Dion Soethoudt

artistic research - conceptual - design - objects - performance

I am Dion Soethoudt, a conceptual designer. In my work I combine multi-disciplinary design methods such as illustration, installation and speculative research. I often explore new techniques or materials.

My bi-racial upbringing opened up a freedom to express and create things that might be considered unorthodox, but I can get away with it. It has shaped a unique and deviant way of thinking which often results in humor. Humor is like a tickling. It can function as an agent to push boundaries and challenges the idea of ​​norms and values. My work dwells within the tension field between comedy and tragedy. Within this spectrum nothing is sacred.

'Living productivity' is the working title for everything I do. I strive to make the simple 'act of being' a full-time usable product. Therefore I search for productivity in the absurd, illogic and bizarre details of the mundane.

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    • I Like You And You Like I.

    Project

    • 19-10-2019 t/m 31-12-2027
    • Location:, Rotterdam
    • I Like You And You Like I is an inquiry into artificial intelligence, human intelligence, autonomous thinking and the building of relationships. The AI ​​and robotics revolution is causing a new status quo, as the industrial revolution did in the 19th century, railroading our conscious and subconscious decision-making. The digital to physical evolution of AI forces us to have a tangible relationship to it, and forces us - or it - to design its migration.
    • http://www.ilyayli.com

    Soda Pop Shop

    Task

    • 28-05-2020 t/m 22-02-2025
    • In collaboration with: Sietze Kalkwijk - Rare Fruit Council
    • Location: Fenix ​​Food Factory, Rotterdam
    • In the summer of 2020 I co-curated Soda Pop Shop (www.sodapopshop.nl), a creative soda fountain / cocktail bar, based in the Fenix ​​Food Factory, together with Rotterdam's finest Kaapse Brouwers and Jordy's Bakery. The Soda Pop Shop serves sodas, infused drinks and cocktails, taking its cue from the American soda fountains of the 1930s. Our palette ranges from the well-known classics to the curiously experimental.
    • http://sodapopshop.nl

    DDW x VPRO Ambassador Talks: Koert van Mensvoort + Lonneke Gordijn, Niels' t Hooft and Dion Soethoudt

    Other

    • 20-10-2020 t/m 20-10-2020
    • In collaboration with: Dutch Design Foundation, VPRO
    • Location: Klokgebouw, Dutch Design Week 2020, Eindhoven
    • DDW and VPRO will make three talks during Dutch Design Week in which the ambassadors, makers and designers explore the future. In the second episode, Koert van Mensvoort talks about The New Intimacy - the theme of DDW20 - with artist and former DDW ambassador Lonneke Gordijn, writer Nielt 't Hooft and designer Dion Soethoudt. All four are fascinated by artificial intelligence and all work with it in their own way.
    • https://www.vpro.nl/festivals/ddw/kijk/overzicht/2020/ambassadeur-talks-2.html

    The Art Department 2020 - a hybrid experiment

    Other

    • 08-10-2020 t/m 09-10-2020
    • In collaboration with: Playgrounds Festival
    • Location: Klokgebouw, Eindhoven
    • Confusing times, exciting formats. In The Netherlands the pandemic is at this moment under control and the COVID-19-regulations are loosened. This meant The Art Department 2020 will be Playgrounds first hybrid festival. And so we dived into yet another adventure, creating an online festival that was partially streamed from a live stage at Klokgebouw, Eindhoven. With Dion Soethoudt as our host.
    • https://weareplaygrounds.nl/the-art-department/

    Is this the time for activism and rebellion? - Driving Dutch Design Re-value rebel podcast

    Other

    • 11-09-2020 t/m 11-09-2020
    • Location: Wijkpaleis, Rotterdam
    • These insecure times give way to change. A rebel resists the ruling authority. An activist tries to set a political or social movement in motion. In what way can a designer be of value in rebellion or activism? And in what way is rebellion or activism of value to design? In the first studio session, social designer and design researcher Myrthe Krepel (SMELT) speaks with graphic designers Sophie Balch and Tijn Kok (ST-DUO), and conceptual designer Dion Soethoudt.
    • https://open.spotify.com/episode/6CCEFfe6r0iVKNCitBClcd?si=peMI9n4nThOuDDM3w97lcg

    Interview - Dutch designers Magazine 0: A Lonely Planet - 2020

    Other

    • 01-07-2020 t/m 31-07-2020
    • In collaboration with: BNO
    • Location: Dutch designers Magazine # 0,
    • During the stay-at-home lockdown I was asked to do a short interview for the BNO Dutch designers Magazine # 0: A Lonely Planet. We talked about how I manage and adjust as a designer in a pandemic time frame.

    Color: Exists

    Exhibition / presentation

    • 13-03-2020 t/m 15-03-2020
    • In collaboration with: Moona Saul, Sarah Stone
    • Location: De Bouwput, Amsterdam
    • From 13 March till 15 March 2020 at the De Bouwput. Three visual artists will showcase their work in a group exhibition transforming the white space of into a field of color giving a kickstart to 2020 Spring!
    • https://www.debouwput.com/past

    Driving Dutch Design 2020

    Workshop

    • 19-12-2020 t/m 31-10-2020
    • In collaboration with: BNO
    • Location:, Amsterdam
    • Dion Soethoudt got selected as one of the lucky few to participate in the 2020 Driving Dutch Design business masterclass program! Initiated by ABN AMRO, BNO, and the Dutch Design Foundation.
    • https://drivingdutchdesign.nl

    ILYAYLI - chapter: 01, completed

    Performance

    • 19-10-2019 t/m 27-10-2019
    • In collaboration with: Playgrounds, TAC
    • Location: The Art Center, Eindhoven
    • One hour past noon on Saturday, the 26th of October, Dion Soethoudt literally burst out of his 7 day voluntary confinement, concluding the first of 7 chapters of his inquiry into Machine Learning, Robotics and Artificial Intelligence. In this initial chapter, entitled 'personal space', Dion explored the mechanism and effects of sharing his surroundings in solitude with a self-operating entity of a new era.
    • www.ILYAYLI.com

    ILYAYLI - VPRO, The future builders 2019 extra

    Other

    • 19-10-2019 t/m 27-10-2019
    • In collaboration with: VPRO
    • Location: TAC, Eindhoven
    • The future builders 2019 extra - VPRO selection of Future Builders, during Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven, Up-and-coming and high-profile design talents with ideas and solutions for the world of tomorrow. Who are these future builders? And how will their design also influence and change our daily lives?

    WORTH Weekend - Valencia, Spain

    Workshop

    • 02-03-2019 t/m 03-03-2019
    • Location: City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia
    • Dion Soethoudt got shortlisted after the pre-selection for the WORTH partnership program. Past weekend we went on invitation to Valencia, Spain to present the project proposal Fugazi Fugazi (working title) for the final assessment round. The WORTH weekend was furthermore filled with lectures and workshops that where centered around design and business development. Among the impressive speakers where Julia Körner and Natsai A. Chieza.

    'Stealing from myself' showcased at WE ARE NEXT - NEXT TALENTS EXPOSED

    Exhibition / presentation

    • 26-01-2019 t/m 27-01-2019
    • In collaboration with: Playgrounds
    • Location: Cultuurnacht Breda, Breda
    • At Cultuurnacht Breda Playgrounds presents the exhibition 'We are Next - Next talents exposed'. Five super talented filmmakers, designers and animators present their latest work. Work by Jelle van Meerendonk, Marleine van der Werf, Iris Frankhuizen, Loeks Vugs and Dion Soethoudt. During the exposition Dion oozes you with a brand new way to experience his work 'Stealing from myself'. Literally lay back and wonder yourselves!

    YOUNG ART NIGHT # 11 - Van Abbemuseum

    Exhibition / presentation

    • 22-09-2018 t/m 22-09-2018
    • Location: Van Abbe Museum, Eindhoven
    • Dion Soethoudt's project Sleeping Productivity will be displayed during the eleventh edition of the Young Art Night shoots in the Van Abbemuseum, pops and cracks from the speakers, through the museum spaces into the city during the and weekend of Saturday September 22nd.

    Ongoing AIR residency

    Residencies / exchange

    • 04-04-2018 t/m 23-05-2018
    • In collaboration with: Dutch embassy Tokyo
    • Location: Ongoing AIR, Tokyo
    • Ongoing AIR is a residency program launched by Art Center Ongoing in April, 2013. Domestic / overseas artists and curators are all welcome to join the 2-month residency program where the Art Center offers an accommodation and an exhibition opportunity at Art Center Ongoing.
    • http://www.ongoing.jp/en/artcenter/residence/index.php

    Temporary Logic

    Exhibition / presentation

    • 23-05-2018 t/m 27-05-2018
    • During the exhibition of "Temporary logic" Dion Soethoudt will showcase a reenactment of the same material, methodology, and reasoning the government uses to fix-things in the subways of Tokyo, implementing it onto an archetypical office object (s).
    • https://www.studiosoethoudt.com/project-tl.html

    High tide Kunstnacht - The Hague

    Exhibition / presentation

    • 01-12-2017 t/m 02-12-2017
    • In collaboration with: De Correspondent
    • Location: Hoogtij Kunstnacht, The Hague
    • A pop-up exhibition about visual images and experiments in media, Sue das Lab. Exhibition: Framing the news - storytelling in journalism

    Vilnius Action

    Exhibition / presentation

    • 24-09-2017 t/m 01-10-2017
    • In collaboration with: Lithuanian Council for Culture, Lithuanian Jewish Community, Performative design association, Lithuanian Professional Boxing Federation.
    • Location: The synagogue on Gėlių street, Vilnius
    • Collaboration with Agne Kucerenkaite during the Vilnius Action Workshop resulted in a project about Vilnius Jewish Boxing Community. Many champions and Olympic contenders were Jewish, and so is the current vice president of the Lithuanian Professional Boxing Federation. As elsewhere in the world, boxing was (and is) a way for young men to escape from the ghettoes of the big cities. Boxing was (and is) a way to struggle against prejudice, deprivation, and poverty, and prevail.
    • https://www.studiosoethoudt.com/project-va.html

    MADE LABS Educational Program

    Workshop

    • 07-07-2017 t/m 21-07-2017
    • Location: Accademia di Belle Arti, Siracusa
    • MADE LABS is the new educational initiative conceived by MADE Program (www.madeprogram.it), the brand new project of the "Rosario Gagliardi" Academy of Fine Arts, Syracuse (Sicily). This first edition of MADE LABS, curated by Studio Formafantasma and Moncada Rangel Architects, includes eight days of 4-day workshops and lectures, led by world-renowned creative Professionals and addressed to designers, architects and artists who are curious about new developments in their fields.
    • https://www.studiosoethoudt.com/project-ml.html

    Basalt Design Residency

    Residencies / exchange

    • 01-02-2015 t/m 28-02-2015
    • In collaboration with: Instituto Cultural de Ponta Delgada
    • Location: Pico do Refúgio - Casas de Campo, São Miguel - Azores Island
    • The initial focus of the residency went through a process of research that was transversal to the different properties of Basalt and divided itself between visual features and the geological characteristics of the different types of local stones. The work done within the residency had an approach of several panoramas, from both plastic experiments as well as functional ones.
    • https://vimeo.com/133778026

    Acknowledgments

      Pricing

    • Playgrounds NEXT award

    • 2018
      Pricing

    • WORTH partnership program

    • 2019
      Pricing

    • Driving Dutch Design talent development

    • 2020