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PhD defense Marloeke van de Vlugt

Hands touching an unknown object.

On May 19th, 2026, Marloeke van der Vlugt will defend her thesis Touching (the) Strangeness. Exploring Touching as methodology in artistic research. It is the first PhD defense that takes place within Meaningful Artistic Research.

Marloekes artistic research explores what Touching can do. In this project, it is not just about moving closer or about physical sensations. The verb Touching is used to describe a way of being-doing-thinking (Nelson, 2013) that explores the active, conscious engagement with the physical experience of Touching. The research connects practice-based and pedagogic knowledge from the performing arts, visual arts, and scenography with theoretical discourses from phenomenology, art philosophy, and care studies.

The ceremony takes place at the Geertekerk in Utrecht. After the ceremony, Marloeke’s exhibition at Landhuis Oud Amelisweerd, will festively be opened.

About the exhibition

The exhibition presents a selection of the experiments Marloeke created during her research, arranged and reworked in relation to Oud Amelisweerd. It shows a relational, time-based embodied art practice that is critically intertwined with aspects of care and ethics. These aspects are evoked within the process of making, viewing or participating in the artwork.

Meaningful Artistic Research (MAR)

Meaningful Artistic Research (MAR) brings the University of Humanistic Studies (UvH) and HKU University of the Arts Utrecht together in a shared belief: Artistic and creative practices produce forms of knowledge that are essential for imagining and cultivating caring, just, and sustainable ways of living together.