Invention as a common thread in learning and working
As a child, Jeske Fricker wanted to become an inventor. “I was always busy making things that didn’t exist yet.” Now, years later, she is in the final year of the Master’s Education in Arts at ArtEZ. In addition, she works as a teacher of expressive pedagogy and as an artist-researcher at the professorship of Mental Health Care and Society at Windesheim, teaches as a substitute in a primary school classroom, composes music, and makes wooden toys. And that drive to invent? It is woven into everything she does.
Inventing began on the farm
When Jeske looks back, she can picture it immediately: the farm where she played during school holidays. “We learned all kinds of things there. About the vegetable garden, animals, and baking bread. But it never stopped at how things are ‘supposed’ to be done. Once I knew how to bake bread, I started making variations. Braiding, trying different shapes, or using ingredients from the garden. I was always looking for combinations that don’t seem to belong together at first glance.”
“On a farm like that, you never stop learning. The steady rhythms of the seasons bring calm, but there’s also a lot of room to experiment. You try things out, immediately see what works and what doesn’t, and learn from it. Because you make a lot yourself and experience it directly, learning becomes very concrete. That’s satisfying.” That is still the core of how she works. “I function best in places where I’m given the freedom to keep developing myself and my work. I question how things are currently done and wonder whether they could be done differently. And if that’s the case, I like to try it out and explore it.”
Not a straight study path
That curiosity is reflected in her study choices. “My studies began at the Teachers College, an innovative program for teachers in primary, secondary, and vocational education. Not because I necessarily wanted to become a teacher, but because the exploratory way of studying matched how I wanted to learn. At the Teachers College, I learned to constantly create new learning opportunities for myself and to think beyond the frameworks of the regular education system.” From there, she went on to complete primary teacher training, teacher training programs in Dutch and German, and a degree in composition.
“All those different studies felt logical to me. For example, elements I learned at the conservatory I could apply again in the classroom. Everything is interconnected.” According to Jeske, we still often view the world through tightly defined “packages,” such as degree programs. “That creates the illusion that everything is manageable and that once you finish a program, you’re done learning. That idea feels constraining to me. The world is actually characterized by overlap, ambiguity, and entanglement, and it doesn’t always fit into neat definitions.”
Why Art Education fits
For her, the step toward the Master’s Education in Arts was a natural one. “I do a lot of participatory action research, which is fundamentally about people and their motivations. In the master’s program, you learn how to use artistic interventions and arts-based action research to explore complex issues on multiple levels or to initiate change.”
The structure of the program supports that. “The master’s consists of six modules. In each module, you work on a question that matters to you, for example from your own professional practice or beyond it. You are continuously given new insights and tools, which gradually help you become more skilled in conducting research.”
Research through stories, music, and dialogue
Her research focuses on forming relationships. With each other, but also with the more-than-human world. “I like to work from an ecological perspective, because I think we can learn a lot from how ecological systems function,” she explains. “These systems have existed and survived millions of years longer than human systems. In that sense, they carry a lot of knowledge about resilience and sustainability. Something we can learn to relate to again.”
In the first module of the Master’s Education in Arts, she explored what it is like for humans to relate to mycelium structures (networks of fungal threads). “I connected sensors to fungi and linked them to a synthesizer so they could generate sound.” She processed these sounds into Symbiotic Études: compositions that participants can play along with. “These musical dialogues and follow-up conversations provided insights into how strongly we, as humans, are accustomed to control and a certain kind of aesthetics. By relating to a system that resists that, we are forced to listen, think, and act in different ways.” In her graduation research, she explores how education can shift from something we do to the world to something that emerges in relationship with it.
Who is this master’s for?
According to Jeske, there isn’t a single type of student. “In the group, you find people of all ages and with different backgrounds.” That surprised her. “When you think of art education, you might quickly assume art teachers, but that’s not necessary at all. There are also people from other sectors. That mix is exactly what makes it valuable. You learn a lot from each other.”
What stands out to her is that many students already have years of work experience. “They follow this master’s to re-examine their practice. I think that’s powerful. That people dare to do that and continue to reflect critically on their own actions.”
So the group is very diverse, but there is a common thread. “Everyone has a drive to engage with art and to develop new things.”
Not sure if it suits you? “Just spend a day there. That made the difference for me. I immediately got ideas and felt inspired by what others were doing. During such a day, you quickly sense whether the dynamic fits you.”
Continuing to invent, even as an adult
What started on the farm is still woven into everything she does: asking questions, experimenting, and exploring new paths. “Inventing begins with continuing to question reality. Why do we do what we do? And can it be done differently?”
That is central to the master’s: not finding the right answer, but continuing to explore. For prospective students who recognize themselves in that, there’s a good chance they’ll feel at home here.
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