Nienke Scholts

Nienke Scholts practices dramaturgy in various collaborative and attentive ways. She does so as ARIAS programme coordinator; with art organizations and performance artists (currently: MOHA collective, Genevieve Murphy, Fariborz Karimi, i.e.); and through her own artistic-discursive work. Among her recent projects are the polyphonic publication series Words for the Future in co-production with Veem House for Performance and the audio piece This Walk is a Pause in collaboration with sound artist Femke Dekker. 

Nienke’s research revolves around ‘dramaturgies of work’ in artistic practices – within the context of exhaustion – and includes her particular interest in darkness as a potential mode of thinking and doing (work) differently. Informed by the process of recovering from being burned-out, the research focuses on the exploration of pausing as a particular practice and space of transition.

Resonating with these interests within her multifaceted role at ARIAS she leads the Care Ecologies group, birthed The Write-In, and is often the one attending to the conditions of doing research, both for the network as well as internally for the team. 

From 2018-2022 she was a research fellow of DAS THIRD, Amsterdam University of the Arts, and in 2019 a Saari Residency (Finland) grant receiver and resident. Nienke authored several articles, and she is often invited as a guest teacher to advise, assess or lecture within art schools, universities and other contexts. Nienke values well-being, attentiveness, friendship, curiosity, trust and joy.