A campus teeming with life stressed as it may be, crisscrossed by biking students weaving and bobbing through the wandering crowds, looking hopefully for that one remaining free parking spot where not even the iron-cloud prophesied rainfall of the usual mid-Autumn Rotterdam forecast could reach. Overflowing lecture halls, and to some’s enjoyment and others’ dismay, no more online recordings. Food hot spots buzz with background chatter, seemingly unarticulated and meaningless except in the ears of the speakers and the listeners. Symbols, all, of a change or rather, a return to form. After years of confusion, shared solitude, and familiarisation with distance, we are now taking our first steps toward each other in a long time. With this, come challenges and opportunities, as innovative pathways lay unfurled before anyone who dares pick up their instrument of creation.
IBCoMagazine, as an artistic entity of its own, has similarly traversed the same pitfalls of artistic expression as any one of us. Yet, it has evolved, developed, and come out on top. This academic year, the team behind the magazine has gone through its yearly metamorphosis, and the new Editorial Board has laid out a plan meant to continue refreshing the face of the IBCoMagazine and pushing it forward down its evolutionary path.
We remain committed to our structure and very soon, the new teams of the magazine will get to start working on the first of four digital issues that will be published over the course of the year, as well as the many blog posts uploaded to our website. Our aim is to foster and encourage creativity and a libertine materialisation of the artists present within each of our minds and hearts. Innovation and novelty have as much of a place within the electronic papers of our magazine as classic prose, poetry, and photography. Creativity is abundant among the students of the IBCoM programme and we wish to provide a helping hand, a friendly word of advice, and a platform from which to take off.
Reinventing oneself is a core aspect of artistic expression, and this year, IBCoMagazine will strive to bring a refreshing look to the forefront of our outward presentation. At the same time, visibility goes further than colour schemes and concerns every team member. Therefore, we are excited not only to meet and welcome so many young artists into our midsts but also to give them the spotlight so that they – like us – can explore creativity and be supported to do so.
Most importantly, what we want from IBCoMagazine is to build a tight-knit community of like-minded, talented people – active students that will support and encourage each other. After all, it is you who truly runs and directs the magazine. It is you who write the words, draw and designs the pages, and capture moments in a still. It is you who market and publicise, and it is you who bring us all together at our events. Our canvas is laid before you, you merely have to make the choices.
Author: Victor Mihai Vencsel
Editor: Nimrat Kaur
