FULL PROGRAMME (PDF). Please register for the FORUM until November 25th.
Why are artist-researchers better story-tellers? From textbook to artist's book to performative publishing (2010-2025)
We have lived through 15 intensive and dynamic years of doctoral education in the arts in Lithuania and now it is a good moment to reflect what has happened and rewind time in order to reflect and give proposals or even fortune-telling for the future. Although the period was short, we can identify at least three generations of PhD cultures. How do they sit in the wider context of other modes of research as well as art, design and architecture practices beyond academia?
International Forum on Artistic Research happens at Vilnius Academy of Arts, November 27-28th, 2025. FULL PROGRAMME (PDF)
Artists, philosophers, art historians, and sociologists will gather around one table to discuss questions such as:
- Do artists produce knowledge when they tell convincing stories?
- Are artists better storytellers than other researchers?
- What are the five generations (5G) and five cultures of doctoral theses in the arts?
- Are philosophers artist-researchers too?
- How can research be performed in space and in text?
- What is the role of other research modes in the social, natural, and human sciences in relation to artistic research—are they allies or competitors?
- Is artistic research (still) a counter-mode or counter-discipline to scientific research?
Participants: Aldis Gedutis, Arnas Anskaitis, David Maroto, Irina Gheorghe, Jan Georg Glöckner, Jelena Škulis, Julijonas Urbonas, Kęstas Kirtiklis, Marquard Smith, Mika Elo, Miki Ambrozy & Sophie Durand, Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stépanian, Oleksandra Nenko, Sara Bédard-Goulet & Otso Aavanranta, Vytautas Michelkevičius.
Curator / Moderator Vytautas Michelkevičius.
Fifteen years of experience in preparing artists as researchers within third-cycle education at VDA has both empowered them and legitimized diverse modes of storytelling, writing, and publishing. In recent years, it is no longer surprising when a doctoral thesis reads more like a novel than an art historian’s account. Are we approaching a time when, during the final defence (Viva Voce), an artist might present nothing but their artwork?
The forum will also introduce other perspectives on artistic research — from the French-Canadian concept of Research-Creation to the Nordic artwork-in-the-front thesis model. The event will not only host traditional presentations but will also experiment with various modes of knowledge exchange: heated panel discussions, performative sessions, conversations with artworks, coffee breaks, intellectual dining feasts, (in)formal (not)working, and more.
These diverse participation formats are supported by the equally diverse architecture of VDA. The main events will take place in exhibition spaces, while others will unfold in Gothic and Baroque vaulted halls and research laboratories.
The forum will conclude with the public defence (Viva Voce) of artist and designer Julijonas Urbonas, presenting his doctoral thesis “Gravitational Aesthetics” in front of a committee of five members.
Participation is free of charge. Please register with subject line "I join the forum" by November 25th at vytautas.michelkevicius@vda.lt, so that we can ensure there are enough coffee cups for everyone.
Forum is organised in the research exhibition Compo(s)t and Detritus.
Forum is partly co-organised with the help of VDA NEB research center and Nordic-Baltic Transdisciplinary Research-Creation Network.
PROGRAMME
