What does it mean to improvise a mind and to listen deeply in the process? In this experiential workshop, psychiatrist and researcher Dr. Anja Lok joins IAS artist-in-residence and sound artist Harpo ‘t Hart to explore the shared terrain of listening and improvisation in music, political engagement, and psychotherapy as socially embedded, relational practices.

Drawing on insights from neuroaesthetics, systems theory, and cultural psychology, Anja Lok from Amsterdam UMC, introduces the concept of the improvising mind: a way of thinking, being, and relating that emerges not in isolation, but through co-regulated encounters with uncertainty, cultural meaning, and aesthetic form. Improvisation is not merely spontaneous expression; it is a responsive dialogue with inherited structures, social imaginaries, and collective emotions. In both the jazz ensemble and the therapeutic alliance, transformative change depends on a rarely emphasized faculty: deep, embodied listening.

Harpo ‘t Hart extends this notion of listening beyond the human, drawing from his work at the Embassy of the North Sea, where he explores new ways of attuning to the rhythms, voices, and silences of nonhuman actors like tides, marine life, and the sea itself. Inspired by jazz improvisation, Harpo will guide participants through somatic and sonic exercises that cultivate attentiveness to each other and to the more-than-human world.

Through a blend of live improvisation, theoretical reflection, and participatory practice, this workshop invites artists and scholars to experience improvisation as a relational act that listens, reshapes minds, and reimagines the social and ecological scripts we live by. By foregrounding deep listening as a mode of interdisciplinary collaboration, the session also offers a shared space where participants from diverse fields can transcend disciplinary boundaries and engage creatively with complexity, uncertainty, and the more-than-human world.

Programme 

This event has reached its capacity. You can register for the waiting list by clicking the button below. The IAS team will be in contact when spots open up. If you need assistance or require further information, please email the IAS team at ias@uva.nl.