Free De Backer

Free De Backer is an Associate Professor in Arts Education at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, leading the Department of Educational Sciences and co-leading the Brussels Research Centre on Innovation in Learning and Diversity (BILD). She holds additional roles as VUB’s representative at RITCS (Erasmushogeschool Brussel), board member of De Veerman, and former president of ADJ (2013-2022).

Her research focuses on intersections of art, care, and disability aesthetics, with projects addressing inclusivity in cultural spaces, climate activism through arts, and compassionate communities. Key collaborations include studies with Ancienne Belgique and interdisciplinary work on cremation practices.

Recent projects include ERASMUS+ initiatives like Wave Makers (ocean health) and SEEDLING (climate justice in youth work), alongside fundamental research on migration/minorities through BIRMM. She supervises 22 theses and has 137 publications, contributing to 18 research projects since 2012.

Labs/Teams: Compassionate Communities Centre of Expertise, BILD, and interdisciplinary bioarchaeology teams. Grants include RESCALE (2025-2027), COCO_ENV (2024-2029), and BIRMM (2024-2029).