Het debat rondom onderzoek lijkt een steeds prominentere rol te gaan spelen in de actuele kunstpraktijk. Inmiddels worden er ook regelmatig in Nederland conferenties en expertmeetings georganiseerd over de wijze waarop onderzoek in de kunsten kanplaatsvinden, en hoe dit ‘artistieke onderzoek’ zich verhoudt tot andere vormen van (wetenschappelijk) onderzoek. Tot nu toe leverden deze discussies echter zelden goedbeargumenteerde criteria of richtlijnen op. Het nieuwste boek van Mika Hannula (in samenwerking met Juho Suoranta en Tere Vaden) Artistic Research: Theories, Methodsand Practices (Helsinki, 2005) wil een einde maken aan dit wetenschapsfilosofische tekortdoor zich volledig te richten op methodologische vraagstukken.
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Photography’s modern day quest was the reason for the research group Image in Context to start up a centre of expertise in which the insights ofphotographers and artists concerning this problematic status of photography can be brought together and studied. This centre of expertise PRICCAPractice (PhotographicResearch in Cross-disciplinary and Cross-cultural Artistic Practices) conducts researchinto the way in which professional photography is reinventing itself. It is aimed at theartistic research practices of artists, designers and photographers into the status ofphotography in our society. The focus lies on newly developed methods concerningphotography as part of an interdisciplinary artistic (and critical) research practice;photography as a means of research to make reality visible again. For this reason it makes sense that photography should allow itself to be nourished and inspired by other reality seeking disciplines, such as sociology and anthropology. Based on her interest in processes which are socially meaningful, photography moreover connects itself with fields of study such as semiotics, cultural studies, art theory and philosophy. And in her forms of expression she learns from literature, theatre, and journalism as forms of representation. In other words, the centre of expertise researches how dimensions of reality in photography are made into problems in images which are not merely representations, but also a commentary on photography itself and which explore the narrative and communicative possibilities and limitations of the photographic image at the same time. We are looking for artistic research practices in which a new, authentic relationship between the photographic image and reality will be researched.In this paper I would like to present a few of these practices.
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Frederiek Bennema introduces foraging as a strategy for learning and research within higher art education, and as a practice and an attitude focused on ecological thinking, care and dialogue. This article aims to offer insights into foraging and how it helps students navigate the landscape of art education. It further discusses how foraging relates to artistic research and how it can help position artistic research in relation to more established forms of research.
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This PD project aims to gather new knowledge through artistic and participatory design research within neighbourhoods for possible ways of addressing and understanding the avoidance and numbness caused by feelings of vulnerability, discomfort and pain associated with eco-anxiety and chronic fear of environmental doom. The project will include artistic production and suitable forms of fieldwork. The objectives of the PD are to find answers to the practice problem of society which call for art that sensitises, makes aware and helps initiate behavioural change around the consequences of climate change. Rather than visualize future sea levels directly, it will seek to engage with climate change in a metaphorical and poetic way. Neither a doom nor an overly techno-optimistic scenario seem useful to understand the complexity of flood risk management or the dangers of flooding. By challenging both perspectives with artistic means, this research hopes to counter eco-anxiety and create a sense of open thought and susceptibility to new ideas, feelings and chains of thought. Animation and humour, are possible ingredients. The objective is to find and create multiple Dutch water stories, not just one. To achieve this, it is necessary to develop new methods for selecting and repurposing existing impactful stories and strong images. Citizens and students will be included to do so via fieldwork. In addition, archival materials will be used. Archives serve as a repository for memory recollection and reuse, selecting material from the audiovisual archive of the Institute of Sound & Vision will be a crucial part of the creative work which will include two films and accompanying music.
The European creative visual industry is undergoing rapid technological development, demanding solid initiatives to maintain a competitive position in the marketplace. AVENUE, a pan-European network of Centres of Vocational Excellence, addresses this need through a collaboration of five independent significant ecosystems, each with a smart specialisation. AVENUE will conduct qualified industry-relevant research to assess, analyse, and conclude on the immediate need for professional training and educational development. The primary objective of AVENUE is to present opportunities for immediate professional and vocational training, while innovating teaching and learning methods in formal education, to empower students and professionals in content creation, entrepreneurship, and innovation, while supporting sustainability and healthy working environments. AVENUE will result in a systematised upgrade of workforce to address the demand for new skills arising from rapid technological development. Additionally, it will transform the formal education within the five participating VETs, making them able to transition from traditional artistic education to delivering skills, mindsets and technological competencies demanded by a commercial market. AVENUE facilitates mobility, networking and introduces a wide range of training formats that enable effective training within and across the five ecosystems. A significant portion of the online training is Open Access, allowing professionals from across Europe to upgrade their skills in various processes and disciplines. The result of AVENUE will be a deep-rooted partnership between five strong ecosystems, collaborating to elevate the European industry. More than 2000 professionals, employees, students, and young talents will benefit from relevant and immediate upgrading of competencies and skills, ensuring that the five European ecosystems remain at the forefront of innovation and competitiveness in the creative visual industry.
Due to their diverse funding sources, theatres are under increasing pressure to demonstrate impact on society. The Raad voor Cultuur (2023) for example advised the secretary of state to include societal impact as an additional evaluation measure next to artistic value. Many theaters, such as the Chassé Theater and Parkstad Limburg Theaters, have reformulated their missions to focus on impact of performances on visitors. This is a profound transformation from merely selling tickets and filling seats, and requires new measurement instruments to monitor, manage, and improve impact. Currently available instruments are insufficient, and effective monitoring is crucial to larger future projects that theaters are currently planning to systematically broaden impacts of performances on their communities. The specific goal of this project is to empower theaters to monitor and improve impact by developing a brief experience impact questionnaire, taking existing data from student projects conducted at the Chassé Theater about performing arts experiences on one hand, and experience impact theory innovations on the other, as starting points. We will develop potential items to measure and benchmark against established measures of valued societal outcomes, such as subjective well-being and quality of life. These will be measured in questionnaires developed with project partners Chassé Theater and Parkstad Limburg Theaters and administered before and after performances across a wide range of genres. The resulting data will enable comparison of new questionnaire items with benchmarked measures of valued societal outcomes. The final product of the project will be a brief impact questionnaire, which within several brief self-report instruments and just a few minutes can effectively be used to quantify the impact of a performing arts experience. A workshop and practice-oriented article will make this questionnaire implementable, thereby mobilizing the key enabling methodology of monitoring and impact measurement in the performing arts sector.
