Curriculum Vitae - Michiel Huijsman

Michiel Huijsman works as an artist, researcher and independent curator based in Amsterdam. He is the initiator and driving force behind several renowned long-lasting collaborative artprojects in Amsterdam public space. Before and after the digital turn he realised huge outdoor light sculptures and art projects including Wally Public Artifical Light (1996-2002), Vondelpark Oehoe (2001), InnerCityWally (2002), Greenlight (2005), The White Tube (2007) and Gloei! (2013–now).

Together with Renate Zentschnig he is the co-founder and co-director of Soundtrackcity, a not-for-profit artist-led organisation doing research and development of new collaborative artistic practices concerning sound and the urban. Soundtrackcity developes new listening practices and new forms of media art, initiates participatory research projects with local communities and produces artist-made audiowalks with and without headphones. Founded in 2009, Soundtrackcity is active in Amsterdam, Berlin, Rotterdam and The Hague.

Commissioned artworks in public space (selection)
2019 SWWS | Sonic West Wall of Sound, commissioned by Municipality of Amsterdam.
2018 – 2021 Listening object Sonic West, commissioned by OBA (public library Amsterdam).
2013 – now Gloei!. Public art project in- and outside fitnesscenter, Amsterdam.
2006 – 2007 The White Tube. Temporary art project commisioned by Gemeente Zaanstad.
2007 ‘Van huis uit’. Three wall-to-wall fotomontages commissioned by Imagine IC, Amsterdam.
2005 GreenLight. 6 months art projection at Damrak Amsterdam. Commissioned by Projectbureau N/Z-lijn, Amsterdam.
2004 ‘Fly’. Artwork at tolhuispont in Amsterdam Noord. Commissioned by foundation North.
2004 Rhijnspoorplein. Immersive 360 degree film installation for ‘De Verlichting’ Club 11, Amsterdam. Commissioned by AFK (Amsterdam Fund for the Arts).
2002 – 2003 ‘Walk’. Three ultra short films projected on facade of De Balie at Leidseplein. Commissioned by debate center De Balie, Amsterdam.
2002 ‘InnerCityWally’. Series of 7 semi-permanemt animated film projections at 5 outdoor locations in Amsterdam city center. Funded by AFK and Mondriaan foundation.
2001 ‘Play Art’. Poster for city wide art campaign ‘2001, a public space odyssee’. Manifestation AFK.
2001 ‘Oehoe’. Permanent series of open air art projections in the Vondelpark, Amsterdam. Commissioned by stadsdeel Amsterdam Oud Zuid.
1999 “SM+AUDI=AU!’. Filmprojection at the facade of De Balie, Amsterdam.

Artistic research and consultancy
2025 – 2026 Research into the noise perception of residents living near Gilze-Rijen Air Base. Commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Defense.
2024 Research into the perceived acoustical environment of the future residential area Wilderszijde. Comissioned by the municipality Lansingerland (NL – PZH).
2022 – 2025 Expert for City of Antwerp on sound planning, acoustics and sound perception for five pilot sound planning projects.
2021 – ongoing Artistic research and consultancy about sound, sound art and ‘sonic wellbeing’ together with professor Marcel Cobussen, Leiden University. Commissioned by the Municipality of Rotterdam. Research websites a.o.: hofbogengeluidsbeleving.nl and rijnhavengeluidsbeleving.nl.
2018 P_LOK, Percepties LeefOmgevingsKwaliteit; Benchmarking Methods for measurement and analysis. Case study (consisting of a.o. workshops, presentations and report) about sound and new methodologies for epidemological measurements of sound/soundscapes for RIVM (National Institute for Public Health and the Environment).

Participatory art projects
2021 Sonic Aggregator. Art installation in- and outside Haus der Statistik, Alexanderplatz Berlin
2016 – 2022 Sonic West. Commissioned by public library Amsterdam (OBA).
2017 Crowdsourcing Mr. Visserplein. Community research project into sound and architecture together with Centre for Urban Studies (CUS, UvA), RIVM and Municipality of Amsterdam.

Presentations and events initiated & organised by me (selection)
2023 Sonic Aggregator at Circl. Three months presentation of collected neighbourhood sounds with interactive listening object at Circl, the circulair pavilion of ABN/AMRO at Zuidas, Amsterdam.
2019 Symposium Sonic West: collective urbanism through a multiplicity of listening. OBA De Hallen, Amsterdam. https://soundtrackcity.nl/report-symposium-sonic-west/
2017 Symposium Geluid als Stadmaker (Sound as Citymaker). Reinwardt Academy, Amsterdam.
2015 Salon Deconstructing the soundwalk. AIR Berlin Alexanderplatz, Berlin.

Presentations, lectures, courses, workshops, excursions commissioned by others (selection)
2025 Listening walk and site visits for Inspiration Day lee and sound planning, Antwerp.
2025 Three day workshop at WEC Lauwersoog for SHORES, a Creative Europe cooperation project involving musical creation as a tool to raise awareness of the environmental problems affecting our shores.
2025 Soundwalk and presentation at EUROCITIES WG Noise meeting, Amsterdam.
2024 Presentation at NSG themadag Bouwen en wonen op geluidsbelaste locaties, Amersfoort.
2023 Geluid als Stadmaker. Excursion for Stadmakerscongres 2023, Rotterdam.
2023 Sonic Placemaking, How can artistic methodologies help in designing more liveable and just urban spaces?. Presentation at JPI Urban Europe AGORA “Crafting Tomorrow: The Power of Arts & Design in urban transformation” at NWO (Dutch Research Council) The Hague.
2023 Planning for calmness and beyond, introducing the concept of sonic quality. Presentation at Eurocities Ghent, working group noise.
2023 Urban Sound Symposium 2023, Barcelona. Demo of Sonic Aggregator.
2023 Sensing the Sonic City. Week-long workshop for Minerva Art Academy Groningen.
2019 – 2024 Sonic Placemaking, Designing urban auditory places. Yearly guest lecture and workshop for course ‘Sense, Space & Public Design’ at University of Amsterdam (UvA).
2022 – 2023 Workshops ‘Geluidsbeleving’ for Atlas Werkconferentie RIVM.
2020 The Perception of Sound. Lecture for 50th National Noise Day. NSG, Tivoli, Utrecht
2019 – 2020 Listening to your listening. Lecture and soundwalk at international course ‘Knowing by sensing’ VU/Orgelpark, Amsterdam.
2019 Listening to urban ambiances. Lecture at ‘Let’s talk Listening’, 20th anniversary seminar of Imagine IC Amsterdam. https://soundtrackcity.nl/seminar-lets-talk-listening/
2019 Modes of listening. Lecture and soundwalk for programme Training the Senses, Marres, Maastricht.
2018 Urban Auditory Assessment. Workshop for national congress ‘Dag v/d Stad’, Amersfoort.
2018 Sound as City Maker. Exhibition at ARCAM, Architecture Centre Amsterdam.
2016 Is place confinement a form of deafness? Lecture at the conference The Role and Position of Sounds and Sounding Arts in Public Urban Environments. Leiden University.
2012 Seminar The City As Sound, Lantaren Venster. International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR).

Applied work, supporting activities, residencies, lectureships (selection)
2009 – now Co-director Soundtrackcity. https://soundtrackcity.nl.
2015 – 2021 Board member Stichting West28.
2015 Four-months residency at AIR Berlin Alexanderplatz. Funded by Mondriaan Fund.
2005 – 2009 Chair of artists collective Vereniging Pakhuis Wilhelmina, Amsterdam.
1993 – 2007 Practice in Graphic Design and Photography (See annex).
1996 – 2002 Initiator and curator Wally public artificial light, Amsterdam. https://www.wally.nl/
1999 – 2000 Officemanager HTV de IJsberg, Dutch podium for contemporary art.
1997 – 1999 Artist/Photographer at STAP Kunstprojecten, Amsterdam.
1991 – 1997 Borax, studio for Graphic Design, Amsterdam.

Publications
2025 The Sonic Inspiration Guide. A comprehensive guide for planners and designers to support them in incorporating sound as a positive element in their designs. Commissioned by the province of South Holland (PZH) and the municipality of Rotterdam.
2023 Urban Sound Lab, De waarde van geluidsonderzoek met bewoners. In “Geluid” Dutch professional journal for acousticians. Together with Renate Zentschnig.
2020 – 2023 Consultancy reports and research websites for the municipality of Rotterdam. See a.o. hofbogengeluidsbeleving.nl, rijnhavengeluidsbeleving.nl and getijdenparkgeluidsbeleving.nl.
2022 Play Play Play, all day every day. Book with a collection of 20 playful listening scores composed by 11 authors of different ages, presented at World Listening Day.
2020 Bookchapter in The Bloomsbury Handbook of Sonic Methodologies. Sound as City Maker: Developing a Participatory Collaborative Process to Work With Sound as an Urban Resource. The Case of Mr. Visserplein (Amsterdam, NL). Together with Edda Bild and Renate Zentschnig.
2020 Homing Inside Out, A listening guide for home confinement. Published by Soundtrackcity, The Mystifiers and STEIM, Amsterdam.
2009 SOUND_TRACK_CITY. Catalogue with CD-rom marking the start of Soundtrackcity.

Publications by others (selection)
2022 Al die ándere geluiden van de stad. Feature in NRC (Dutch national newspaper).
2022 Dialing Back The Noise In The City Of Din. Feature in Noema about my work in Rotterdam.
2019 Dramaturgie van de stad. Essay by Edo Dijksterhuis in publication “Tot in de haarvaten”, Gemeente Amsterdam Zuid (in Dutch).
2018 Geluid als grondstof. Mobiele curatoren collectief #13: Soundtrackcity. Feature by Hugo Emmerzaal in Gonzo Circus nr. 146
2017 Luister naar de stad. Review of seminar ‘Geluid als Stadmaker’ by Hugo Hoes in VPRO.
2013 Interview at Sounds of Europe, a platform for field recording. https://web.archive.org/web/20190727114556/http://www.soundsofeurope.eu/eblog/soundtrackcity/
2011 Sound – Track – City, the urban soundwalk. Article by art historian Ina Boiten.

Education and traineeships
1989 Traineeship Studio Anthon Beeke, Amsterdam.
1989 International exchange Magyar Iparmüvészeti Föiskola, Budapest. With Kopek Gabor.
1988 Traineeship BRS Premsela Vonk (now Edenspiekermann), Amsterdam. With Hans Kruit en Edo Smitshuizen.
1986 – 1990 Academie Minerva, Groningen. Full-time fine arts. Diploma.
1982 – 1984 Indian and Iranian languages at Instituut Kern, Leiden University.
1976 – 1982 Spinozalyceum, Amsterdam. Gymnasium (incl. Latin and Greek). Diploma.