Meet the co-founders of ELRAT.org

Maaike Bleeker

is a theater studies professor, a dramaturg and a translator. Her work combines approaches from the arts and performance studies with insights from philosophy, media theory and cognitive science. She focuses on processes of embodied and technologically mediated perception and transmission, with a special interest in the relationship between technology, movement and embodied perception and cognition. Current research subjects include social robotics, spectacular astronomy and the intersection of performance studies and space studies, posthuman performativity, corporeal literacy, digital archiving of artistic work, and artistic creation processes.

Ulrike Quade

is a puppet artist and founder of the Ulrike Quade Company. Her shows consist of a unique mixture of performance, dance, music, scenography and literature, with puppetry as the main common denominator. Sometimes these are placed in the tradition of Asian puppetry (like bunraku or wayang), but just as much she likes to use hyperrealistic puppets (as lifelike copies of the performers) or high-tech specimens such as robots or cyborgs.

Rick van Dugteren

is the owner of Event Robotics which specializes in employing KUKA and ABB robots for the entertainment industry. The company programs, operates, and supplies robots for live events, film sets, and TV studios. Rick also researches creative use of robot arms for artistic development in collaboration with Bram Ellens, Ulrike Quade Company, and researchers at Utrecht University. 

Bram Ellens 

is a multitalented autodidact artist with background in art, technology, and music. As an artist he has a focus on sculptures and installations. His work is often theatrical with a grand gesture and is often displayed in large spaces. In recent years his oeuvre has developed a clear line around what it means to be human in our times. Sometimes his work sparks reflection and spirituality (Orphans, Inevitability) while in others he challenges our relationship with technology (Agitdgg series, Robots in captivity).