Robotic Art for Care & Wellbeing at Robotic Breda

On Tuesday 18 February, a group of students, artists, and educators gathered at Breda Robotics for an afternoon of exploration into the possible synergies between robotic art and the fields of care and wellbeing. The session was initiated by Mark Meeuwenoord, tutor from the Communication and Multimedia Design programme in Breda and member of the workgroup for Situated Art, Design and Technology of CARADT. The programme was designed for students of the master Health by Design.

Rather than seeking definitive answers, the event was framed as an open-ended conversation: How might artistic knowledge and embodied experience contribute to the design of care environments? What gaps in current care practices might be addressed through artistic experimentation? And what is needed to develop meaningful crossover programmes between creative disciplines and the care domain?

Workshop, Artist Talk, and Panel Discussion

The afternoon began with a hands-on workshop by artists Driessens & Verstappen (Tickle Robots) , in which students engaged with responsive robotic installations to explore sensory and affective modes of interaction. This experience laid a foundation for broader reflection during the subsequent talks.

The programme featured an introduction by Mark Meeuwenoord, an artist talk by Driessens & Verstappen and a lecture by scholar Ksenia Fedorova, who contextualised the role of AI and robotic aesthetics within artistic and social practices. The day concluded with a panel discussion moderated by Professor Michel van Dartel, featuring Driessens & Verstappen, Ksenia Fedorova, and health innovation professionals Menno Janssen (Zorgverzekeraar CZ) and Marcel Wilschut (Albert Schweitzer ziekenhuis). The panel illuminated a range of perspectives on collaboration between the arts and care, surfacing tensions and shared ambitions.

New Explorations

This afternoon offered a space for students and professionals to imagine new explorations across art, care, and technology—explorations that may shape more attentive and responsive futures.

In his personal reflection on LinkedIn, Mark Meeuwenoord described the event as a first exploration into what robotic art practices can contribute to the healthcare domain. The insights and outcomes of the afternoon are currently being developed into a project proposal on RobotArtCares for Health. Read his full reflection on LinkedIn.

Recently, the Master programma Health by Design also shared a reflection of the workshop on Instagram, highlighting the workshop’s impact and the collaborative spirit of the day.

Credits

Photography for Avans University of Applied Sciences by Angeline Swinkels