SAR International Forum on Artistic Research will take place from April 10^th to 11^th 2024, hosted by Fontys Academy of the Arts in Tilburg.

This year the Society for Artistic Research (SAR) introduces a new biennial meeting format, that offers time and space for thought-provoking and stimulating dialogue between artistic researchers, artists, practitioners, as well as policy makers and stakeholders from diverse backgrounds.

The Forum 2024 co-developed by Fontys and SAR to be a new and innovative biennial format, that will alternate with the already established SAR conferences.

Instead of the traditional keynote speech, the Forum will host three focus sessions in the afternoon of the first day. These sessions aim to address, explore, and negotiate challenges, visions, and opportunities for artistic research in contemporary society. In particular critical issues and questions that relate to:

-> the ethical dimensions of artistic research and the responsibilities when navigating this complex area. How should ethics ‘look like' for artistic research, and who and how should they be managed and implemented?

-> the research environments and culture: 
What should a progressive and responsive research environment for artistic research and artistic researchers on all educational and career levels look like?

-> the challenges and opportunities of artificial intelligence for artistic research(ers):
How and when does artificial intelligence create new directions for artistic research? What supports or hinders artistic research and artificial intelligence to coalesce and collaborate mutually and productively?

We invite both established experts and emerging voices in the field of artistic research to actively participate, share their insights and practice, and imagine the central role of artistic research in addressing the societal challenges of our time. Newly formed connections and the building of community relationships will shape the future of and for artistic research.

Instead of the traditional Open Call for contributions, we invite Forum participants to share their artistic research work with the research community in the form of poster presentations. These will be exhibited in a dedicated gallery setting during the 2-day forum in Tilburg. Posters might link up (e.g. with a QR code) to a dedicated RC exposition that allows for a more comprehensive presentation as well as online availability of all contributions via the official Forum website (via links). There is no selection process and participation are included in the Forum fee, making this line of participation entirely open and accessible to all Forum participants. An official invitation letter can be requested. 

With this new format of the SAR Forum we would also like to foster more dynamic interactions with the SAR Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and facilitate debates that encourage active participation not only within the SIGs but also across the broader SAR community. For the second day, a number of SIGs have accepted our invitation to co-create the SIGs’ contribution to the SAR Forum 2024 and are currently developing tailor-made formats to engage with the Forum’s participants and encourage a thought-provoking and stimulating dialogue about their special interest. We’re looking forward to range of exciting and diverse contributions!

You will find more information on the Forum programme and registration options here

What Methods Do – International Symposium on Artistic Research Methods

What Methods Do – Exploring the Transformative Potential of Artistic Research

This international symposium on Artistic Research Methods will take place at the Textile Museum in Tilburg on April 9^th 13:00-19:00.

Artistic research makes the relationship between art and society permeable. Rather than bracketed in the private realm of the lone artist or the network of autonomous art institutions, artistic research opens up its practice to the public domain. Its methods become part of collective process of exploration and re-imagining.

This symposium will explore and evaluate how these methods play a role in producing knowledge, shifting boundaries between disciplines, and reconfiguring the agency of art in a societal context. What do methods do? How can they be used? How do they address the urgencies of a world in dire need of new perspectives?

The symposium will be structured in three sessions, each addressing one of these implications in the use of artistic research methods. A group of internationally active makers and scholars will address the role of methods in interdisciplinary endeavours, activist practices and the agency of technology, among other concerns.

As an expansion of this in-person event an online platform will be set up, that will enable a process of exchange, archiving and enquiry to start in advance of the symposium and to extend afterwards.

It is organized by Leiden University’s Academy of Creative and Performing Arts (ACPA) and the Platform for Arts Research in Collaboration, in coordination with Fontys Tilburg and SAR. The symposium is an initiative of Route Kunst – NWA, the Dutch National Research Agenda.

You can enter the registration site from the SAR Forum registration pages.