Patsy Nagtzaam

Memories from The 21st Century Art & Science course at Aalto University School of Art, Design and Architecture. @aaltoarts @aaltomedialab @aaltovicca Deeply grateful for the opportunity to work with Prof. Laura Beloff @laurabeloff in such an inspiring and generous learning environment. Over the course (21.10-25.11.2025), we developed student projects exploring liquid computing, interactive hydraulic systems, cybernetic and kinetic sculptures, and care / life-support systems—where material experimentation met critical thinking and speculative design. Students also had the chance to experiment with biological matter at @biofilia_aalto Aalto Biofilia—many thanks to Larisa Chernyaeva for the guidance and support. 🌱✨ Student projects by: Michela Cane, Alejandro De León Rivera, Sofia Deligiannaki, Aurora Del Río , Jinhe Jiang, Helena García Massuda, Yuxin Mu, Patricia Nagtzaam, Aissa Camiade Santiso, Jason Selvarajan, Leopold Tomaschek, Yield Xue, Müge Yildiz. Lectures by: Ioana Vreme Moser @ioana.vreme.moser - Fluid Anatomy and Mia Pihlajamäki - Water governance: a social-ecological perspective. Thank you to everyone involved for the curiosity, care, and commitment that made this experience so special. Pictures by @aissasantiso #ArtAndScience #AaltoUniversity #MediaLab #VICCA #LiquidComputing #Cybernetics #KineticArt #SpeculativeDesign #BioArt #ArtEducation #ResearchThroughPractice

Hot Flash Dance Clash has been an ongoing research and creative project in our studio with a recent pitstop at Dutch Design Week. This work highlights the sometimes sweaty,messy and unruly relationship that menstruating bodies have with technology. We are celebrating bodies that can’t (won’t) conform to the norm; resisting the machinic neatness of smart technology and perfect data sets. 👾 We took a bunch of sensors, originally destined for the insides of computers and repurposed them into body wearables. They are worn close to the body by dancers during Hot Flash Dance Clash as players in two teams battle (hard dancing) each other to raise their temperatures. 👾 In many ways our cyborg-like wearables are an antithesis to the slick design of a smartwatch with a highly opaque translation of data. Our sensors are ungainly, awkward (and sometimes fall apart). They are visible to the naked eye with their long soldered wires and boxy designs. And when a dancer gets to peak temperature it creates a Hot Flash. Think of the sudden, unexpected glitch that hot flashes mean for people in real life. It throws people off. It’s the body hacking itself. Hot Flashes do not follow a pattern. They are random AF. Your data is not processed or fitted to a standard curve. And that’s real. Visualising this biometric data matters because it makes the unseen rhythms of bodies more tangible. It also playfully reflects on data that flows “quietly” in the background, yet holds such enormous power and value. Data tells a story about our bodies and that we are NOT the only characters in this narrative. Big tech, femtech, insurance companies and governments are also interested in biometric data and (spoiler alert) they don’t always have our interests at heart. 👾 More parties will unfold in the new year. Keep your eye out on our socials. And if you’d like to host a Hot Flash Dance Clash, the sensors are ready to go. We will bring the party to you.🩸 Trailer by Anisa @ani_jo ❤️

Everyone’s invited to the @dutchdesignweek Hot Flash Dance Clash party — an interactive game and dance battle! It’s happening at @effenaar in Eindhoven, and best of all, it’s free! 💫 The big premiere of this brand-new work took place just two weeks ago on the opening night of the Bloody Beautiful Festival. This debut happened at the legendary nightclub @doka_amsterdam , and went something like this: when a battle was about to begin, dancers headed backstage to the wearable booth, where they were strapped into their heat-tracking sensors. The two teams were then called to the stage by MC @annica_muller , and the competition began to see who could first dance their way to a “hot flash” (in other words, raise their temperature by two degrees). The competing dancers really gave it their all – big smiles and laughs all over the room, and plenty of steamy foreheads. @wuguanyan kept the floor sweaty with the hottest tunes. After many battles, the party kept going with the ‘Bleeding into the Metaverse’ event, featuring a remixed video artwork from our 2023 collaboration with Sputniko! People were sipping bloody cocktails and hot flash shots (our own recipe 🔥), chatting at the bar and freestyling on the floor. It was truly a celebratory way to kick off our first-ever festival 🩸 For those of you who couldn’t be there, fear not – another dance party is right around the corner…  Where: Effenaar, Dommelstraat 2 Eindhoven Date: Tuesday 21 October Time: 19:30–21:30 Tickets: Free! Register with the link in our bio

Why rage when you can dance 👩🏽‍🎤 The opening night of the Bloody Beautiful Festival takes place at the mischievous club @doka_amsterdam (basement of the Volkshotel) in Amsterdam on 2 October. The beats will be large and so will the dance moves. 💃 YOU are cordially invited to become the cyborg you always dreamed of. We have been brewing some witchy magic with fellow tricksters to make our latest work: Hot Flash Dance Clash 🔥 A sweaty cyborg of a project that bleeds through the borders of HOT CODE and HOT MESS. We will christen our new Festival with an opening night filled with dance offs, wearables and meet ups 🪩 We’d ❤️ to see you there. If you already have a ticket to the Bloody Beautiful Festival you still need to register using the guest code we provide you with. Only want to come to the Opening Night? You can! But be fast because tickets are very limited. Festival programme & 🎟️Tickets available on All the links in bio ✨ Opening Night 🗓️ 2 October 2025 📍 Doka Amsterdam 🎫 Tickets €12.50 Bloody Beautiful Festival 🗓️ When: 3 October 2025 📍 Where: Tolhuistuin, Amsterdam 🎫 Tickets: €69 regular / €39 students

We are on a mission to reimagine the possibilities for women’s health using the tools we know and love the best: art, design and storytelling. Let’s imagine it together ❤️

On 3 October 2025 we will be gathering for our biggest event yet: the BLOODY BEAUTIFUL FESTIVAL at Tolhuistuin in Amsterdam. It’s a world-first!  A full day exploring the magical, messy and often-misunderstood worlds of menstruation and menopause. We’ve created the space for bold talks, art, performances, technology and design with one goal: to create impact. Over the past 3 years we’ve gathered hundreds of stories, anecdotes, survey results and field notes from you, our amazing Bloody Beautiful community. We hear you. We know that sometimes the women’s health system feels broken. But it doesn’t have to be. This is a moment to connect, collaborate, and reimagine what’s possible. In the coming days we will be announcing our lineup in more detail, but for now some teasers… 🔥Opening night on the dancefloor at @doka_amsterdam in Amsterdam on the 2 October with the launch of our new work: Hot Flash Dance Clash. 💫 🩸Keynote talk by Monica Lennon @monicalennonlabour Scottish member of parliament who campaigned to make period products free to women and girls in Scotland. Yes, that actually happened.  🩸Bloody Beautiful Design panel with @fillipstudios , exploring speculative design for pelvic health. 🩸Keynote talk by @menopause_doctor Dr. Louise Newson, British hormone expert and the “medic who kickstarted the menopause revolution”.    🩸Bloody Beautiful Festival🩸
 📆 3 October 2025 📍 Tolhuistuin Amsterdam Tickets: €69 for a Bloody Beautiful membership / €39 for students (includes festival lunch and lots more) Opening Night
📆 2 October 2025 📍 Doka Amsterdam Tickets: €12.50  All the links in bio ❤️

Last week, we had the chance to test our new Bloody Beautiful prototype: Hot Flash Dance Clash, @effenaar in Eindhoven. In this playtest, we were joined by 20 amazing participants who left it all on the dance floor 🪩 It’s still a work in progress, but the energy was definitely there. We were surprised by the strong sense of collectivity in the group—how quickly people opened up, felt at ease, and went all in with their wildest moves. The atmosphere was electric, yet safe. We’re now shaping the next phase of the project: thinking of dance as a tool for research, to focus even more closely on the relationship between temperature, menstrual cycles, and menopause. We’re excited to keep developing and to bring this project to you with (even more) intention. With Hot Flash Dance Clash, we want to highlight the physical experiences of people with cycles and celebrate them in a way that allows them to shape their own narrative—through dancing! Inspired by data tracking of menstruating and menopausal bodies, we’ve been hacking temperature sensors with our extraordinary collaborators. We’ve got a strong base to build from and our team is on it: @patsyngtzm is refining the cyborg-style wearables 🦾 @frenkie is tweaking the web app 👨🏻‍💻@mirjam.debets is pushing the visuals to the next level ✍️ and @wuguanyan is keeping the dance floor hot for the next round 🔥 We wrapped up the evening with an open feedback round where everybody shared their thoughts—critical insights, dance-floor memories, and ideas for what comes next. This is just the beginning. Come dance with us at the next one 💃🌡️ Photography: Willem Wouterse

WE NEED YOU! For several months, we’ve been cooking up a new Bloody Beautiful prototype: Hot Flash Dance Clash (try saying that fast ten times). It’s time to do a “play test”, and we need your moves on the dancefloor. 20 people are invited to a (sneak preview) play test of Hot Flash Dance Clash at @effenaar in Eindhoven on 3 June between 5PM and 7PM. JOIN US if… 💃🏻🕺YOU LOVE TO DANCE 🤓 You’ve got issues with big tech and want to rock that boat 👩🏿‍💻You’re curious about hot code, hacking and feminist coders 🌈 You’d like to queer wearable tech Smart technology is playing a growing role in how we manage our health—for example, by using heat sensors to track menstrual cycles and hot flashes. We trust these apps with our (very intimate) data and follow the algorithms that tell us which symptoms we’re likely to experience on any given day. But many cycle-tracking apps are designed with a hetero- and cis-normative lens, ignoring the diverse needs of different bodies. And most free apps don’t ensure the data privacy of their users, which is especially concerning in a time when reproductive rights are under serious threat. With Hot Flash Dance Clash, we want to highlight the physical experiences of people with cycles and celebrate them in a way that allows them to shape their own narrative—through dancing! Inspired by data tracking of menstruating and menopausal bodies, we’ve been hacking temperature sensors with our extraordinary collaborators. Feminist interaction designer @patsyngtzm is fabricating cyborg-style heat-sensor wearables that syncs with a webapp and data collector being developed by creative coder @frenkie . These sensors will be worn during the dance prototyping session, letting participants track their own (and collective) body temperature in real time. Illustrator @mirjam.debets will be experimenting with mesmerising visuals that respond to the fluctuating body data, and to really set the vibe, DJ and designer @guanyan.index will be lighting the dance floor on fire. We would love to see you there 🩸❤️ Only 20 spots available—sign up for free via the link in our bio.

Last week at the @tijdschriftkunstlicht archive. A humble cupboard and photocopier room high in the @vuamsterdam building, where @mannyzammy @patsyngtzm @fleura_ and I sat by a misty window and brainstormed til some collective thought rumbles became a finite list(!) Here are some of the inspiring and weighty themes gone-by ^^^ Excited to work on the next step of selection with the team ❤️ (Gorgeous and strange woodcarving turned pink poster by @risowiso shows the work of @femmy_otten for a prior #kunstlicht issue: Spellbound.)

Willekeurige geluksmomentjes

hard at work (denken)

Gisteren 19 maart hebben wij de galerie en kunstuitleen feestelijk geopend met een expositie samengesteld uit “Bredase” kunstenaars Met een mooie toespraak van Dingeman Kuilman waarin hij het belang van kunst en kunstenaars nog een keer duidelijk maakte voor een stad als Breda. Verder legde hij de connectie uit die SBK heeft met Breda en de historische waarde van de collectie. Het was een geslaagde middag met mooie mensen en uiteraard ook schitterende kunst. De expositie is nog te bezichtigen tot 30 april. #SBK #KunstKopen #Kunstlenen #KunstKijken #Galerie48 #Breda #Kunstuitleen #Art #Contemporaryart #Kunst #Huurkunst #Koopkunst #KijkKunst #Leenkunst #Kunstwerk #Kunstuitleen #kunst #KunstInspireert #Artbreda #BredaArt # #ThuisinKunst #MakkelijkKunstlenen #KunstinHuis #Kunstgalerie #DutchArt #kunstontdekken #Hedendaagsekunst #sbkkunstuitleen #gasthuisvelden11 #sbkkunstuitleenbreda

Dus…. Breda en de rest Zondag aanstaande valt er wat te vieren 🎊 Tot dan! #breda #bredakunst #bredabuiten #bredamaaktmijblij #bredacity #bredaphoto #bredasteuntbreda #citymarketingbreda #bredalovers #bredavandaag #onsbreda #ilovebreda #bredapromotions #sbkkunstuitleen #sbkbreda #galerie48 #curatorvald