THEORIES AND PRACTICES OF CONTEMPORARY ARTISTIC RESEARCH A TRANSDISCIPLINARY APPROACH

Brera Academy of Fine Arts announces the international seminar “Theories and practices of contemporary artistic research: a transdisciplinary approach”, curated by Domenico Quaranta, which will be held at the Sala Napoleonica of the Brera Palace on March 18-19 2025.

The event marks the launch of the project “IartNET - an international platform for artistic research and cultural heritage in Higher Education in the Arts and Music”,funded by NextGenerationEU and coordinated by Nicoletta Leonardi.

Following the establishment of doctoral programs at Italian higher arts education institutions in 2024, the seminar addresses artistic research from a transdisciplinary perspective across different genres and media, responding to the need for discussions and exchange on ideas, methodologies, and practices of artistic research at an international level.

The Opening Keynote is by Giovanna Cassese, President of the National Council for the Arts and Music Education (CNAM).

Panel 1, chaired by Domenico Quaranta, is devoted to contemporaneity, interpreted not only as a mere temporal designation, but also as a condition marked by states of emergency and the impact of global information technologies on our perception of temporality. The panel concludes with a discussion on the role of contemporary art and art institutions in the storytelling economy of the Post-Truth era. Speakers: Leevi Haapala, Jacob Lund, Santiago Zabala.

Panel 2, chaired by Eva Frapiccini, addresses current practice-based artistic research vis-à-vis the institutional frameworks in which this is developed across disciplines, from the visual arts to dance and music. Speakers: Samuel Bianchini, Elena Cologni, Leonella Grasso Caprioli, Rosita Mariani, Akram Zaatari.

Panel 3, chaired by Leonella Scacco, focuses on some key issues in contemporary artistic research, including the relations among humans, other living organisms, and machines, the impact of automation and artificial intelligence on contemporary artistic practices, sustainability and the care for the common good in design and architecture. Speakers: Kristin Bergaust, Fosbury Architecture, Antonio Somaini.

In the Closing Keynote, Johan A. Haarberg, Executive Officer of the Society for Artistic Research (SAR), will discuss the challenges facing artistic research within the academic context and its overall acceptance as a valid part of knowledge production in Europe and beyond.

Following his speech, Haarberg will lead a workshop on the Research Catalogue – a non-commercial, collaborative and publishing platform provided by SAR to artists and researchers. The workshop is open to faculty members, researchers, and doctoral students.

The seminar will be held in hybrid form.

For information on how to participate in the conference and/or the workshop please write to iartnet@fadbrera.edu.it putting either “artistic research conference” or “artistic research workshop” (or both) in the subject.