Research Catalogue

an international database for artistic research

Norwegian University of Science and Technology NTNU covers a wide range of academic subjects, including the arts. Our artistic research contributes significant perspectives to reinforce NTNU’s interdisciplinary strength in addressing society’s complex needs, as well as recognizing that art has an inherent value on its own.

Interested in a PhD in artistic research? NTNUs PhD-programme in Artistic Research gives you the opportunity to specialize in the creative and performing arts such as music, fine art, architecture, design, theatre, and film.

In this portal you will find PhD-results, published research expositions by our staff and documentation from conferences. Read more about artistic research and development at NTNU, including our PhD-programme, via the url below.

contact person(s): Anja Johansen

url: https://www.ntnu.edu/art

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  2. Published work - PhD in Artistic Research Reviewed and published outcomes from the PhD-programme in Artistic Research.
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  1. Artistic Research Week 2024 In this issue you will find documentation of artistic work and research presented during Artistic Research Week 2024 at NTNU. The aim of Artistic Research Week is to showcase and highlight the breadth of artistic activities, development work and research at NTNU. In 2024 the theme was NTNU's role in Trondheim as a city of Art and Culture.

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  Eastern Rebellion - with gamelan as inspiration for new musical expressions (2025) author(s): EAA published in: Norwegian University of Science and Technology
  This exposition contains the documentation of Espen Aalberg´s artistic research project “Eastern Rebellion - with gamelan as inspiration for new musical expressions" "Eastern Rebellion - with gamelan as inspiration for new musical expressions" is focusing on a meeting point where Aalberg, as a musician and composer, has searched for inspiration in gamelan music, instruments, and concepts. Aalberg has a broad practice as a performer and composer/music creator with a professional career in both jazz and classical-contemporary direction. This experience, in collaboration with inspiration and instruments from gamelan, will be illuminated in different musical expressions and contexts.
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  Expanding horizons – Improvisational explorations of 20th-century classical music (2025) author(s): Peter Knudsen published in: Norwegian University of Science and Technology
  "Expanding horizons" is an Artistic research project carried out between 2021 (August) and 2024 (November) at NTNU, Trondheim. The objectives were to contribute to knowledge on how different kinds of departure points can be useful for musicians when approaching 20th-century Western classical music through improvisation, an understanding of how one can navigate and negotiate the musical language of this repertoire, and insights into how the tension between different performance values can be navigated in this process. The research questions were: When applying improvisation to works of 20th-century classical music, 1. What role does the choice and preparation of musical representations play? 2. How can we navigate and negotiate musical structures such as melody, harmony and form? 3. How can we navigate the tension between fidelity to the work and creative expression? Based on selected pieces from this repertoire and practical explorations together with participating musicians, various approaches to creating improvisational frameworks were then explored. These included a wide range of scores, including lead sheets and indeterminate notation, as well as ear-based methods. From the perspective of integrating improvisation into the performances, approaches such as repeating elements, working with layers, creating transitions, and introducing open sections were examined. A key point was to use melodic material as a way of building strong connections with the source material, rather than relying on harmonic representations of the music. In terms of balancing respect for the original work with creative freedom, a “healthy dose of disrespect” pervaded much of the explorations, allowing deviations from the originals when they were musically justified. Throughout the work processes, an idea of focal points emerged, as aspects to focus on when reworking a classical work into an improvisational version. These focal points included the score, historical and performative contexts, expressive qualities, and the improviser’s personal voice.
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  Playing Future Narratives (2025) author(s): Futuring Together published in: Norwegian University of Science and Technology
  By experimenting with the use of artificial intelligence and collaborative storytelling in public engagement with sustainability challenges, the Futuring Together group, through an interactive installation "Playing Future Narratives" at Artistic Research Week 2024 (22nd - 27th October 2024) at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, explored how AI-enhanced collaborative narrative creation augmented with a visual essay could facilitate understanding of energy transition futures in Trondheim, Norway. The installation utilized ScenSyn, a multiplayer interactive storytelling system combining AI-assisted narrative generation with human creativity, together with a visual essay highlighting the complexities and contradictions inherent in the energy transition. The project provided an opportunity to test how AI-enhanced collaborative storytelling might offer unique opportunities for exploring complex societal transitions and raised important questions about the role of artificial intelligence in creative processes and public discourse.
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  reconstruction i-v (2015-2023) - a series of works on industry and music (2025) author(s): Lene Grenager published in: Norwegian University of Science and Technology
  reconstruction i-v is a series of works I have been working on for almost a decade. The works take about 2 hours and 40 minutes to perform and explore the dismantling of industry, machines as part of people's intimate lives, and the musical potential of industrial machines and industrial sounds. I use embroidered scores, video and audio files as well as sewing machines and conventional acoustic instruments. In this exposition I present the works and the process of making them. reconstruction i-v was performed in full by Alpaca Ensemble during ARW in Trondheim 2024.
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  Expanding horizons - ensemble improvisation on 20th-century classical music (video article) (2024) author(s): Peter Knudsen connected to: Norwegian University of Science and Technology published in: Research Catalogue
  This video article presents two pedagogical applications of the artistic research project "Expanding Horizons" for ensembles with adult music students of diverse musical backgrounds. The project is centered around practical explorations of applying improvisation to repertoire from 20th-century Western classical music, in combination with qualitative methods such as autoethnography, participant-observation and semi-structured interviews. The examples in the video demonstrates how approaches that are developed in the project can be applied to pedagogical situations, based on ensemble workshops with musicians of different musical orientations enrolled in music performance programmes in Sweden, one with university-level students in a bachelor programme and another with students at a folk high school. Two pieces were selected and adapted for these situations: Lili Boulanger’s Cortége (1914) and Maurice Ravel’s String quartet in F, movement II (1903). During the workshops, these pieces were then re-worked in a collaborative manner, with an emphasis on mutual exploration and musical expressivity through improvisation. The main pedagogical considerations were: selecting the appropriate repertoire, adapting materials for diverse learners, and fostering agency among performers. Although the improvisational approaches presented are rooted in jazz performance practice, the examples demonstrate how improvisational frameworks can be adapted for music students across musical genres, showcasing the potential for creativity, collaboration and interdisciplinary learning in music education.
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  Det som er mellom (2024) author(s): Gyrid Nordal Kaldestad connected to: Norwegian University of Science and Technology published in: Research Catalogue
  I doktorgradsprosjektet Det som er mellom har eg søkt etter å finne ein samanheng mellom dei ulike uttrykka eg som kunstnar gjennom åra har arbeida med. I dette arbeidet ligg det også eit forsøk på å plassere mitt arbeid i ein kontekst og eit forsøk på ein refleksjon om korleis og kvifor det kunstnariske arbeidet blir til, og korleis enkelte av kunstnarane eg gjennom åra er blitt inspirert av kan være med på å plassere mitt eige arbeid i ein større samanheng og kontekst. Slik eg ser det er alt eg gjer på ulike måtar ein respons på noko, ei oppleving som ein tar med seg vidare inn i det kunstnariske arbeidet og som kan være inspirert av kunstverk og kunstnarskap, landskap, minner om landskap, minner om musikk og stader, menneske ein møter og minner om menneske ein har møtt. Tittelen på prosjektet fungerer for meg som ein referanse til det at eg som kunstnar kjenner at eg befinn meg mellom ulike utrykk, noko som har blitt tydelegare for meg gjennom desse snart fire åra som kunststipendiat. Snarare enn å definere meg som det eine eller det andre, bør eg kanskje godta at eg befinn meg i dette mellomrommet, at det ikkje er så viktig å definere seg sjølv, at behovet for å definere seg også ligg i noko utanfor ein sjølv, i støtteordningar, i visningsstader eller i akademia. Det å arbeide med samspelet mellom ulike kunstformer er nok for meg ein måte å søke etter ein form for poesi i det eg arbeider med, og at alt eg arbeider med spring ut frå eit fokus kring det sanselege, og i minna knytt til det sanselige både i lyd, lys, tekst og i det å etablere eit rom for ei kunstoppleving. Inspirert av kunstnarar som mellom andre Janet Cardiff, Yoko Ono, Verdensteatret, David Lynch, Joan Jonas, Manos Tsangaris, Jana Winderen, Verk Produksjoner, Siri&Snelle, Klaus Lang, Evelina Dembacke, Marte Huke og Olafur Eliasson tenkjer eg at det som er felles for alle desse, slik eg opplever dei, er at dei er i kontakt med det sanselege og det poetiske på ulike plan.
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