger network and involve more (technological) expertise. Another question for the audience is to help Jurian come up with a name, as Moda is a working title. Read more about Moda.

Solar Decathlon Middle East is an international competition in which universities from all over the world meet to design, build and operate an energetically self-sufficient house. Team VIRTUe, a student team from the Eindhoven University of Technology, is participating in this challenge. Michiel Derikx is a member of this team, who is working on their product called LINK, a smart home that is fully connected: all devices will be monitored and operated by one system, to ensure they are used in the most energy efficient way. The house will be energy positive, generating more than it uses, and will be built from sustainable materials, either recycled, reusable, or biodegradable. The final product will be build and displayed, fully functional, at the Solar Decathlon Middle East 2018. There, it will compete with houses by teams from 21 different universities worldwide for the title of most sustainable home. TEAMVIRTUe is currently in the design process and in search for expertise on how to implement innovative ideas in the design. They are also looking for contact information and a network within the building environment and Dubai. Read more about TEAMVIRTUE here.

Literally Eindhoven is an idea for a series of historical children’s novels, taking place in the old buildings of Eindhoven. Sandra Bosch developed this concept in response to cultural organizations dealing with an aging audience. Multiple organizations in Eindhoven have a long history that is deeply rooted in the development of the city. They have been shaped by the city and helped shape the city throughout the years. There is a loyal audience that has been familiar with these places for decades and they are linked to their life as a citizen of Eindhoven. This group is loyal, but aging, and it is important that these places are passed through to new generations.

This series of stories lets children get acquainted with the buildings and the organizations behind it, as well the history of Eindhoven. The existing audience will be deployed as ambassadors who offer these books to their children and grandchildren. Sandra’s question to the audience of Bliksem en Donderdag is to help her think about opportunities for a business model and to get her in contact with organizations that might benefit from this concept.

Our washing machines are spilling micro plastics into the sewer and eventually into the sea. Because the fibers of our clothes break during washing, these microplastics end up in fish and in our food. This is an unaddressed environmental issue that is difficult to solve. There are many stakeholders, there is no clear political awareness and no clear solution. Hans D’Achard took personal initiative last year to start fighting the fibers. FiberFighters now consists of 5 volunteers that are working on a solution.

These volunteers use their professional skills to solve this societal problem in their spare time with limited resources. Progress can be stronger and faster if there would be clear ownership and support, however the ownership is diffuse. All citizens are part of the problem and can be part of the solution. Commercial parties do not step in due to the negative business case. Hans is looking how to get societal and political attention and support for these kind of unaddressed problems so that people with the skills to attack the issue can work on it.

Jessica Smarsch's master’s thesis was inspired by the meditative, mind-body process of textile-making as both a therapy and a craft. Using EMG sensors, she developed a system for converting muscle energy into patterns via a custom-made software, allowing the user to design with conscious body movement. With this system, she created a construction process that translated the graphics into dimensional textiles, and then developed a series of shirts, blankets, and costumes from various rituals and performances. Now, together with Raymond van Ee, she proposes to develop the interactive system further as a practical method for stroke patients rehabilitation using Van Ee's research of multi-sensory stimulation along with Smarsch's system, advancing the software and improving the wearable sensors for this particular application. They are currently seeking team members who may be interested in helping to advance the project in a variety of areas, most particularly in the electronic / software engineering field.

Read more about Constructing Connectivity here.