Sharing gives others access to your working methods and the insight that the artistic research generates. It is also a way to foster dialogue with one's field and to initiate new interesting conversations, not only on the research and the artistic methods and outcomes, but also on the role of artistic research in general.
Annett Busch, ‘Electronic Textures‘, Research Catalogue (2024)
→ Dive deeper (project example): Electronic Textures by Annett Busch, Research Catalogue (2024).
Annett Busch's artistic research project Electronic Textures, realised at Trondheim Academy of Fine Art/NTNU (2016-2018), reads, revisits, curates concepts of history through an encounter with pan-African, tricontinental magazines published from the mid-1950s to the mid-1980s. The exposition presents a collaborative research practice, which doesn't seek to construct one narrative alone, and which preserves the need and the framework for many, sometimes contradictory storylines. In this project the sharing aspect is of vital importance.
The importance of sharing
In The Debate on Research in the Arts, Henk Borgdorff states that if an art practice should qualifiy as research, the process and the outcomes must be "appropriately documented and disseminated to the research community and to the wider public". (Borgdorff, 2006. p.10) He also reminds us of the reflexive nature of the art practice, and how this reflexiveness moves in both directions: "After all, there are no art practices that are not saturated with experiences, histories and beliefs; and conversely there is no theoretical access to, or interpretation of, art practice that does not partially shape that practice into what it is. Concepts and theories, experiences and understandings are interwoven with art practices and, partly for this reason, art is always reflexive. Research in the arts hence seeks to articulate some of this embodied knowledge throughout the creative process and in the art object." (Borgdorff, 2006. p.7)
In the assessing of artistic research, it makes a difference whether the result, the concrete art object, is exclusively examined, or whether the documentation of the process that has led to that result, as well as the context influencing both process and art object, is also included in the assesment. The sharing aspect becomes important here, since both process and result must be conveyed for the further enrichment of ones field and the wider public.
When the Norwegian Ministry of Education established the PhD degree in Artistic Research, it underlined the importace of sharing: "The art practice must be at the center of the doctoral work. At the same time, the art practice must be followed by an explicit reflection which, when presenting the project, makes it possible for others to take part in the way of working and the insight that the artistic research generates".
The PhD institutions local regulations also make it clear that the PhD result, which includes both the artistic result/practice and the reflection component, must be publicly presented. In the Regulations for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) in Artistic Research at the University of Bergen, to give an example, it reads: "The artistic result is to be an independent work that meets international standards in terms of level and ethical requirements within the subject area. The reflection material should make it possible for others to take part in the way of working and the insight that the artistic development work generates. The PhD result should be at a level that ensures that it can contribute to the development of new knowledge, insight and experience within the subject area."
In the course of their research period, most PhD students share their artistic research several times along the way; in conferences, seminars, exhibitions, concerts, workshops, peer-to-peer conversations, midterm-evalutions, journals, or in other arenas relevant to the project and the community.
However, there are a few requirements for sharing that all PhD students must relate to:
- sharing the Artistic PhD result (both the artistic result/practice and the reflection component) in public:
The artistic result might be shared in a time-based format, like an event or an exhibition. The reflection component might be shared along with the artistic result/practice, as a whole, or the reflection component might be made public availably in a different format. - sharing the Artistic PhD result in an Viva Voce.
- sharing the Artistic PhD result in a permanent, archivable format:
This might include documentantion of for example the event or the exhibition, as well as access to the full reflection component.
→ Dive deeper (project example): Reimagining Tradition and Modernity by Russel Hlongwane
→ Dive deeper (project example): Half Hidden by Anne Haaning (2020)
Anne Haaning's artistic research project "Half Hidden", seeks to uncover hidden structures and histories imbedded in technology, through the prism of the mineral cryolite, extracted from Greenland by Denmark in the years 1857–1985. It does so by exploring analogical correspondences at a specific intersection of technology, myth and colonialism. The method used is an investigation of the ontological context of digital image production.
In the reflection that accompagnies the artistic results of "Half Hidden", Haaning uses carefully edited video sequences of the researcher browsing (almost real-time) through softwares, note pads, message boards and editing timelines, unfolding the complex interplay between different modes of production, research and reflection, all happening in parrallel. Narrated with a voice over, that reflects on the theme of the research, the metods used and the processes of getting there, the entirety of the reflection is delivered throgh the four video chapters. In this way the research is visually unfolded to us and the sharing not only covers the many components of the research work, but also quite importantly all the passages between the different sets of language, tools and methods used in the process - litterally as open windows being navigated in the mess of a computer desktop.
Process diary
One way to keep an ongoing account of one's reflections during artistic processes, is to keep a journal or a process diary. Some artistic research projects brings this form of diary into their final reflection. This can be in the form of subjective observations or more prosaic notes, that act as driver or supplement for in-depth analysis or work creation. Sometimes the inclusion of a timeline can also be a way to structure the presentation of an artistic research process, here again a form of diary is employed as narrative tool. The sketching, note taking or field recording is inherrent in most artistic practises and can be lifted from personal use into a reflexive sharing. Finally, some artistic researchers choose to let their process diary unfold in an open access version developing alongside their research project, sharing processes and thoughts openly underway.
→ Dive deeper (project example): Jording med (blå)leire by Sigrid Espelien (in Norwegian only)
In her artsitic research project "Jording med (blå)leire", Sigrid Espelin explores artistic processes and studies revolving around, and bringing the artist closer to, the blue clay already present in the natural environment of our landscape.The ways in which the art and ceramic field considers the material clay as a solid universal material, that is relatively alike no matter where one might buy it from, are with this research project contrasted by the specificity and transforming qualities of the landscape, the clay and the people involved in procuring it.
Espolin keeps a detailed process diary throughout her work, not only in the form of journaling but also in archiving and cataloging the very materials that her research revolve around.
→ Dive deeper (project example): Interdimensional by
The artistic research project investigates how a speculative approach to scientific/mathematical models of physical dimensions and their interrelationships can be used as a generative tool in contemporary art. The exploration is situated within a cross-disciplinary arena that incorporates artistic strategies from New Media Art, Interactive Installation, and Performance. Throughout the project Christensen engages with formal, digital, narrative, and interactive practices to investigate how speculative fabulation and interdimensional movement can work as reflective tools within these performative installations."
Christensen's research project hinges on the involvement of an audience and in the dialogue/conversation that arises from the collective engagement with the works as well as the research. Throgh these encounters Christensen searches for a more-than-human being. Sharing contitutes a strong component in this search. Christensen writes:
"Through following how these expanded agencies have arisen in the project, I realise that artistic research is about the kind of conversation that happens through development: of engaging aesthetic actions into the site of the artwork and about listening to what comes back. The act of embodying the artwork as a more-than-human being is, in a way, an extension of this as an invitation to listen to the artwork in an intensified and heightened way—both for the artistic researcher during development and for the participants and the audience in the performative unfolding of the work." (Cristensen, 2025, Research Catalogue)
→ Dive deeper (project example): Reimagining Tragedy from African and the Global South (RETAGS)
This performance-as-research project is being led by Prof. Mark Fleishman with Mandla Mbothwe in the Centre for Theatre, Dance and Performance Studies at University of Cape Town. The project seeks to create space for an extended interrogation of the vast body of tragic works produced in the theatres of Africa, using performance methodologies as analytical tools to gain purchase on the complex realities of the colonial aftermath. It does this by investigating current events in the postcolony beyond the theatre, through the “prism of tragedy”.
→ Dive deeper: Jayne Batzofin & RETAGS - the challenges of archiving performance-as-research - ARA Podcast, Arts Research Africa Arts, Research Africa Dialogues
→ Dive deeper (project example): Infinite Record: Archive, Memory, Performance
Infinite Record: Archive, Memory, Performance (edited by Maria Magdalena Schwaegermann & Karmenlara Ely) is an example of how Artistic Research might be documentet. The book presents an international artistic research project initiated by Norwegian Theatre Academy/Østfold University College and funded in part by the National Program for Artistic Research in Norway: "Within the book the reader will find essays, photographs, fiction, poetry, music, and other works of art documenting the project, its artistic productions, and the scholarship surrounding it. One will also encounter a complex project architecture, inviting the reader to get lost in the layers of Infinite Records reflective archival methods emerging from contrasting perspectives".
Places to share
There are several open access and peer reviewed journals for artistic research. Six journals are peer reviewed and published through the Research Catalogue, see journals page. The Research Catalogue also offer all users the posibility to self-publish or to publish at one of the member partner's portals. Here are a few examples of other journals publishing artistic research across different diciplines:
- Ellipses - Journal of Creative Research is an online publication and peer-reviewed digital platform for the dissemination of artistic research, supported by Artistic Research Africa (ARA).
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Nordic Journal of Art & Research is an interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journal aimed at disseminating knowledge and experience from research and development projects based on artistic practice and reflection, art education, art theory, and cultural theory.
- PARSE is a research publishing platform that aims to bridge gaps, and strengthen the field of artistic research by meeting its needs for new forms of peer review, publication, and conferencing.
- Reposition - Zentrum Fokus Forschung collects positions from ongoing research of all disciplines and departments at the University of Applied Arts Vienna.
→ Dive deeper: Norwegian Register for Scientific Journals, Series and Publishers
In the Norwegian Register for Scientific Journals, Series and Publishers, you will find an overview over academic journals, series and publishers/publication channels (inside and outside Norway). You can search the register by academic field, like Art, Design and Architecture, or Musicology. There is no separate field for Artistc Research, but several journals are relevant for publishing such research, like ViS - Journal for Artistic Research (level 1) and Journal for Artistic Research (JAR) (level 2). Level 1 and 2 mean that the publication channels are considered approved scientific publication channels, while level 0 means that the publication channel is not approved as a scientific publication channel.
Other media for sharing Artistic Research might be podcasts, films and so on. See for example: Sámi ritmmat / Samiske rytmer (Jakop Jannsøn) and Dalia Al-Kury at The Norwegian Film School in conversation with the Vice-Dean Nina Grünfeld. Sharing also takes place in exhibitions and events, and some institutions run their own galleries, or cooperate closely with local organisations. There are also other sites for sharing, like the Research Pavillion.
Your project and whom you want to reach should form the basis for where, when, and how you share.
Archiving the result
The Artistic PhD result must also be documented in a permanent format and archived. This permanent, archived documentation will give artistic researchers and others insight into your process and the outcomes and provide the ground for future artistic research.
Institutions may have their own policies and systems for documenting and archiving. Some PhD institutions require that you document your Artistic PhD results in institutional digital archives and in addition register the results in national archives.
In Norway, the Nasjonalt Vitenarkiv (NVA) will replace the former national registration system, Cristin. NVA is designed to support the registration of both Scinetific and Artistic Research. NVA gather information on Norwegian research and makes research results and research information openly available.
Archiving is regulated by the law, Arkivloven. The purpose of this Act is to secure archives that have significant cultural or research value or that contain legal or important administrative documentation, so that these can be preserved and made available for posterity.
→ Dive deeper: Nasjonalt vitenarkiv
→ Dive deeper: Open scinece and the FAIR prinicples