Orion Maxted

Orion Maxted is a lecturer and practice-led researcher at the Center Leo Apostel (CLEA) of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), where he directs the ArtScience Research Group. His work bridges theatre, systems science, and complexity through emergent performances and methodologies for distributed collective intelligence.

Education:

• Master of Theatre from DasArts (Amsterdam)
• First Artist Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study, University of Amsterdam

Maxted challenges Western theatre conventions by creating cybernetic, algorithmic, and systemic theatre works like The Brain: Theatre of Mind and Systems at Play symposiums. His research explores homologies between play, complexity, and cognitive science, often manifesting in self-organizing performances and play-based education programs. He has collaborated with pioneers in systems biology (Hans Westerhof) and complexity science (Francis Heylighen), contributing to projects like HUMAN SIMULATION and The Origins of Goal Directedness.

Scientific Awards and Collaborations:

• BioArt and Design Award
• First Artist Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study, University of Amsterdam
• Collaborations with Prof. Hans Westerhof, Prof. Francis Heylighen, and Katarina Petrović

He co-founded Buckminster College (an experimental complexity education program for children) and curates transdisciplinary initiatives like the Self-Organizing Symposium on Self-Organization and the Imaginary Institute. His pandemic-era projects, including the The Interactions research group, focus on evolutionary dynamics and collective intelligence.