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Chloë Arkenbout (she/they)
researcher, editor, teacher, speaker

Through critical research and as a teacher, I hope to contribute to a world where everyone, regardless of their gender identity & expression, sexual & relationship orientations & preferences, skin color, religion, country of birth, age, economic situation & background, and physical & mental characteristics, can live a beautiful life. 
 

Researcher & Editor at the Institute of Network Cultures

 

The Institute of Network Cultures (INC) is an applied science research unit inside the Digital Media and Creative Industries faculty of the Amsterdam University of Applied Science. As Researcher & Editor I am responsible for giving direction to socially relevant research in the field of internet critique. From writing fund applications to building & maintaining a network of researchers, journalists, artists, activists and other makers and thinkers. During the production phase, I am responsible for leading the research team and coordinating the (hybrid) events & publications. 


I am interested in the tactics marginalized people use to change oppressive discourses in the digital public sphere - from social media comment wars and call-out culture to political memes. I also co-edited the two INC Readers about critical meme research that were published in 2021 and 2022 and am co-editing the third to be published in 2024.

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Teacher, Ethics and Diversity & Inclusion at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences


Next to my role as Researcher at INC, I work as a teacher at the Communication and Multimedia Design program at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, where I help students to critically reflect on their digital designs, in the context of the society they live in and the future they would like to see. I am also a member of the university's Research Ethics Committee and I take part in a couple of Diversity & Inclusion workgroups. 
 

Academic Background  & Volunteer Work


I have a background in both Media Studies and Philosophy, through a BA, pre-MA and MA at the University of Amsterdam. 

 

During the Amsterdam City Council elections in 2022, I supported the Amsterdam BIJ1 communication team as a volunteer during the campaign. In the past, I have also volunteered for organizations such as Amnesty International NL, Voedselbank Amsterdam, and Rode Kruis Amsterdam.

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Culture & Society Copywriter 


Before this, I worked as a freelance Copywriter, Communications Consultant and Journalist for multiple years. 

I worked with clients in the cultural and social sector such as 113 Zelfmoordpreventie, Amsterdam Art Weekend, Amsterdam Dance Event, Amsterdam Light Festival, COC Nederland, Volkshotel, Friendly Fire, Gemeente Amsterdam, Museumnacht Amsterdam, CJP, Solidaridad, VICE, TEDxAmsterdamWomen and various electronic music events, urban developers and creative entrepreneurs.

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Publications & Appearances 

Topics I write and speak about include:

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(political) meme studies / the digital public sphere / social media comment discussions & call out culture / algorithmic censorship in social media platforms / intersectional justice / research ethics / speculative & social design / queer theory & experience 

 

2024

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2023​​​​

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  • Confessions of a Political Meme Maker in SWIPE by Mieke Gerritzen (Next Nature Network, BIS Publishers), 2023.

  • Memes Beyond Images, SWIPE launch @ Next Nature Network, NXT Museum (speaker), 2023.

  • Screentime, Airtime, Facetime: Practicing Hybridity in Cultural Institutions (host of Chapter 2 and 3), 2023.

  • Society 5.0 Festival,  organized by the Digital Media & Creative Industries Faculty of the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, the Digital Society School, the Centre of Expertise for Creative Innovation,the Rietveld Academy and InHolland University, 2023 (co-curator of the Inclusive Participation track).

  • Recast#19: Memes voor creativiteit, protest en hoop, Recast (Digital Society School), 2023.

  • Memes as a Portal to the Past and Future: How Extinction Rebellion is using Memes to Change the Narrative Around the Climate Crisis, 2023. 

  • Breaking the Meme, guest lecture @ Geert Lovink's Art and Network Cultures course at the University of Amsterdam, 2023.

  • Memes als dialectische beelden voor maatschappelijke verandering @ Filosofie in de Postdigitale Wereld (minor van de Faculteit Digitale Media & Creatieve Industrie van de Hogeschool van Amsterdam), 2023 (gastles).

  • Cartoon vs. Memes: hoe humor ons door oorlogen en epidemieën helpt @ Noorderzon Festval of Performing Arts & Society (panelgesprek), 2023.

  • Your memes could be artistic interventions, Culturala Journal, 2023.

  • Memes as Political Tools for Radical Change: Reflections on Viral Image Culture @ Master Photography and Society, Royal Academy of Art The Hague (guest lecture), 2023.

  • In-Between Media: Hybrid Tactics in the Crisis Era INC Conference @ Spui25, Framer Framed & OT301 Amsterdam (moderator, curator, producer), 2023.

  • Memes as an Artistic Research Practice @ Research-Creation: Merging the Critical and Creative, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (guest lecture with Laurence Scherz), 2023.

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2022

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2021

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