Through selected case studies from Finland, Singapore, Indonesia and Japan, and with a range of national and international collaborators, we aim to both contribute to and decolonize the growing interest in understanding the cultural and socio-ecological potential of art-science collaborations.
Research questions
Building on the dynamic theory of civil society (Klein and Lee 2019), on the model of knowledge generation by art-science-technology initiatives with a reciprocal interrelation with society (Paterson et al 2020), and the shifting roles of arts in relation to civil society formation by the PI (Valjakka 2021b, 2023), we will critically analyze the fluid positionalities of art-science collaborations.
- How have local perceptions of ‘arts’ and ‘sciences’ merged and interacted, and how have these trajectories been reformed by transnational influences (e.g. colonialism, international knowledge exchange, transcultural networks)?
- What are the forms of agency, networks, strategies, and methods of contemporary collaborations between arts and natural science? How do they relate to notions of ecology, environment, nature, or sustainability?
- What are the structural forces and patterns that strengthen or hinder these collaborations (e.g. governmental or institutional support, cultural policies, art market)?
- What kinds of knowledge generation, engagement and environmental behaviour change do these collaborations produce and how? Can they contribute to the formation of ecological citizenship, sustainability science, policy making or international law?
- Can art-science collaborations reinforce the aspirations of a more ecologically sustainable and inclusive future, and if so, how? Do they advance any of the goals included in the UN Agenda 2030 for sustainable development?
The main collaborators include:
- Professor Timo Vesala, the Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR) at University of Helsinki and Curator Ulla Taipale, Periferia Art Exhibition at Hyytiälä Forest Station
- Paula Toppila, IHME Helsinki
- Cemeti Institute for Art and Society, Yogyakarta
- Lifepatch, Yogyakarta
- Professor Yoshitaka Mōri, Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo
- Professor T. J. Demos, the Center for Creative Ecologies in University of California, Santa Cruz
- Dr Kiu-wai Chu, Assistant Professor of Environmental Humanities, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore
- PD Dr Bianca Vienni-Baptista, the Cultural Studies of Science group at ETH Zürich