What inspires you?
People with a playful mindset, because they are very resilient when times get tough. They inspire me with their resourcefulness.
What is your USP as a tutor?
I provide students (and colleagues) with courses that have open structures and I aim to seek out their intrinsic motivation. Once I understand what is alive in them, I respond with curiosity and am willing to go ‘off-road’ and creatively explore ‘rough terrain’ to learn together.
What is your dream/goal as a tutor?
To get a whole group of people in touch with their intrinsic motivation.
Name one item from your bucket list.
Design an adventure playground for autonomous play. Ideally, not just for children who play naturally, but for grown-ups that are out of touch with their playful mindset.
Name a true pioneer.
I think Bernie Dekoven is a true pioneer. He started the New Games movement. I would like to quote from the NYU website: "His book The Well-Played Game, republished by MIT Press, is a landmark work that argues for a radical re-conception of how people engage meaningfully through play. Many of the most important trends in games today, from indie games and art games to game jams and big games, have roots in Bernie’s influential ideas."
Bernie inspired me to focus on ways of ‘playing well together’, both with students and tutors as with my clients. He is terminally ill, and his recent shout out is shaking up my whole being right now, because he makes me very much aware that there is no time to lose. It’s time for play to regain its fundamental place in society; and I should be its agent.
(This interview was originally posted on the website of the Willem de Kooning Academy)