the Milena principle : School Projects & workshops
Educational projects for young children
Educational Art Project – De Toren School, Belgium 2018.
Bibliotheek der Wandelingen | Gemeentelijke Basisschool De Toren, Melsele, Belgium | March 19–23, 2018
Teachers Hilde Van Esbroeck and Chris Thyssen organized three workshops centered around the theme of the Library Of Walks (Bibliotheek der Wandelingen). Stefaan van Biesen shared insights into his artistic practice and encouraged students to explore creativity through nature and environmental topics. The theme of Letters to a Tree was also discussed. The vibrant results of the students' work were showcased in the classrooms for all to see.
At De Toren School in Melsele (Beveren, Belgium), an art workshop for 10-year-olds invites children to explore nature, ecology, and self-reflection.
Inspired by the themes Letters to a Tree, The Library of Walks, and Our Little Museums, the project combines reading, writing, drawing, and walking as creative tools.
Children are encouraged to observe, imagine, and express—building a deeper connection with both the world around them and their inner thoughts. Through this artistic journey, learning becomes a shared act of curiosity and discovery.
Educational School Project | OLVG at Melsele, Belgium | 2017
Library of Walks | Onze Lieve Vrouw van Gaverland School, Melsele, Belgium | March 19–23, 2017
At the invitation of Katrien Van Stappen, lecturer in Primary Teacher Training & Creative Arts Education at Odisee University of Applied Sciences, artist Stefaan van Biesen conducted a three-day workshop with 10-year-old pupils at the Onze Lieve Vrouw van Gaverland School in Melsele.
The workshop explored themes central to van Biesen’s artistic practice, including:
Writing a letter to a tree
Utopia?
Creating a walking library
The project involved two teachers and their classes, culminating in a special presentation of the students' work in the school’s multi-purpose hall. It concluded with a public opening day, offering a meaningful and engaging finish to the initiative.
Educational school project at Ecole Pierre et Marie Curie at La Romieu France 2016.
École Pierre et Marie Curie, Public Primary SchoolLa Romieu, France – 2016
With thanks to Annick Boucher | † Christian Porré
As part of Stefaan van Biesen’s solo exhibition Passages in the Collegiale (a medieval monastery), a workshop was organised in collaboration with the local Pierre et Marie Curie school. All primary classes participated.
The day began with a walk through the village, during which the children were asked a series of questions about Stefaan van Biesen’s work by Christian Porré, who led the walk. Along the route, various locations featuring artworks were visited. At each stop, themes from the artist’s work were discussed in connection with current issues such as nature and climate change. The aim was to raise awareness among the children about both art and science, while also encouraging them to reflect on their everyday community and environment.
La Romieu is a village often visited by pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela. Many choose to stop here for an overnight stay. The idea of ‘walking’ is therefore deeply embedded in the spirit of the place.
Christian Porré was the organiser and guide for this project. Sadly, he passed away a few years later. We miss him deeply and continue to remember his passion for art and society. He remains in our thoughts as a valued partner of the Milena principle.
(no) Tour | Museum of Contemporary Art S.M.A.K. | Ghent Belgium 2011
The (no) Tour project included workshops for children and teenagers on locative media, sound art, and geolocated poetry, in collaboration with WIT Urban Team (Margot Dieleman, Eric Windey, Stefaan van Biesen), Escoitar, and the Milena principle.
noTours was an urban cultural and art project focused on locative media, where artists and engineers collaborated from an artistic perspective, inspired by the Situationists and the concept of the dérive (drift).
It was an open-source platform featuring an easy-to-use web editor that allowed users to create audio walks, which could then be downloaded onto smartphones. Using the editor, users could tag locations with sounds, which were later played back on-site. Through the noTours Android app, the GPS detected the user’s location and played 3D audio content (binaural and ambisonic) tailored to the exact spots.
This system allowed walkers to explore locations in a non-linear, self-paced manner, experiencing a deep acoustic journey tied in real-time to the physical space they were in. noTours created an intervention in the perception of public space, seen as a flow of complex actions, events, and a mirror of collective memory—a way to experience an emotional and hidden city.
The project engaged with a new form of art that invited participants to reimagine and interact with the city. Open-source by design, it embodied our philosophy of cultural participation from the ground up. The project aimed to shift processes related to social expression and cultural heritage, with active involvement from local residents and youth.
The project explores the intersection of outer silence—found in natural or historical soundscapes—and the inner, subjective experience of silence. By engaging with these dimensions, silence becomes an active part of our cultural memory and the lived experience of the city.
A key element of Growing Silence is its focus on younger generations: students, emerging artists, and future urban residents. They are invited to co-create and reflect on silence's role in their surroundings, imagining new urban futures where silence is embraced as a design principle.
In a world of constant noise—digital, social, and environmental—Growing Silence calls for deeper listening, more mindful design, and a reimagined city where silence still has a place.
Soundscapes were created by poet Geert Vermeire (text and organization), composer and sound engineer Enrique Thomas (Escoitar, Spain), and sound artist Stefaan van Biesen (sound and text). The workshop at the musuem was led by Filip Van de Velde (SMAK).
The project also featured guest singer Eurudike de Beul (classical singer and voice artist). The walk took place near the Citadel Park, in the vicinity of the museum, where participants could listen to the sound pieces as they explored the area.
Workshop with children at Museu Noguiera da Silva, Braga Portugal 2010.
I Am Countless Colours
During the solo exhibition How Long Is Now? by Stefaan van Biesen, a children's workshop was held at the museum.
A children's workshop at the Nogueira da Silva Museum in Braga, Portugal, during the summer of 2010. Children of various ages were welcomed into a circle of colourful cushions—this marked the beginning of their creative journey. They were invited to explore which colours they personally identified with, especially in relation to the natural world. This exploration was brought to life through a vibrant walk in the museum’s stunning baroque garden.
Geert Vermeire led a “buzz session,” a musical composition inspired by the many different humming sounds of bees. The results of the children’s creative expressions were later discussed in the garden in a lighthearted yet thoughtful way by art historian Filip Van de Velde and Dr. Maria Helena Trindade.
School Project at Sint Jozef Klein Seminarie Sint-Niklaas 2008
I am my own luggage | A house is only a home when it is filled with the spirit of its inhabitants.
I Am My Own Luggage – SJKS Sint-Niklaas Belgium 2008.
At the invitation of principal Danny Van Royen of Sint-Jozef Klein Seminarie in Sint-Niklaas, the Milena principle was asked to develop a creative project (Ik ben mijn eigen bagage | I am my own luggage) with students as part of the school’s anniversary celebrations. Several workshops were organized, including creative writing (Geert Vermeire), movement through Tai Chi (Thomas Roelant), music (Vincent Ghadimi), and visual arts (Stefaan van Biesen).
In the visual arts workshop, students created scale models of a house, which they were asked to color according to their own feelings or intuition. This resulted in a modest performance by the students and a small installation in the school corridors, documented on video. Each participating student received a copy of this video as a final work—an artistic souvenir for the future.
Additionally, a print titled Caution! Playing Thoughts (Opgepast : spelende gedachten), was created by Anna Maria Mestdagh & Stefaan van Biesen and was given a permanent place within the school.
Maps & Letters for On The Road | Traveling Inside Your Head 2006.
St. Martin’s Day began with a participatory sound performance in the refectory, engaging all the children. Meanwhile, a subtle artistic intervention in the classroom transformed the atmosphere—a carefully crafted soundscape set the mood, inviting the children into a traveling mindset.
A school day that breaks away from the ordinary.
A day where everything feels different from the usual rhythm of school life.
Throughout the classrooms and the academy, visual artworks took shape. In the writing hall, students composed travel letters inspired by their preparatory walks, the installations in the entrance and writing halls, and the overarching theme of On the Road. These elements sparked conversations about art, journeys, and exploration.
To be on the road is to be in motion—but travel takes many forms. Sometimes, you don’t need to move at all; inner journeys and flights of imagination can transport you just as far. Some days are so surprising that they feel like entire journeys in themselves.
Traveling often means arriving at a new place—perhaps one where you discover yourself. But it also means leaving behind, letting go, and embracing the unexpected.
Travel is like breathing out: pausing, taking a moment where time seems to stand still. It is also like breathing in: movement, rhythm, coming and going.
Ultimately, traveling is transformation—a dynamic experience of encountering moments that come and go almost effortlessly. This is the journey at the heart of our project.
The project unfolded into a ‘writing hall’ featuring the hanging artwork Geist (Spirit) by Stefaan van Biesen, which imagined a journey inward. Accompanied by a ‘walking library’ created by the children, the classrooms were transformed with a soundscape and small visual interventions, setting the tone for reflection. In the refectory, a sound performance Handklap-Sonate | (Clapping Sonata—invited all the children to participate, fostering connection and spontaneity.
In the entrance hall, a ‘brievenstroom’ (Letter Stream) installation was displayed, featuring hundreds of letters and strips of paper with thoughts written by the students. Videos of the Milena artists reflecting on the theme of being ‘on the road’ were shown at various locations, while large panels featured instant drawings and texts created during the event.
In the evening, parents were invited to explore the Library of Walks, a student-driven project. Through a series of walks, students collected objects or observations which they placed in glass jars. The event was warmly received by the parents.
The students collected paper “thought strips” containing single words or intriguing reflections. All of these strips were eventually assembled into a spiralling installation with a ungoing video in the school’s entrance hall. With thanks to principal Walter Van Dam.
Workshop Public Library Pittem Belgium 2004.
Geert Vermeire invited Stefaan van Biesen to host a playful workshop at the Pittem library. Together with the children, they went on a walk full of wonder and discovery. Their findings and impressions were captured in a creative and personal way — collected like treasures in glass jars.
Back at the library, everyone shared their stories and gave their ideas even more shape and meaning.
In the second part of the workshop, the children took part in a mini performance using a special prop inspired by Stefaan van Biesen’s installation Plant Whisperer. This artwork invited participants to engage in a quiet, whispering conversation with a young tree — perhaps to encourage it, gently, to grow tall and strong?
Start of The Library Of Walks | Hof Ter Saksen Beveren Belgium 2003.
As part of the in situ art project “Cut from the Same Wood” — a group exhibition featuring artists working with nature and trees — a special children's workshop was organized.
For the very first time, a walk through nature became the starting point for creating a unique library filled with glass jars, each one holding small artifacts collected from the natural surroundings.
The children also captured their impressions through drawings, expressing their personal connection with the environment in creative ways.
To deepen that connection, each child was invited for a short “interview,” where they could share their thoughts and feelings about trees and nature in their own words.
The workshop was guided by Geert Vermeire, Anna Maria Mestdagh, and Stefaan van Biesen. Around twelve children joined the adventure — some of whom got their first (muddy) taste of the wild corners of the Hof Ter Saksen park in Beveren!
A Creative Workshop with Children at the Local Library in Bredene 2002.
During this workshop, children were invited to imagine their own fantasy world—an imaginary land shaped entirely by their creativity and imagination. They began by designing their island on paper and then brought it to life collaboratively by recreating it on the large library windows using adhesive film.
The workshop was inspired by the imaginary map Het land van Zijn, Is (The Land of Being, Is), created by artist Stefaan van Biesen in 1994. It took place as part of the Verticale Stromen (Vertical Streams) exhibition, curated by Filip Van de Velde and organized by poet and head librarian Geert Vermeire.
