University of the Underground | Tour de Moon
University of the Underground
University of the Underground

The University of the Underground was founded in February 2017, as a charity with ANBI status (RSIN 8575.82.781). The University of the Underground is a free, pluralistic and transnational university based in the basement of nightclubs- with headquarters in Amsterdam and London- and actively working with both institutions and nightlife. As charity, the hope of the University of the Underground is to bring generations together to democratise access to public institutions and trigger changes and critical reflections through the use of creative and experiential practices. With an explicit focus on political theory and philosophy, experiences, music, theatrical practices, film, social actions, and social dreaming; it aims to provide toolkits for members of the public and students to actively participate in revealing power structures in institutions. The University of the Underground supports unconventional research, countercultures, and practices that apprehend and challenge the formulation of culture, the manufacture, and commodities of knowledge. For the University of the Underground, it is essential to rethink education beyond national borders, but also to build a federation of cooperative schools globally to support the development, identification and empowerments of countercultures in institutions. As a result, the University of the Underground has started to run educational programmes in the USA, starting in summer 2019, in collaboration with the Hannah Arendt Center of Bard College and the United Nations; but also in Cairo and (online) in Tbilisi in Georgia. 

Most recently, The University of the Underground launched the High School of the Underground for the 12-18, inviting youths to join for after school programmes; this programme is run by one of the recent graduates and former alumni- Alexander Cromer.    

The University of the Underground charity supports students from around the world by granting them scholarships while it co-hosts a master’s programme, the Masters Design of Experiences, with an accredited academic partner, as well as running public events, radio programmes, and workshops.    

The University of the Underground has a board of international thinkers, philosophers, activists, aca- demics, politicians, musicians, filmmakers, innovative entrepreneurs but also creatives and curators such as Prof. Noam Chomsky, Serpentine Galleries artistic director Hans Ulrich Obrist, academic Prof. Arjun Appadurai, European MEPs Magid Magid, performers such as Ishmael Butler of Digable Planets and Shabazz Palaces and musicians Massive Attack, drag performer Peaches Christ, Ted Prize winner and SETI Institute scientist Dr. Jill Tarter, activist Nadya Tolokonnikova of Pussy Riot, author and McSweeney’s founder Dave Eggers, President of file transfer service WeTransfer, Damian Bradfield with MOMA curator Paola Antonelli amongst others plurisdisciplinary practitioners.