Art of Research 2026 Conference - Voices - Call for Papers

Submit before 15 March 2026 (anywhere on Earth)

Conference dates: 25-27 November 2026

Aalto University, Espoo, Finland 

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‘Voices’, the theme of the 9th Art of Research conference, addresses the various voices that constitute research through arts, design and architecture. It enquires particularly about the potential of such research to engage with contemporary discussions and affect our current condition. The theme explores the diversity of terminologies, territories, frameworks, practices and formats of research, as well as how artistic research is employed, adapted, translated in other fields of research and practice. ‘Voices’ as a theme invites participants to engage in dialogues that transcend the institutional context of academia, as well as the ontological and epistemological concerns of practice research itself. It is a call to listen to voices from diverse contexts, practices, disciplines, and experiences, to critically examine our relation to the urgencies of the moment, benefiting from practice research’s ability to profoundly affect their human and non-human environments. 

We invite submissions to the conference that are original and contribute to new praxis and research. This international conference takes place in the context of arts, design, and architecture, bringing together researchers from the corresponding fields. Historically, the Art of Research conference has been widely appreciated as an unconventional and interactive format for discussing, exhibiting and performing different modes of discourse. 

The theme of the conference can be addressed in interrelated subthemes, described below. Through these sub-themes, the conference aims to bring together bold and visionary thinking across practices and knowledge systems that engage with contemporary issues. 

Silencing 

How can artistic research create spaces for voices that are suppressed, marginalized, or overlooked in historical and societal contexts—or within the institutional structures of academia itself? What kinds of voices are silenced, unheard, muted, or considered inferior? What mechanisms contribute to their silencing? 

Both artistic research and artistic practice can facilitate dialogue and exchange that instigate societal and cultural change. Furthermore, they have the potential to give voice to suppressed, de-authorised or neglected perspectives. Proposals under this subtheme address issues of relationality from the perspective of the unheard, including voices that have long been marginalized, especially in academic discourses. Such voices encompass value systems, practices and modes of existence of more-than-human entities, First Nations peoples, decentralised societies and subaltern experiences. 

Listening

What does it mean to engage in listening as a critical practice and ethical stance? How does adopting a pluriversal view of the world challenge the notions of self-reflectivity and self-relationality inherent in artistic research discourse, fostering a broader form of relationality? How can artistic research serve as a space to produce collectivity?

The subjective turn has been pivotal in acknowledging and legitimizing artistic research as an academic pursuit, encouraging a connection to intimate experiences and the tacit knowledge of the artist. Recently, the same feminist theories that emphasized first-person narratives and situated knowledges in academia are exploring ways to expand these perspectives towards more interconnected forms of knowledge creation. In this track, we invite proposals from practitioner-researchers that engage with voices and methodologies beyond self-reflection, focusing on issues of justice, reciprocity, ethics, and participation, while embracing a pluriversal view of the world.

Resonating

How can different perspectives within knowledge systems influence one another, create dynamic interactions, and foster a collective and multifaceted understanding of the world around us? How can resonance become a tool to produce positive change for responsible futures?

Research in the arts can serve as a platform for inter- or trans-disciplinary exchange, allowing engineering, life sciences, humanities, and social sciences to engage in dialogue beyond the confines of their disciplinary boundaries. These exchanges can contribute to a shared set of questions. We invite contributions that emphasize the role of research in the arts as an open space for encounters, translations, and resonance, where involved disciplines can experience a creative interplay, influence each other, and develop a collective and complex understanding of observed phenomena. This stands in contrast to the traditional divide between art and science, or artistic and scientific research.

The conference is interested in original proposals drawing from artistic, arts-based, practice-based and practice-led research. We invite submissions from academics and scholars (including doctoral students) and artist-researchers representing different art forms such as contemporary art, film, craft, design, media, performance, and architecture. The conference themes encourage a diversity of perspectives and research orientations. Contributions that challenge the established discourse of artistic research are most welcome.

Submission Types

The Art of Research welcomes novel, unpublished submissions to three contribution formats. Contributions will first be screened by conference chairs, and those that do not meet the requirements will be desk rejected. All valid contributions will undergo a strict blind review process by a minimum of two reviewers. An international team of chairs will be responsible for the various submission types. All accepted and revised contributions will be published integrally in the conference proceedings, under the ISSN 2984-0724. Thus, it is essential that all contributions strictly follow the conference templates and are free from language and referencing issues. Language revision is the author’s responsibility, and we strongly suggest this be carried out by a language professional before final submission.

Submissions will be reviewed based on the novelty and contribution to advancing the field, adherence to the conference theme, quality and rigour of research, as well as clarity in scope and communication.

The deadline for paper submissions: 15 March 2026 (anywhere on Earth)

Paper templates will be available from the conference website in February, 2026.

(1) Full Papers (3000–5000 words)

Full papers are original results of research positioned and contextualized within existing research. They should directly and clearly respond to one or more of the conference themes. Accepted contributions must address suggested reviews and be fully language checked before resubmission. All full papers undergo double-blind peer-review by a minimum of two reviewers. A third reviewer will be involved when necessary. Full papers should have a minimum of 3000 and a maximum of 5000 words, excluding references and abstracts.

(2) Explorative Papers (1000-1500 words)

Explorative papers are academic publications that explore emerging research topics and approaches not yet fully established in the academic context. All explorative papers undergo blind peer-review by a minimum of two reviewers. A third reviewer will be involved when necessary. The format of the explorative papers follows an academic research paper. All explorative papers should have a minimum of 800 and a maximum of 1500 words, excluding references and abstract.

(3) Explorative Exhibitions (800-1000 words)

The format of the explorative exhibition proposal follows the guidelines of the explorative paper. In addition, the exhibition proposals must include a visual and textual description of the artefact, following the template guidelines. Exhibition proposals need to state clearly the research context in which the work has been produced and what is being explored through the work. All exhibition proposals undergo blind peer review by a minimum of two reviewers. The exhibition team will also evaluate and curate the final conference exhibition. Exhibition proposals will be reviewed based on their contribution to advancing the field, quality and artistic value, as well as clarity in scope and communication. All exhibition proposals will have a minimum of 800 and a maximum of 1000 words, excluding references, image captions, and abstracts. In case of acceptance, please note that the transportation of the artwork(s) is the author’s responsibility.

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NEWS: KEYNOTE SPEAKER

We are excited to inform that Prof. Bruno Moreschi will be one of the keynotes at the Art of Research 2026 Conference. Other keynote speakers will be announced in the Third Call for Papers. 

Bruno Moreschi is an artistic researcher and Associate Professor in New Media at Aalto University, Finland. His investigations are related to the deconstruction of systems and the decoding of procedures and social practices in art spaces, museum collections, visual culture, and technology more broadly. He has been a researcher at Leuphana University Institute for Advanced Studies, Collegium Helveticum (ETH Zurich), Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg, C4AI University of São Paulo, and University of Cambridge. Bruno holds a PhD in Arts from the State University of Campinas (Unicamp), with a period at Uniarts Helsinki, with a thesis awarded by Capes Best Thesis in the Arts, an important Brazilian academic honour. More information can be found at: artofresearch.aalto.fi

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For mode information, please refer to artofresearch.aalto.fi