Call for applications: Nida Doctoral School “Naked on the Beach. On the Exposition of Artistic Research”

For DA and PhD students in visual and performing arts, design, architecture, humanities and social sciences 

Working alongside questions that are pertinent to individual research, a host of expositional concerns for PhD and DA researchers will be discussed and performed during the course. In this way, participants of Nida Doctoral School (NDS) will collectively tackle issues such as: When you install your art/research/artistic research into a space, does it (always and necessarily) become an exhibition? When you lay-out your work into a publication, does it become a catalogue, a reflection, or something else? Can artistic research be shared, communicated, shown, narrated, performed? What is the most suitable way to present your artistic research so it speaks to artistic and academic audiences? How to be proficient in publishing  by making your work relevant to academic readers, while, at the same time, ensuring it is pertinent to art professionals and wider audiences? How can we make a hybrid exposition or a hybrid paper which will have both academic and artistic qualities? How to communicate artistic practise, while avoiding compromises and pressures of having to conform to the usual research presentation?

In 2018 NDS has the pleasure to welcome three guest speakers:

Prof. Dorita Hannah University of Auckland School of Architecture (New Zealand). Adjunct Professor of Creative Arts at UTAS (Australia) and Stage & Space with Aalto (Finland). Co-editor of Performance Design (2008) and author of Event-Space (2018).

Dr. Michael Schwab artist and researcher, Chief-editor of Journal of Artistic Research, co-editor of Exposition of Artistic Research: Publishing Art in Academia (2013), editor of Experimental Systems. Future Knowledge in Artistic Research (2015).

Prof. Henk Slager, Dean MaHKU Utrecht, co-curator of Research Pavilion in Venice Biennale 2015 and 2017, co-editor of Futures of Artistic Research (2017), and author of Pleasure of Research (2015).

Distinguished tutors from partnering schools—Dr Prof Mika Elo, Dr Assoc Prof Vytautas Michelkevičius, Dr Reader Joanne Morra, Dr Prof Sofia Pantouvaki—will also contribute to the course.

What is Nida Doctoral School?
In Nida we explore unorthodox approaches to research. Through making, performing, writing, exposing and discussing we test the possibilities for generating knowledge outside of the conventional venues and models of academic research. NDS participants are offered a possibility to position their own research and practice within a broader field of research approaches. NDS aims to open up the horizons for experimental development through intersecting with a diversity of disciplines and experiences. The goal of NDS is to provide time, space and a conceptual framework for participants to gain insight into their research field as well as to broaden and diversify their outlook and methodological tools.

Nida Doctoral School was initiated by Nida Art Colony of Vilnius Academy of Arts and Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture. The University of the Arts Helsinki and the University of the Arts London joined the platform in 2016-2017.

NDS is tailored for doctoral students in visual and performing arts, design and architecture. However, there are also limited places for students within the humanities and social sciences if their research is related to arts, design and architecture. The programme comprises intensive courses organised once a year at VAA Nida Art Colony, and doctoral residencies. Please check the Colony’s call for residency applications to find out more about the doctoral residencies. Upon successful completion of the NDS course participants gain 5 ECTS credits.

Tuition, funding, costs & application
There is no tuition fee. Free accommodation and catering is provided for selected applicants from Aalto, UniArts Helsinki, UAL, and VAA. In addition, Aalto, UniArts Helsinki and UAL students are provided with a travel grant. 

UK applicants should refer to VAA Nida Art Colony website for further information on financial assistance by Chase and Techne.

Other participants are expected to cover their accommodation and catering costs, which make 400 EUR/person, and travel costs.

Please follow the application guidelines.