In 2024, social theatre maker Abhishek Thapar served as the city resident. He is an artist who blends personal stories with major global themes. His research focused on the often-invisible kitchen staff within the hospitality industry. Through his project Lacuna Kitchen, he aimed to bring together theatre, gastronomy, community building, and social activism. He united all these elements in a performance staged in May 2025. This initiative allowed kitchen staff not only to share their stories but also to play an active role in creating and performing the piece. In addition to the performance, the project included workshops with ArtEZ students and "Kitchen Telling Events"—community meals where the public could gather to eat, get to know one another, converse, and foster a sense of community. Meanwhile, emerging artists Ro Smit, Mel Kikkert, Levi Overvest, and Charlotte Gillain developed their practices at Plaatsmaken and Theater a/d Rijn. Their work centered on social themes, utilizing various analog and digital art forms while exploring new ways to experience art. The results of their residencies were showcased through exhibitions, performances, and workshops.

Ro Smit graduated in 2023 (BEAR ArtEZ) and invites the public to create a collaborative exhibition through workshops. He explores how objects acquire meaning through memories and conducted research into screen printing techniques at Plaatsmaken.

Also Levi Overvest graduated in 2023 (BEAR ArtEZ). Levi moved into the Klarendal neighborhood and gathered topics relevant to Arnhem’s young residents. During his residency at Plaatsmaken, he explored screen printing on ceramics.

Mel Kikkert graduated in 2023 (Creative Writing, ArtEZ) and is fascinated by the internet and its inhabitants. At Theater a/d Rijn, they explored theatre as a medium and created new work using words, imagery, and digital tools.

Charlotte Gillain graduated in 2021 (Mime School, AHK). She works from the body and seeks to make the way that our brains store memories tangible. Together with designer Zak Lennard, she explored the physical experience of remembering and the visualization of this inner world using digital design.

The 2026 city resident is artist, educator, workshop leader, and organizer Frank Koolen. He creates installations, videos, performances, drawings, and sculptures. Frank enjoys creating work for and with others and wants to share the pleasure he derives from art with them. He believes that art does not need t be anything specific, yet can serve as a wonderful starting point for social change or a shift in consciousness. His primary driving force is his enthusiasm for the creative process as a catalyst for an open and empathetic perspective. Key elements in his approach include the use of humor, disruption, and improvisation.

In FIASCO TOTAAL, Frank Koolen’s research project, the creative process takes center stage as the driving force behind play, conversation, and new discoveries. It is a dynamic, experimental, and playful exploration of the methods and effects of collectivity and collaboration—of ‘working together’—in which the process and the shared experience are paramount. The findings of the research will be presented at various locations, including Plaatsmaken and Omstand. The project comprises several components, namely: STUDIO FIASCO, CIRCUS FIASCO and FIASCO TOTAAL.

The artists undertaking a short residency at Plaatsmaken in 2026 are Isaac van den Aker, Frida Berntsen, and Carmen Molenaar. More information will follow soon.