Research Catalogue

Arts-based-philosophy is an emerging research concept at the cutting edge of the arts, philosophy and the Sciences in which cross-disciplinary research collectives align their research practices to finally stage their investigations in field-performances, shared with the public. Our research explores the significance of the HEART in artistic research and performance philosophy from a cross-cultural perspective, partially based on the concepts of the HEART in the works of two artist-philosophers, in which philosophy already became arts-based-philosophy: Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra and Aurobindo’s poetic opus magnum Savitri. We generally assume that the works of artist-philosophers are not only engaged in “creating concepts” (Deleuze), but their concepts are also meant to be staged artistically to let them bodily matter in fact. The role of the HEART in respect to this process of “bodily mattering” is the core objective under investigation: Firstly, because we hold that atmospheres trigger the HEART of a lived-body to taste the flavor of things it is environmentally engaged with basically in an aesthetic manner (Nietzsche). In this respect the analysis of the classical notion for the aesthete in Indian philosophy and aesthetics, sahṛdaya––which literally means, “somebody, with a HEART”––becomes crucial. Secondly, because the HEART is said to be not just reducible to one’s manifest Nature, but has access to one’s virtual Nature as well. The creation hymn in the oldest of all Vedas (Rgveda) for instance informs us that a HEART is capable of crossing being (sat) & non-being (asat), which makes it fluctuate among these two realms and even allows its aspirations to let virtual possibilities matter. Such concepts show striking similarities with contemporary concepts in philosophy-physics, e.g. the concepts of “virtual particles” and “quantum vacuum fluctuations” (Barad).

WAP/Walking As Practice Program takes place where the forest meets the sea in the Northern Stockholm Archipelago, Sweden. It is a program for self-identifying walking artists. Exploring and sharing strategies for proximity through artistic expressions in the field of walking practices, creating a transformative, dynamic space for art that engages with life and nature. This involves critical and poetic explorations influenced by the immediate surroundings. We participate in each other’s walkshops or interventions, and we also host Share Sessions to familiarize ourselves with each other’s practices. Additionally, we introduce the Research Catalogue for final dissemination, where each artist create their individual exposition.

WALKING AS PRACTICE WAP23 was a process-based residency during September-November 2023, where artists using walking as a method delved into each others’ knowledges and things they encountered together at BKN, the Northern Stockholm Archipelago in Sweden. Fieldworks, share sessions and seminars were created jointly to locate and entangle structures, narratives and themes for walking. The residency formed a transformative, dynamic space for art that engaged with life and nature towards critical and poetic explorations, influenced by the immediate surroundings: the forest, lakes, sea and people living in the rural area. Processing how walking is interlocked in our artistic practices, this exposition represents a gathering of texts, visuals and audio from the walking art residency. The selected artists contributed with interdisciplinary practices, primarily drawing, photography, video, performance and dance. They worked both individually, in spontaneous constellations and in group sessions. The dissemination of the program took place in share sessions upon arrival of new artists - including dinners, open studios, walks, workshops etc. In addition, as the program unfolded, each artist developed their own exposition.

This exposition takes as its departure the systemic inertia identified within Western Higher Music Education (HME), where education is driven by skill acquisition in a master–pupil format. Such approaches may hinder the growth of adaptable and reflective musicians. We propose an alternative: student-centred learning inspired by artistic research methods. To explicate this, we draw on findings through our own artistic research practices. Our hypothesis is that the model of the artistic, embodied research laboratory, as developed within the field of artistic research, may serve as a potent tool for renewal. By analysing our work as artist-researchers and educators, this exposition offers insights that support rethinking both institutional structures and pedagogical approaches in HME. Our aim is to strengthen student agency in learning situations and set them off on a path of lifelong learning. This research demonstrates that artistic research laboratories can provide practical frameworks for transforming HME pedagogy, offering educators concrete methods for fostering playful, inclusive, and sustainable learning environments whilst empowering students as active agents in their musical development.

Queer-identiteetti ja -tunteet lavalla, sen takana ja opetustyössä Kuvataiteen tohtorin opinnäytetyössäni tutkin queer-kuuntelemisen merkitystä taiteellisena käytäntönä ja tutkimusmenetelmänä. Tässä ekspositiossa haastattelen drag alter egoani Maimu Brushwoodia, jonka kanssa keskustelen sukupuolesta, tunteista ja pedagogiikasta. Haastattelu perustuu tutkimukseni toiseen taiteelliseen osuuten, mikä oli drag-esitys, jonka esitin kahtena iltana Club Kiihko: Uuden toivon illassa Kulttuurikeskus Caisassa Helsingissä 27. ja 28.6.2024. Ekspositiossa on haastattelun lisäksi drag-esityksen videotallenne ja kirjoitustehtävä, jonka tarkoitus on syventää esitykseni teemoja.

Tässä ekspositiossamme esittelemme veden-kanssa-kirjoittamisen praktiikkaamme kirjoittamisen taiteellisena tutkimuksena, poeettisena etsintänä. Veden-kanssa-kirjoittaessamme olemme tarkastelleet suhdettamme veteen, myös vesiin sisällämme, sekä yksilöllisesti että yhdessä erilaisia tekstejä tuottaen. Ekspositiossamme esittelemme tämän taiteellisen praktiikan tuotoksia sekä reflektoimme niitä poeettisia, poliittisia ja pedagogisia suuntia, joita veden-kanssa-kirjoittaminen voi avata – sekä meille että laajemmin, maailmalle. Teoreettisia lähtöhtiamme ovat feministinen posthumanismi ja uusmaterialismi sekä niiden piirissä harjoitettu hydrofeminismi. Lisäksi suhteutamme veden-kanssa-kirjoittamista keskusteluihin feministisestä pedagogiikasta, taiteilijapedagogiikasta ja ympäristöpedagogiikasta sekä veden merkityksistä kirjallisuudessa. Uskomme, että runouden avulla voi kielentää sellaisia kokemuksia, joita on muutoin vaikea muotoilla sanoiksi. Väitämme, että hankalasti sanallistettavien kokemusten poeettinen kielentäminen tuottaa ymmärryksiä ihmisten suhteista enemmän-kuin-inhimilliseen, kuten siitä, miten tehdä taidetta muuttuvassa maailmassa, eettisessä suhteessa enemmän-kuin-inhimilliseen. In English: "On Becoming Sensitized - Practices and Orientations for Writing-with-water as Artist Pedagogy" In this exposition, we explore what we call 'writing-with-water', a practice of artistic research in writing, a "poetic search". While writing-with-water, we have explored our relationship(s) with water – including the waters within us – both individually and together, producing different texts. Here, we share our artistic explorations and reflect on the poetic, political, and pedagogical directions our artistic practice and research opens up. Our theoretical starting points are feminist posthumanism and new materialism, but we also discuss our method in the context of hydrofeminism (as part of the aforementioned theoretical frameworks), feminist pedagogy, artist pedagogy, and environmental pedagogy, as well as the literary meanings and uses of water. It is our belief that through poetic practices and explorations, it is possible to express experiences that are otherwise difficult to put into words. We claim that these experiences, and the ways they are expressed in poetic language, can lead to better understandings of human relationships with the more-than-human; including how to make art ethically with the more-than-human in our rapidly changing world.