Construct / Connect
Publications / Screenings


De Mobiele Materialenbank
publication, 2025
Stef Lemmens, Merel Thomissen, 
Jolien Fagard

‘De Mobiele Materialenbank’ is a research on the narrative surrounding waste materials that are often forgotten in peoples houses. By highlighting this narrative Stef Lemmens wants to change our perspective towards these materials and connect people with each other along the way.  

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Keystone Species
short film, 2025
Elke Cuppens, Stef Lemmens


At Nomad City we explore what keystone species can once again play a part in our local context, in our everyday lives, not to go back in time and ignore modern civilazation, but to restore our care and respect for our natural environment, so we can avoid the collapse of natural ecosystems. 

‘Keystone Species’ was selected as the Winner of MEOW Short Film Festival 2025 at FAX, Hasselt

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Nomad City, a research on sustainable & communal living
publication, 2023
Stef Lemmens, Milan Gillard, Mirte Meneve

In a world marked by an array of social and ecological challenges, the Nomad City project emerged as an inspiring response to these issues. Follow the journey of Milan Gillard, Mirte Meneve and Stef Lemmens as they embark on a transformative project in the heart of a city.

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Walk Me Home
publication, 2021
Stef Lemmens


What is the essence of a home? This question has been circling my mind for the past three years. In this time I constructed various types of homes and examined my own behavior while living inside them. When building I always started from a certain necessity that motivated me to push the limits of each construction as far as I could.
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About
Nomad City 
Instagram
lemmens_stef@hotmail.com
Stef Lemmens (1993, BE) is a transdisciplinary artist who explores and pushes the boundaries between art, science, technology, and everyday life. His practice lies at the intersection of these domains, where he combines methods and perspectives to discover and disseminate new ways of thinking, creating, and coexisting in the city.

His work often manifests as interactive, participatory installations in public spaces, making these themes accessible to passersby in a low-threshold manner. By placing art outside traditional museum contexts, he aims to give everyone the opportunity to actively participate and reflect on themes such as sustainability and connection. For him, art is not a static object but a dynamic process that encourages people to view the world—and their own role in it—differently.

In 2023, he co-founded Nomad City, an artistic research center and living artwork where artists, thinkers, and makers collectively explore how sustainability and connection can take shape within a self-declared village. As a co-initiator and resident, he seeks to blur the rigid boundaries between art, life, and learning. Nomad City is both a physical and mental space where new forms of (co)living are imagined that not only positively impact local communities but also the natural environment.

Stef Lemmens has been active in the arts since 2018. Over the years, he has collaborated with numerous organizations (Kunst in Zicht, De Veerman, The School, Constructlab, The Artist & The Others), museums (Z33, ModeMuseum Hasselt, S.M.A.K., Pontarte, etc.), and schools (PXL MAD-Faculty Hasselt, ZUYD Maastricht, LUCA School of Arts, UCLL, etc.). His practice constantly navigates between his artistic projects and the educational institutions where he works as a teacher and artistic mentor.










Projects / Research
Artistic Research on Living
Kunst In Zicht, Turnhout
2022 - ...

Social & Urban Design
The School, Hasselt
2018 - ...

Artistic Research on Sustainable & Communal Living
, Nomad City, Hasselt
2021 - ...

Walnoot 26
De Veerman, Leuven
2026

Artiesten In Residentie
Plattelandscentrum, Meetjesland
2026

Flou
De Veerman, Antwerpen
2025

The Shitty City
Nomad City, Hasselt
2024

The Devil Castle
Constructlab, Gent
2020

Object & Social Design
Studio Oebjet Troevee, Hasselt
2019

DISplay
Constructlab, Hasselt
2019

Internship Visual Arts
Patrick Ceyssens, Houthalen
2018





Teaching

Artistic Needs
ZUYD, Maastricht
2024 - 2025

Broodnodige Vaardigheden
Kindcentrum Straal, Schimpen
2024

Interaction Design
PXL MAD-Faculty, Hasselt
2022 - 2024

Fashion Upcycling
Villa Basta, Hasselt
2021

Photography
Villa Basta, Hasselt
 2020 - 2022
 
Graphic Design
Villa Basta, Hasselt
2018 - 2021





Exhibitions / ScreeningsThe ODYSSEY of ARTS
ENCI, Maastricht
2025

The School Herdefinieert de Materialenbank, FAX, Hasselt
2025

MEOW Short Film Festival
FAX, Hasselt
2025

Huiskamer van de Kunstenaar
FAX, Hasselt
2025

Welkom in Vlasselt
FAX, Hasselt
2024

The Burnout Society
Pontarte, Maastricht
2024

The Shitty City Festival
Tournée Locale, Hasselt
2024

Festival van de Gelijkheid,
Viernulvier, Gent
2024

Lente Festival
Maison Florida, Hasselt
2023

Ruimte in de Stad
Het Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam
2022

Wearable Space for Tea & Dialogue S.M.A.K., Gent
2022

A scraped existence
Kunstennacht, Hasselt
2021

Cake aan de zee
PXL-MAD, Hasselt
2021

Magnificent Migraine Festival
Maison Florida, Hasselt
2021

1M2
Moving, Hasselt
2020

Beauty / ?
K.L.8, Brussel
2020

Ithaka Arts Festival
Stadsvilla, Leuven
2020

Moving Backwards
Maison Florida, Hasselt
2020

Without the first, the second would not be there, CCHA, Hasselt
2019

SABOTAGE
Dommelhof, Pelt
2019

BIT ROT
CCHA, Hasselt

2018

10 x A4
Päper ShØp, Hasselt
2018

EXIT
CCHA, Hasselt
2018

MoMeNT, Tongeren
2017

Exchanging Connection
ZAWP, Bilbao
2016




Lectures / Workshops

Artist talk, Kaka Mama
ZUYD, Maastricht
2025

Workshop, Hate Speech Poetry 
Atheneum, Brugge
2024

Artist talk
Avansa Limburg, Hasselt
2024

Workshop, Nettles & Textiles
Villa Castrum, Visé
2024

Workshop, Hate Speech Poetry
 PontArte, Maastricht
2024

Artist talk
LUCA School of Arts, Genk
2024

Workshop, de-schooling, un-schooling, anti-school, Tetem, Enschede
2023

Artist talk
E³UDRES² European University, Hasselt
2023

Artist talk
ZUYD, Maastricht
2023




Publications / Texts
De Mobiele Materialenbank
Stef Lemmens
2025

Essay for Situated Publishing
Milan Gillard
2025

Essay, part of TURBULENCE
Pablo Hannon
2024

Nomad City
Milan Gillard, Mirte Menève, 
Stef Lemmens
2023

Maison Florida Year 2 - Independence The School
2022

Walk Me Home
Stef Lemmens
2021




AwardsWinner of MEOW Short Film Festival FAX, Hasselt
2025




Press
‘Waarom zoveel luxe opgeven? We willen meer tijd in plaats van meer geld’
by Maya Toebat, De Standaard
2025

‘Lore Praet & Stef Lemmens over creëren, recycleren en ruimte maken in de stad’
by Derya Erdogan en Nele Kelchtermans, Zuurstof voor Hasselt
2025


‘Shitty City is artistiek onderzoek rond compost en cultuur’
by Lieven Roux, Radio 2
2024

‘Stef van Nomad City: ‘Ik timmerde zelf een huisje in elkaar voor zo’n 500 euro’
By Marijke Clabots, Flair
2024


‘Nomad City, een nomadisch onderzoek in Hasselt’
by TVL
2023

‘Minimalistisch wonen mét gezelschap? Hier kan het’   
By Giulia Latinne, Het Laatste Nieuws
2023 

‘Bezoek aan Crocodile Boulevard’ 
By Sam Stefani, Avansa Limburg
2022


‘Stef en Milan zoeken drie kompanen die drie maanden lang willen leven als nomaden in Hasselt’
By Dirk Jacobs
2022

‘Maak kennis met Stef’
By Young Faces, Stad Hasselt
2022

‘Hasselaar sleurt zijn hele hebben en houden doorheen de stad’
By Dirk Jacobs
2021

‘Mensen denken dat ik niet rondkom, maar ik ben op een andere manier rijk’
By Giulia Latinne, Het Laatste Nieuws
2021

‘Stef (27) ruilt luxewoning in voor zelfgebouwd winkelkar-bamboehuisje van 500 euro’
By Giulia Latinne, Het Laatste Nieuws
2021









Last Updated 01.07.2025


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