Research Catalogue

CITY AS SPACE OF RULES AND DREAMING promotes emancipation and democratisation in urban space by cross-examination through artistic research, empirical urban research, political theory and legal theory. The study strengthens polyphony of urban space and thereby develops a more just city It asks: How is urban space formed and shared, and who has access to it? What normative and de facto instruments regulate, control and inhabit this space? What kinds of processes, structures and spaces of inclusion and marginalisation, as well as disagreement and controversy are there in the city? What kind of fractures, escape lines and dreams are hidden in the normativity of urban space? What kinds of spaces of shadow, noise, potentialities and dreams are there and how do they actualise? The study reaches beyond established art-science boundaries by bringing new and more inclusive means of “soft law” to urban decision-making and inviting different neighborhoods to dream of their own dwelling-regions through imaginary urban archaeology and fictionalising democracy combining different artistic mediums. The project is coordinated by the Academy of Fine Arts (Doctoral programme) at the University of the Arts Helsinki. Other partners are Helsinki University Faculty of Law, Helsinki University Faculty of Arts/ Aesthetics and Aalto University Department of Built Environment. In Memoriam Ari Hirvonen (1960–2021) The responsible leader (PI) of the project is Maiju Loukola at the Academy of Fine Arts / KuvA, Uniarts Helsinki. The other research group members and co-initiators are Aino Hirvola (Dept. of built environment, Aalto University), Tanja Tiekso (Faculty of Arts/Aesthetics, Helsinki University Faculty of Arts/ Aesthetics) and Paul Tiensuu (Helsinki University Faculty of Law). Since 2023 Jaakko Ruuska (KuvA, Uniarts Helsinki), Henna-Riikka Halonen (KuvA, Uniarts Helsinki) and Niran Baibulat (KuvA/Uniarts Helsinki) have contributed as postdoc artist-researchers for shorter periods. Other collaborators include Stefan Winter, Zen Marie, Brigitta Stone-Johnson, Anita Zsentesi, Chris Butler, Jan Schacher, Josue Moreno, Denise Ziegler, Simon Critchley, Antti Nyyssölä, Gabi Schillig and Kristina Sedlerova. Villanen We dedicate this project to Ari, and to Stargazing

In this work, I want to show some excerpts from my grandmother's patriarchal resistance. The narrative and the photographs will be at the center. They will clarify Esters Lindberg's attempt to negotiate and renegotiate her position within the usual norm. The narratives and photographs will hopefully give an expanded understanding of what it could be like to live as a woman with a desire for freedom in Sweden during the early 20th century.

I dedicate this work to Robin Wall Kimmerer’s call for acts of restoration for our damaged planet. I choose song composition and performance as a way to find pathways for personal and collective restoration. Through the methods of artistic research I write Songs inspired by my experience of ecological grief, academic reading, interviews to song composers, and journaling. As a contribution from my work, I present a new compositional methodology, Sonic Geographies of Hope. This methodology calls for song composers to write songs grounded in personal and collective grief of our damaged planet. I suggest that this type of songs can become an act of restoration and create collective resonance for more hopeful ways of existing and experiencing the world. This methodology is heavily influenced by the work of A. Hazelwood and her methodology Geographies of Hope in Praxis. While it is inspired by it, it focuses mainly on emotional geographies. This work represents a starting point to explore Song methodologies to nurture immaterial geographies for concrete, structural ecological restoration. It is an exploration to find ways to restore yourself to continue to fight for the dignity of the places, more-than human life and people we love.

Digital dokumentasjon av utstillingen Minnekommisjonen

The Bachelors’s Programme in Dance Pedagogy at Stockholm University of the Arts, Sweden, have gone through a major restructuring leading to an updated program, on demand by students and staff. This exposition gives you an overview of the process of changing the program during the years 2020 - 2023. It guides you through the phases of the change project, highlights documents governing and forming the changes made, and links to research that were conducted during the project period and that deepened the knowledge created through the change process. Our first step was to listen into the field’s concerns and ideas about dance education today. We scanned the field for signals of change and created a collaborative map of dance pedagogical practices in contemporary times. From this map we derived design principles and scenarios for a new BA in Dance Pedagogy. After a workshop series with students of the department, it was decided that the new program should be based on the hybrid research methodology A/R/Tography. A new educational plan and course plans were created for the new BA. Courses corresponding to the positions as artist, researcher, and teacher of A/R/Tography were developed for the program, and dance genre specific courses were also created. All new courses of the program combines theory and practice, and students are prepared for a changing and complex work life combining artistic, teaching and researching practice. This exposition is part of the peer-reviewed article: Østern, T. P., Reppen, C., O’Connell, S., & Daneberg, M. (2025). Choreographer/researcher/teacher: Developing a/r/tography as an approach to dance pedagogy at Stockholm University of the Arts in a professional learning community of teachers. Nordic Journal of Art & Research, 14(2). https://doi.org/10.7577/ar.5460

Sammendrag: Denne oppgaven utforsker hvordan estetiske intensjoner kan utvikles og formidles gjennom interaktiv liveprosessering i et moderne jazzensemble. Prosjektet NEKSUS tar utgangspunkt i fem komposisjoner som gjennom en tredelt prosess utvikles fra tradisjonelle jazzkomposisjoner til mer eksperimentelle lydlandskap. Gjennom fasene dekonstruksjon, estetisk intensjon og bandsamspill, undersøkes hvordan elektronisk prosessering kan fungere som et kreativt bindeledd mellom musikerne, og hvordan dette påvirker samspill og improvisasjon. Ved å etablere spesifikke estetiske rammeverk for hver komposisjon, legges det til rette for nye interaksjonsformer i ensemblet. Oppgaven dokumenterer denne utviklingsprosessen i detalj og reflekterer over hvordan teknologiske verktøy kan integreres som en naturlig del av det improvisatoriske uttrykket. Forskningsprosjektet viser at liveprosessering kan fungere som en neksus – et knutepunkt for musikalsk samhandling – som åpner for nye estetiske muligheter i spenningsfeltet mellom komposisjon, improvisasjon og teknologi. Samtidig belyses utfordringer knyttet til teknologisk implementering i livesammenheng, og hvordan disse kan overkommes gjennom grundig forberedelse og estetisk bevisstgjøring. Abstract: This thesis explores how aesthetic intentions can be developed and expressed through interactive live processing in a contemporary jazz ensemble. The project NEKSUS examines five compositions that, through a three-phase process, evolve from traditional jazz compositions to more experimental soundscapes. Through the phases of deconstruction, aesthetic intention, and ensemble interaction, the research investigates how electronic processing can function as a creative connection between musicians, and how this affects interplay and improvisation. By establishing specific aesthetic frameworks for each composition, new forms of interaction within the ensemble are facilitated. The thesis documents this development process in detail and reflects on how technological tools can be integrated as a natural part of the improvisational expression. The research project demonstrates that live processing can function as a nexus – a point of connection for musical interaction – that opens up new aesthetic possibilities in the intersection between composition, improvisation, and technology. Simultaneously, it highlights challenges related to technological implementation in live settings, and how these can be overcome through thorough preparation and aesthetic awareness.