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.

Thursday, 11. september, 2025 - 15:30 - 17:00

3x20 min Presentation + 3x10 min Discussion

Moderator: Hulda Stefánsdóttir

Room:

One of the challenges facing institutions in art education is unlocking the full potential of what has been referred to as artistic research, both in terms of educational value, and in terms of contribution to the field of art. Developing and shaping a field of knowledge, or discipline where artistic research take place and can be evaluated is a key factor in unlocking the potential of artistic research. In this paper I want to add to the discussion by concentrating on the relationship between creativity and knowledge. I use the concept of creativity to develop questions about intentionality, meaning, truth and value in relation to education in the arts.

Jóhannes Dagsson
Associate Professor at the department of visual art at the Iceland University of the Arts.

Jóhannes Dagsson is a philosopher and a visual artist. He holds a PhD in philosophy from the University of Calgary (2012). His research takes place at the intersection of philosophy of mind, philosophy of language and aesthetics. Questions surrounding perception and meaning in the context of art define his research. Jóhannes uses his research in his teaching, publications, and his visual art. Jóhannes is a associate Professor at the department of visual art at the Iceland University of the Arts.

Hugarflug annual conference on artistic research

11. - 12. September 2025

Iceland University of the Arts

Creativity, academic environment and artistic research

Jóhannes Dagsson

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