At the Intersection Between Art and Research: Practice-Based Research in the Performing Arts

As an emerging field within the Nordic countries, the ’intersection’ between art and research is still in the process of being named and renamed. Practice-Based Research within the Performing Arts was the concept that framed the investigation of the field in a Nordic Summer University study circle during a period of three years. The contributors to this anthology are artists and academics. They each present their particular angle to the field based partly on debates that arose in the study circle. What is the difference between theory and practice? Of what nature is the knowledge of the performing artist? Can artistic work be original, political, ethical? How is the work disseminated? How can art as research have an impact on different art forms and on other types of research? What questions of identity does the researching artist face? Can his/her work be compared to a journey? The articles reflect a plurality of themes and discussions that exist around Practice-Based Research. Most of the contributors bring up their own artistic work for closer examination, and they all share the common premise of making neither just art nor just research. To address divergences between these two activities, and surpass them, is one of the aims of this book.