Artistic research in Norway takes the artist’s practice as its point of departure, and, as such, is in line with what one could call research in the arts. The artistic practice is at the core of the PhD result, but should be accompanied by an explicit reflection, which offers others access into the working methods and insights that emerge from the artistic research. The research methods employed can be individual or specific to each artistic field, such as composition, design, or dance.
The field of art is experimental in nature, and critically testing, challenging and overturning methods are integral parts of its culture. The reflection that is part of artistic practice, on context, process and methods, has a central place in artistic research.
In the Norwegian Act relating to Universities and University Colleges, artistic research has enjoyed equal status as other forms of research since 1995. The Norwegian Artistic Research Fellowship programme was established in 2003. Between 2003 and 2024 a total of 92 research fellows graduated successfully from the program, from a diversity of fields: Music, fine art, performance, theatre, design, film, and architecture.
Reasearch on, for, and in the arts
In 2006, Henk Borgdorff, Professor emeritus of Theory of Research in the Arts at the Academy of Creative and Performing Arts, Leiden University, described three different categories linked to research and art:
| • | research on the arts (…investigations aimed at drawing valid conclusions about art practice from theoretical distance…) |
| • | research for the arts (…applied research in a narrow sense…) |
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research in the arts (…the artistic practice itself is an essential component of both the research process and the research results…) |
“We can justifiably speak of artistic research (‘research in the arts’) when that artistic practice is not only the result of the research, but also its methodological vehicle, when the research unfolds in and through the acts of creating and performing. This is a distinguishing feature of this research type within the whole of academic research.” Borgdorff (2010)
→ Dive deeper: Artistic Research in the Future Academy was launched at Goldsmiths College, University of London on August 16 and in Melbourne at ACCA on October 24 2017. You can watch the talk “How Artistic Research Ends”, recorded October 24, 2017.
You can also hear the presentation as podcast here: https://soundcloud.com/acca_melbourne/danny-butt-book-launch-artistic-research-in-the-future-academy
→ Dive deeper: During the development of the Norwegian Artistic Research Fellowship Programme (from 2018 phasing out and replaced by PhD programmes in Artistic Research), statements from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London had considerable influence:
| • | "Art and design practices are intellectual pursuits in their own right not requiring translation to other terms in order to have sense and coherence. |
| • | Art and design works embody ‘meaning’ through their interior symbolic languages and syntax (formal organisation). |
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Art and design works embody ‘meaning’ through their discursive relationship to other works in their field and their corresponding cultural positions. |
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Art and design works can be read by those trained in the subject in the same way that, for example, mathematicians read mathematics or philosophers read philosophy." |
(Excerpt from "Research and Development in the Arts 1995–2015: Twenty years of artistic research", 2014).
→ Dive deeper: The report from the working group appointed by the National Council for Artistic Research, Norwegian Association of Higher Education Institutions "Research and Development in the Arts 1995–2015: Twenty years of artistic research", can be read here.
2003-2018: One national fellowship programme
Until 2018 there was only one research fellowship programme in Norway; the Norwegian Artistic Research Fellowship Programme. Research fellows from all disciplines and institutions did relate to the same set of guidelines. These guidelines stated that the final project had to include bort an artistic work and a reflection, but that the fellows had the freedom to choose the format - there was no requirement for a written part.
The Norwegian model of artistic research has been quite inter-disciplinary, with a joint professional training component for the fellows since 2003 (from 2018 replaced with the Norwegian Artistic Research School). The Artistic Research Forums (ARF) was also early established as a national meeting place.
2018: The first Norwegian Artistic PhD program is established
The Norwegian Academy of Music (NMH) in Oslo was the first to establish a PhD program in Artistic Research in 2018, soon followed by the University of Bergen (UiB), the Oslo National Academy of the Arts (KHiO), and NTNU in Trondheim. From 2018 fellows from the different institutions are part of separate PhD programs, and must also relate to slightly different regulations. The national research fellowship programme ended in 2024.
A variation of PhD regulations
While the regulations from NMH and UIB are quite similar, and also to a large degree relate to the former guidelines for the national fellowship program, there are a few quite important differences between these regulations and the regulations for KHiO and NTNU. For example, at KHiO the relationship between the artistic result and the reflection is described like this (Regulations, KHiO, § 11-1):
Artistic practice is at the core of the artistic doctoral result. At the same time, the artistic practice is to be accompanied by an explicit reflection, which, when the project is presented, grants others access into the working methods and insights that emerge from the artistic research.
NMH has a more detailed description of what the reflection must contain (Regulations, NMH, § 11-1):
The artistic reflection shall be documented in the form of submitted material, especially in relation to processes concerning artistic choices and turning points, the use of theory and methodology, dialogue with various networks and professional communities etc.
NTNU is the only institution where the candidate must give a trial lecture before the public defense, and the only institution with a regulation that covers both artistic and scientific research.
In the institution's PhD regulations, the criteria for awarding the artistic doctorate are described. These regulations will inform the assessment committees work, and it is extremely important that both the fellow and the supervisor(s) are familiar with their own institution´s regulation.
→ Dive deeper: Please see here for detailed description of the program regulations of the different Norwegian educational institutions offering PhD's in Artistic Research:
→ Regulations for the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
→ Regulations for the University of Bergen (UiB)
→ Regulations for the Norwegian Academy of Music (NMH)
→ Regulations for the Oslo National Academy of the Arts (KHiO)
→ Regulations for the Inland Norway University of Applied Science (INN)
→ Regulations for University of Stavanger (UiS) and University of Agder (UiA) (joint degree)
Completed and current PhD projects
A great amount of PhD students/research fellows have already completed the programmes and presented important contributions to the field of artistic research. And currently a broad array of research projects are in development. All these completed and ungoing research projects undoubtedly forms a large resource for the PhD programmes.
→ Dive deeper: Current and completed PhD projects
PhD student Christian Stene shares his project (Re)phrasing - Shaping Music with Modern Instruments at the ARF 2023, Oslo.
Norway
The PhD degree in artistic research was established in 2018, and replaced the former research fellowship programme. There are currently six Phd programmes in artistic research in Norway.
In 2012, The Norwegian Artistic Research Programme was established. The program had a national responsibility for stimulating artistic research. From 2012 untill 2023, when the program came to an end, the programme funded in total 64 projects. From 2024 the funding for artistic research was redirected to the Norwegian universities and university colleges in the Arts.
Every spring and autumn the national Artistic Research Forum takes place. In addition, several of the universities and university colleges organizes artistic research weeks open to all.
→ External page: Artistic Research in Norway - timeline
→ External page: Projects funded by the Norwegian Artistic Research Programme 2012-2023
→ External page: Universities Norway UHR-Art, Design and Architecture
Summer Academy for Artistic Research, Norway (Utøya), 2019, Finland (Hanaholmen), 2024, and Sweden (Kiruna), 2025.
Sweden
The Swedish Research Council (VR) funds research in all fields of science, including artistic research. VR has a separate committee for artistic research that makes decisions on announcements and allocations within this subject area. There is a separate call for project grants, and the majority of the grants go to project support through this thematically open call. Support can also be sought through other support schemes, such as career support for people with a recent doctoral degree, exploratory workshops and communication activities with groups outside academia. In 2023, VR prepared a research review on artistic research. VR organize a yearly symposium on artistic research.
CAPIm, esablished in 2024 with a grand from the Swedish Research Council, is the first Swedish centre of excellence in the field of artistic research.
The Artistic Faculty at the University of Gothenburg is Scandinavia's largest Academy of Arts. It runs PARSE, an open access, international artistic research publishing and biennal conference platform.
Uniart's international artistic research conference Alliances and Commonalities is happening every second year.
From the launche of VIS #7 at Tou Scene, Stavanger, 2022. Paola Torres Nunes Del Prado: The Sonified Textiles within the Text(il)ura Performance.
VIS – Nordic Journal for Artistic Research
VIS - Nordic Journal for Artistic Research is a digital open access journal presenting artistic research, with a special emphasis on the Nordic region. It highlights the importance for Nordic artist-researchers of reflection as a mental discipline that, when interwoven with artistic practice, generates new knowledge. The journal is the result of a cooperation between Stockholm University of the Arts and the Norwegian Artistic Research Programme (part of Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills).
Finland
The Academy of Finland does not have its own programme for artistic research, but has various types of strategic grants for researchers, research groups, or institutions. The academy has a research council for culture and society, and it also includes artistic research. The most important tool for the council is called Academy Contributions, which has thematic calls. The Academy provides competitive grants to strengthen the profile of the universities' research areas and grants for strategic research, cutting-edge research, flagships and infrastructure. There is no specific allocation for artistic research. There is a tradition in Finland for grants from private organizations for research. For art research, it can be from organizations like the Kone Foundation, the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the Emil Aaltonen Foundation.
Uniarts is running the artistic research journal RUUKKU, the Research Pavillion and the performing arts conference CARPA. Uniarts is also coordinating the network for SAAR – Summer Academy for Artistic research.
A joint nordic Summer Academy for Artistic Research (SAAR)
The Summer Academy for Artistic Research (SAAR) has served as a Nordic network since 2014, with partner universities from Sweden, Norway, and Finland collaborating and rotating the responsibility of hosting the academy each year.
SAAR offers a supportive and cross-disciplinary environment where PhD students and research fellows in artistic research can present their ongoing projects, engage in critical dialogue, and receive constructive feedback from peers and experienced tutors affiliated with leading academic art institutions.
A call for applications is issued each spring.
Denmark
In Denmark, most art education is organized under the Ministry of Culture, which has a subsidy scheme (pool) for Artistic Research. The pool has a separate committee that distributes the funds. There are opportunities for funding from private organizations such as the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the New Carlsberg Foundation and the Augustinus Foundation. Three educational institutions for architecture and design are organized under the Ministry of Education and Research. These can apply for grants for research from this Ministry's grant schemes (the research reserve).
For a period until 2022, the Schools of Visual Arts had a centre with national responsibility for the development of artistic research. The centre was responsible for the grant funds and network gatherings for the Danish institutions. The centre has been closed down, but artistic research takes place at all institutions of arts education at university level and each institution has developed its own, discipline-based strategies for managing artistic research as part of their knowledge base.
Iceland
The Iceland University of the Arts is the only university dedicated to the arts in Iceland. It offers architecture, design, film, art education, fine arts and performing arts. Read more about their research.
Arts Research Africa (ARA)
In South Africa, the Arts Research Africa (ARA) project at Wits School of Arts, University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg has led to several activities designed to create dialogue, stimulate practice, enable research, and inspire collective engagement around the question of Artistic Research. The project has been funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. ARA has also supported the development of Ellipses, which is an online publication and peer-reviewed digital platform for the dissemination of artistic research. ARA has produced a number of podcasts that explore questions related to artistic research through dialogues with practitioners both in Africa and internationally.
In 2020, Witts University organized the ARA conference Artistic Research in Africa in Johannesburg, South Africa. In this reflection, the organization looks back and reflects on Artistic Research as a decolonising strategy in Africa.
The Asia Pacific Artistic Research Network (APARN)
The Asia Pacific Artistic Research Network (APARN) is an initiative from the Centre of Visual Art, University of Melbourne and the Indonesian Institute of the Arts Yogyakarta. The network aims to "connect researchers working in the broad domains of practice research or artistic research to others in the region, providing existing networks opportunities for visibility and regional connection". The inaugural meeting was held in October 2019 in association with the International Conference on Asia Pacific Arts Studies in Yogyakarta. The purposes of the network are to (as described on the webpage):
- Map Artistic Research initiatives and activities in the Asia Pacific region
- Provide a regional framework for practical collaboration between individuals and institutions
- Develop an understanding of local cultural dynamics influencing Artistic Research activities in the Asia Pacific region
Society for Artistic Research (SAR)
The European Society for Artistic Research (SAR) was established in 2010. SAR describes itself as an organization that `promotes practices of artistic research as undertaken both in and outside academic institutions´ and ´encourage risk-taking, quality research´. SAR has influenced the development of artistic research in Europe, through several initiatives. SAR:
| • | publishes the JAR - Journal for Artistic Research (JAR), which is an international, online, Open Access and peer-reviewed journal that disseminates artistic research from all disciplines. The journal was launched in 2011, and you can take a look at Issue 1 here. |
| • | runs the Research Catalogue (RC), a non-commercial, collaboration and publishing platform for artistic research. The RC is free to use for artists and researchers. It serves also as a backbone for teaching purposes, student assessment, peer review workflows and research funding administration. It strives to be an open space for experimentation and exchange |
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hosts the annual International Conference on Artistic Research. |
| • | has Special Interest Groups – SIGs with the aim of conducting a particular activity, theme or focus area. |
The Artistic Research Alliance
The Artistic Research Alliance launched its statement, Leveraging the Full Potential of Artistic Research, in 2024. The alliance members represent all art practice disciplines:
| • | AEC - Association Europeenne des Conservatoires, Academies de Musique et Musikhochschulen (see also AECs European Platform for Artistic Research in Music, EPARM) |
| • | CILECT - International Association of Cinema, Audiovisual and Media Schools |
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CAE - Culture Action Europe |
| • | EAAE - European Association for Architectural Education |
| • | ELIA - Globally connected European network for higher arts education (see also ELIAs Artistic Research Platform) |
| • | EQ-Arts - Independent, international Quality Assurance Agency for the Arts |
| • | GEECT - European Grouping of Film and Television Schools |
| • | usiQuE - Music Quality Enhancement |
| • | SAR - Society for Artistic Research |
The 'Florence Principles' On the Doctorate of the Arts has been endorsed and supported by the Artistic Research Alliance, as has the Vienna Declaration on Artistic Research. The Vienna Declaration seeks to provide a clearer and more precise articulation of the concepts and impact of Artisitc Research within the Frascati Manual - the OECD classification manual for collecting statistical research data.
The European Artistic Research Network (EARN)
The European Artistic Research Network (EARN) was formally established in 2006. The network was originally established through a series of meetings between 2004 and 2006, and for many years primarily based on the cooperation between a group of colleagues working across ten European art academies.
EARN (as described on the webpage) was established "to share and exchange knowledge and experience in artistic research; foster mobility, exchange and dialogue among artist researchers; promote wider dissemination of artistic research; and enable global connectivity and exchange for artistic research. (...) Throughout the 2010s the (...) key task of the group during this period was to advocate for forms of research and enquiry realised within and through artistic practices, and to provide various platforms to profile these. (...). However, since 2020 the agenda for EARN has evolved. There is now a new approach to cooperation and co-development of research through thematic working groups; a new emphasis on active research generation; and a process of expanding membership (beyond any provincial boundaries imagined as ‘Europe’)". (...).
The network is not limited by a single model of Artistic Research, but states that they are "based on a pragmatic recognition that research which entails actual practice within the arts is a specific and dynamic space of cultural creativity. This allows of a range of models, interpretations and paradigms (practice-led research, practice-based research, art research, research in and through the arts, etc.) while establishing a shared core concern with research grounded in actual art practices". The network seeks to explore different conceptions and modalities of artistic research and to enable exchange and critical dialogue across these different paradigms.
In 2021, the Postresearch Condition conference considered the need to renew the terms of engagement after a “research decade” which saw some versions of Artistic Research becoming mainstreamed. The conference website announced that: ..."it is important to start from the three conceptual spaces that fundamentally determine what we mean by research: creative practice (experimentality, art making, potential of the sensible); artistic thinking (open-ended, speculative, associative, non-linear, haunting, thinking differently); and curatorial strategies (topical modes of political imagination, transformational spaces for encounters, reflection and dissemination) – and to comprehend these spaces in their mutual, dynamic coherence as a series of indirect triangular relationships".
Artistic Intelligence - Responsiveness, Accessibility, Responsibility, Equity
This COST Action explores value propositions based on the data, information and knowledge that emerge from the relationships between Artistic Research projects, research practices, and research cultures. The Action responds to the lack of common standards, challenging isolated, non-referenced research processes across the arts and culture. The project is running until 2028, and you can apply to join their working groups. Read more: ARTinRARE
The conditions for financing and organisation of Artistic Research and doctoral educations in the field differ in Europe
| • | Austria is one of the countries in front with the PEEK programme, as part of the Austrien Science Fund (FWF). In Vienna, University of Applied Arts Vienna, The Angevante, is running the journal reposition. |
| • | The universitites in the Netherlands have been central in developing artistic research in Europe and the startup of the Research Catalogue was financed by a grant fron the Dutch Research Council NWO. |
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The Orpheus Institute, founded in 1996 in Ghent, Belgium, is an international centre of excellence with its primary focus on artistic research in music. |
| • | The Berlin Artistic Research Programme supports and encourages artistic research across disciplines and dialogue between the artists and their projects. The programme was created in 2020 by the Society for Artistic Research in Germany. There is artistic research and 3rd cycle education at a growing number of institutions in Germany. In Italy new projects and networks are established, like EAR and IartNet. |
| • | All institutions in the Czeck Republic have joined the Research Catalogue. |
| • | In Switzerland there is the SARN network and the ZHDK in Zurich has been central in several European networks. Institutions in th UK are members of several network organisations. Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funds outstanding original research across the whole range of the arts and humanities. |
| • | In Portugal, i2ADS – Research Institute in Art, Design and Society, runs the journal HUB. |
Other European initiatives and projects
| • | The Creator Doctus project made a Database on 3rd cycle awards in Europe. |
| • | Advancing Supervision for Artistic Research Doctorates is a strategic partnership prosjekt co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme. A number of tools and resources developed as a contribution to the discussion around the question of supervision in artistic doctorates. |
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Artistic Research in Music – an Introduction is a free online course (MOOC) curated by the Orpheus Institute. The course offers an introduction to relevant research tools, techniques, and methodologies as well as the key concepts of artistic research in music. |
| • | The SHARE network is an international networking project comprising 39 partners from across Europe working together on enhancing the 3rd cycle of arts research and education in Europe |
| • | Artistic Doctorates in Europe (ADiE) is a partnership with eight organizations from across the UK and Scandinavia that seeks to support, substantiate and enhance the delivery and impact of the third cycle provision in Dance and Performance degrees. The webpage includes resources and case studies. |
| • | In.Tune is a European Alliance of 8 academic partners within music education and research. |
| • | The EU4Arts is a European Alliance of 4 academic partners within fine arts. |
| • | PACESETTERS will develop a model to boost artistic and creative entrepreneurship acresso sectors. |
| • | Creative skills week, and the Creative Pact for skills |
| • | See the project portal on Research Catalgue for more initiatives. |
The Norwegian Artistic Research School is a member of Society for Artistic Reserch, ELIA (multidisciplinary network in higher arts education and research), AEC (European cultural and educational network for professional music training), as well as EUA Council for Doctoral Education (network for doctoral education and research training within the European University Association).