Xandra van der Eijk is a Dutch artist and researcher, interested in the fluid, networked actors that constitute waterbodies. Central to their methodology is the concept of Materiality of Place, a term devised to describe how site-specific actors embody ecological, cultural, and political worlds and how these can be uncovered by engaging in artistic fieldwork, material experimentation and technological mediation.
As the founder of Ecology Futures at the Master Institute of Visual Cultures (Avans University of Applied Sciences), Xandra has played a pivotal role in shaping ecological art education in the Netherlands. The program integrated decolonial thinking, artistic-scientific methodologies and biotechnological approaches, generating knowledge through practice-led inquiry. Their pedagogical approach translates to the work field by organising co-creation labs, collective research days, curatorial work and organising programmes in collaboration with institutions. In 2024, Van der Eijk started the long-term project Hydroformations, that focuses on the Rhine; meeting the river not as a resource to be managed, but as a living entity with its own rhythms and agency.
Their work has been award-winning and exhibited internationally, including at the Biennale of Sydney, ZKM Centre for Art and Media Karlsruhe, and MUDAC Lausanne. Xandra maintains longstanding collaborations with reputable institutions such as MU Hybrid Art House, the Bio Art & Design Award, the Embassy of the North Sea, and FIBER. Van der Eijk has published peer-reviewed writing, including in Anthropocene Curriculum in response to the Anthropocene Working Group workshops, and contributing to Emerging Bioart and Biodesign edited by William Myers. They are a member of the Confluence of European Water Bodies network on behalf of the Rhine.
When not at work, Xandra practices earth stewardship over a 240m plot of land.