The programme team 2023-2024 consisted of Tessel Hopmans, Fern Chettle, Miles Vlieger, Pati Bachmann and Sara Kers.

#7.1: Walking through Time: Exploring Past, Present and Future Perspectives in Amsterdam
With the first CLOSE UP of the year, the student programme makers addressed the theme of walking. Together with design critic Alice Twemlow, city walkers Gijs and Floor, art historian Esther Mulders, and social media legend Ommetje met Tom, the audience was taken on a strolling adventure across past, present, and future.

#7.2: Stitching Together - Building Community through Sustainable Fashion
How can we reconnect with our wardrobe and show more care and compassion for the planet and for each other? And how can we embrace recovery and repair, instead of feeling the constant pressure to buy more and wear more? During this CLOSE UP, the programme team delved into the world of sustainable fashion. Together with Modestraat volunteer Cloud Meijer and cultural historian Jane Tynan, the student programme makers discussed the possibilities of fashion, repair and community. The evening ended with a visible mending workshop with designer Emma Fukuwatari Huffman!

#7.3: ‘I am the River, the River is Me’
The third CLOSE UP of the year consisted of a screening of 'I am the River, the River is Me'. This documentary stars New Zealand's Whanganui River,  the first river in the world to be given legal status. The documentary highlights new perspectives on ecological management and protection, focusing on the knowledge and values of the indigenous Maori people. The screening was followed by a roundtable discussion with poet Ellen Mane and Social Anthropologist Martha-Cecilia Dietrich on the relationships between humans and nature, with the speakers and the audience exchanging stories about the environments that have shaped us.

#7.4: ARTIVISM
As a final project of their talent year, the student programme team curated the exhibition 'Radical Connection' as part of the UvA Climate Museum at VOX-POP. To mark the opening, the team organised an evening on the fascinating fusion of art and activism. After an inspiring lecture on feminist art activism in Latin America by Sérgio Pereira Andrade, visitors tapped into their own artistic creativity during a special lino-printing workshop by artist Marieke Luthart and had a first look at the beautiful works of the three participating artists.

Exhibition 'Radical Connection'
Radical Connection explores the intersection of academia and the urgency of the climate crisis. The student programme makers have curated this exhibition in collaboration with the UvA Climate Museum to serve as a channel for radical dialogue on change. With diverse works by Lorena Rode, Bibi Bliekendaal, Yufei Gao and KIEM, the team hopes to reflect the multidisciplinary nature of understanding and addressing climate change and to cultivate a deeper sense of responsibility for our planet.

#6.5: Finissage: A Year of Care and Conversation
Together with artists from 'Radical Connection', the student programme makers discussed the role of the cultural sector in humanitarian crises. The evening concluded with an excercises for re-enchantment workshop and a DJ set by blas.anna.