Artistic Research (AR) is practice-based, practice-led research in the arts which has developed rapidly in the last twenty years globally and is a key knowledge base for art education in Higher Arts Education Institutions (HAEIs).
The Vienna Declaration is intended as a policy document addressing political decision makers, funding bodies, higher education and research institutions as well as other organisations and individuals catering for and undertaking AR.
The declaration aims at (1) presenting a clearer, better articulation of the concepts and impact of AR within the Frascati Manual – the OECD classification manual for collecting statistical research data. This clarification will assure the realisation and acknowledgement of successful research activities in the field, and, consequently, contribute to (2) the restructuring of funding policies and programmes at regional, national, European and global levels in such a way that they support AR in line with the sciences and humanities, and (3) the securing and embedding of practice-based third cycle studies in Higher Arts Education, in all countries across Europe, to further develop AR and underpin the contemporaneity of the curriculum.
Culture Action Europe is one of the supporters of the Vienna Declaration.
The academic institutions have been doing a considerable effort during the last years towards the recognition of artistic research as such. Though, there is a need for a few complementary actions for artistic researchers that work outside of academic contexts and practices. Culture Action Europe and our work stream on Artistic Research focuses on a particular niche other contexts where artists are developing research. Firstly, the communities of peers, meaning other places like artists residencies, independent projects and programs, etc., where applied research takes place and it is recognised by other peers. Secondly, the interdisciplinary space, where artistic research must be recognised as a knowledge domain in dialogue with other disciplines.
Although there is an increasing interest in interdisciplinary research as a driver for critical thinking, creativity and open innovation, we can state the absence of the artistic sector in the research, development and innovation approaches in the EU strategic actions and funding plans.
