School of Experience 2026
What about Connection?

05. / 06. nov in Wuppertal
07. / 08. nov in Düsseldorf

From 5–8 November 2026, the fourth edition of the School of Experiences will take place – developed by choreographer and dancer Ben J. Riepe and team. The series of events brings together perspectives from science, art and somatic practice around various questions. With “What about Connection?”, the focus is on the possibilities of connection, connectedness, coming closer and belonging.

In a time characterised by acceleration, digitalisation and isolation, we are at the same time more strongly connected than ever before. And yet many people experience loneliness, alienation and the loss of community. The School of Experiences takes this tension as its starting point.

Planned are talks, various opportunities for encounter and an artistic programme featuring the performance “Holy Shit” by Ben J. Riepe, a dance project with Patricia Carolin Mai, a concert by Bára Gísladóttir and a choir project with Ari Benjamin Meyers, artist and currently substitute professor at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf.

The School of Experiences is aimed both at students from seven departments at five universities in NRW as part of the “Campus” and at a broad public.

All venues for 2026 in Wuppertal and Düsseldorf, as well as the full programme, will be announced shortly.

Detailed information about the School of Experiences 2026 is already available on the Ben J. Riepe-Homepage!

Stay tuned! ❤︎

Just drop by
DER FREIRAUM

The FREIRAUM, collaborative space for concept and work for the arts and science, has been perceived as an “artist run space” since 2020, as operated by the Ben J. Riepe team. The FREIRAUM consists of two ATELIERs, which can be reserved by artists free of charge. The Co-Working-Space is open from mon to fri, 10 am to 4 pm and does not require any special registration.

Opening hours
Co-Working-Space

Open mo to fr, 10 am to 4 pm
Düsseldorf, Engelbertstr. 13

Latest news
No further funding from TANZPAKT from 2026 onward

The TANZPAKT jury informed us on Friday that funding for FREIRAUM will not be continued in 2026. Thanks to the City of Düsseldorf, FREIRAUM will remain open at least until the end of 2025; for now, the project will continue as usual through the end of this year. In light of these new developments, we now need to consider how and whether our conceptual work for the independent scene can continue, while all projects conceived by the BJR company will carry on as planned.

Find more detailed information here.

SOUND & BODY
Day Long Session with Ben J. Riepe and further speakers

From Listening to Feeling
Breath Work | Inputs on Sound Research | Intuitive Collective Concert & Dinner
Friday, Nov 28, 3–9 p.m.

With our After Work Sessions, we regularly start the week on Mondays — sometimes mindfully, sometimes energetically. In November, a special format awaits us: the first Day-long Session!

On Friday, Nov 28, from 3–9 p.m. (including dinner & open ending), we dedicate ourselves under the title “Sound & Body” to the experience of sound, body, and resonance. Alongside physical-practice impulses from various speakers, there will be short insights into the current artistic research of Ben J. Riepe, which deals with sound, listening, and their effect on the body. Together with guests from research and art, as well as workshop leader Walter von Lingen, we immerse ourselves in the world of sound — from breathing exercises and inputs to shared experience on the Sound Meadow, where intuitive music emerges and body, movement, and sound connect.

An afternoon and evening for listening, feeling, and exploring – Welcome to the Day-long Session: Sound & Body!

Tickets via rausgegangen.de (€15 / reduced €7 for pupils, students, retirees, people with disabilities, and all for whom the full price is currently not possible).

The ticket also includes a freshly cooked vegetarian dinner (around 7 p.m.).
No musical background is required; water and snacks will be provided during the day, but feel free to bring a drink of your choice. We recommend wearing clothing that allows you to move and lie down comfortably.

We look forward to seeing you!

School of Experiences 2025
“What About Reality?”

In May 2025, Ben J. Riepe—together with numerous key figures from the arts and sciences—invites you to the third edition of the School of Experience, an interdisciplinary format for students, artists, and an engaged public.

Under the title “What about Reality?”, we will explore current questions surrounding body, art, cognition, and AI—at a time when our realities and perceptions are constantly shifting. Between discourses, workshops, and lived experiences, a space opens up where thinking, sensing, and acting resonate with one another.

Module 1: May 2–3
Module 2: May 22–25

At various locations in Düsseldorf: FREIRAUM Düsseldorf, Weltkunstzimmer, and—in cooperation with the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences and Arts—in the Academy’s spaces!

The FREIRAUM community is especially warmly invited to attend all events and formats of the School of Experience “What about Reality?”.
You can find the full SoE 2025 program here!