Relational Encounters between the Arts and Climate Research: Exploring the Future of Art and Science Collaborations
Abstract
Suggested conference theme but open for other suggestions:
1. Enhancing the theoretical foundations of inter- and transdisciplinarity
Fridays for Future, climate crisis, – the debate about climate change and ecological sustainability has moved to the centre of society. The question is what options for action exist and what conditions must be in place for a societal transformation towards greater sustainability.
In this process scientific research, artistic practice and society are increasingly intertwined. Climate researchers seek exchange with artists or adapt artistic processes, while artistic practice is turning to ecological themes. However, it is debated to what extent the arts can generate sustainable ecological effects by fuelling a thematic debate without questioning structures and logics of production in the sense of a critical practice. More and more initiatives and funding bodies are also trying to bring artists together with climate researchers.
Unlike traditional science communication, these approaches foster new ways of knowledge production by engaging with different communities. Yet, our understanding of their impact is limited. Questions remain about equal collaboration, exchange formats, quality criteria, and funding structures.
Our inter- and transdisciplinary project ‘Relational Encounters between the Arts and Climate Research’ is a collaboration between two institutions (EcoArtlab, Academy of Arts University of Applied Science Bern and mLAB, Institute of Geography, University of Bern). The project investigates the interactions between artistic research, geography, critical sustainability research and climatology and opens new approaches to several dimensions of justice.
One aim is to develop, in dialogue with practitioners, evaluation criteria and a set of promising factors and lessons learned for future climate-art collaborations.
In the conference presentation we wish to exchange on methodological challenges of such applied research by reflecting on two of our selected tools and methods, namely residencies and a design lab workshop format.
Residencies are climate and sustainability thematic-led collaborations between artists, scientists, and activists. They work together for a period of up to eight months and produce a dialogue-based output that does justice to the various disciplines and practices involved. The conception of the residency is carried out by the researchers. The residents have all the freedom for the development of research and artistic positions. The projects, the collaboration and the external impact are monitored and evaluated by the project team.
The second method is a workshop format with representatives of research, the arts and funding bodies. We explore in a first step productive, frustrating, and unusual experiences made so far in various art/science collaborations within existing structures. The second step is a moderated design lab, where we develop possible new forms of collaborations with new ideas and questions that can be utilized for our own work and feed back to the funding institutions.
With our presentation we contribute to the general conference theme of the advancement of inter- and transdisciplinary concepts and processes. Research results will provide a better understanding of how collaborations between different knowledge systems such as research, activism and arts function, the potential power structures they are embedded in, and resulting potentials and challenges for project implementations and possible implications for evaluation criteria of integration in transdisciplinary projects.
1. Enhancing the theoretical foundations of inter- and transdisciplinarity
Fridays for Future, climate crisis, – the debate about climate change and ecological sustainability has moved to the centre of society. The question is what options for action exist and what conditions must be in place for a societal transformation towards greater sustainability.
In this process scientific research, artistic practice and society are increasingly intertwined. Climate researchers seek exchange with artists or adapt artistic processes, while artistic practice is turning to ecological themes. However, it is debated to what extent the arts can generate sustainable ecological effects by fuelling a thematic debate without questioning structures and logics of production in the sense of a critical practice. More and more initiatives and funding bodies are also trying to bring artists together with climate researchers.
Unlike traditional science communication, these approaches foster new ways of knowledge production by engaging with different communities. Yet, our understanding of their impact is limited. Questions remain about equal collaboration, exchange formats, quality criteria, and funding structures.
Our inter- and transdisciplinary project ‘Relational Encounters between the Arts and Climate Research’ is a collaboration between two institutions (EcoArtlab, Academy of Arts University of Applied Science Bern and mLAB, Institute of Geography, University of Bern). The project investigates the interactions between artistic research, geography, critical sustainability research and climatology and opens new approaches to several dimensions of justice.
One aim is to develop, in dialogue with practitioners, evaluation criteria and a set of promising factors and lessons learned for future climate-art collaborations.
In the conference presentation we wish to exchange on methodological challenges of such applied research by reflecting on two of our selected tools and methods, namely residencies and a design lab workshop format.
Residencies are climate and sustainability thematic-led collaborations between artists, scientists, and activists. They work together for a period of up to eight months and produce a dialogue-based output that does justice to the various disciplines and practices involved. The conception of the residency is carried out by the researchers. The residents have all the freedom for the development of research and artistic positions. The projects, the collaboration and the external impact are monitored and evaluated by the project team.
The second method is a workshop format with representatives of research, the arts and funding bodies. We explore in a first step productive, frustrating, and unusual experiences made so far in various art/science collaborations within existing structures. The second step is a moderated design lab, where we develop possible new forms of collaborations with new ideas and questions that can be utilized for our own work and feed back to the funding institutions.
With our presentation we contribute to the general conference theme of the advancement of inter- and transdisciplinary concepts and processes. Research results will provide a better understanding of how collaborations between different knowledge systems such as research, activism and arts function, the potential power structures they are embedded in, and resulting potentials and challenges for project implementations and possible implications for evaluation criteria of integration in transdisciplinary projects.
Date Issued
2024-11-05
Publication Type
Conference Item
Subjects
Art-science collaboration
•
climate justice
•
methodology
•
residencies
•
evaluation criteria
Language(s)
en
Author(s)
Access(Rights)
metadata.only