Hugarflug 2025 - Unstable Systems by Sigmundur Pall Freysteinsson

Unstable Systems Instability can be a creative force in art, design, and architecture. Artists, designers, and scholars work both with and against systems that are ever-changing, fragile, or unpredictable. Whether dealing with technological systems, ecosystems, social structures, or sensory experiences, instability is often a prerequisite for creation. Instability opens pathways for new ideas and processes, reshaping how we approach and redesign the systems that shape our lives. It can also refer to the creative act itself—one that does not follow predetermined trajectories or established norms. Art, design, and architecture serve as tools to disrupt stable systems and/or shed new light on systems that appear stable but in reality, they are not. No system is truly stable, and when we resist that instability, it becomes a problem. Instability is perhaps the only certainty we can rely on. Hugarflug 2025, the annual conference on artistic research, will take place on September 11–12. It will serve as a platform for research that engages with instability across various systems—from technological advancements such as AI and interactive systems to issues related to politics, society, and the environment. We will explore how instability functions as a tool for generating new possibilities while also fueling unrest and transformation within society and academia. The Iceland University of the Arts invites proposals of all kinds, including presentations of ongoing or completed research by our faculty, students, and collaborators.

Ingimar Ólafsson Waage
Visual Artist and the Head of the Department of Art Education at IUA

Ingimar Ólafsson Waage is a visual artist and the Head of the Department of Art Education at the Iceland University of the Arts. He has extensive teaching experience in visual arts and philosophy within the public school system. He studied visual arts at the Icelandic College of Art and Crafts and pursued further studies in visual arts in Lyon, France. He holds a master’s degree in philosophy and sociology of education from the University of Iceland and will defend his doctoral dissertation on the moral value of arts education later this year. His research interests focus on democracy in education, arts education, philosophy education, character education, and critical thinking.

Hugarflug annual conference on artistic research

11. - 12. September 2025

Iceland University of the Arts

Discourse

Ingimar Ólafsson Waage

Thursday, 11. september, 2025 - 13:40 - 14:25

Workshop

Moderator:

Room:

In this workshop, I discuss the role of the visual arts in moral education. Drawing on resources from arts education and philosophy, I explore the importance of actively engaging with artworks through dialogue to foster transformative experiences, highlighting the necessity of conscious participation and reflection in aesthetic encounters. The concept of virtue literacy serves as a framework for implementing moral education through an approach built on Visual Thinking Strategies using selected artworks spanning various themes and styles. Artworks can spur philosophical dialogue, encouraging deeper insights into the moral aspects of human life and prompting self-reflection.

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