The Royal Conservatoire and the Royal Academy give permission to no fewer than 10 artists to start a PhD. Never before so many doctoral projects got approved at the Schools of Arts.
The biggest screening room of Cinema Zuid was packed when Geert Goiris presented his PhD project 'World Without Us'. Over the period of 5 years, Geert made photographs and films seeking a contemporary expression of the representation of 'the last days', or end times, a world without humans.
Internationally acclaimed marimba player Chin Cheng Lin presented his doctoral research project. The musician investigated the influence of the Chinese martial art Tai Chi on marimba playing.
There are two mandates in the Visual Arts, at least one for Graphic Design, and three in Music and Performing Arts with a focus on world music, the social role of the artist, electronics and improvisation methodology.
Marimbist Adilia Yip is the 8th Doctor of the Conservatoire. She examined the West African sounds and musical traditions of the balafon, an ethnic xylophone that is considered the forerunner of the marimba, with gourds hung under the wooden slats.