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Research & Art

Research and artistic activities at the Department of Art

The research and artistic activities of Department of Art takes place in the fields of contemporary art, art education, visual culture, and curating. The department has a long tradition with artistic and philosophical production and many researchers’ work emphasizes contemporary, critical, political and societal entanglements of art, curating, and pedagogy.
(Im)possible Labor #3 – WWW³ (World Wide Web - Wild Wo.men Witches : World Without Work), 2019. Installation. Galleria Augusta, Helsinki, Finland. Photo: Sheung Yiu
Marie-Andrée Godin: (Im)possible Labor #3 – WWW³ (WORLD WIDE WEB - WILD WO.MEN WITCHES : WORLD WITHOUT WORK), 2019. Installation. Galleria Augusta, Helsinki, Finland. Photo: Sheung Yiu

The research and artistic activities of Department of Art takes place in the fields of contemporary art, art education, visual culture, and curating. The department has a long tradition with artistic and philosophical production and many researchers’ work emphasises contemporary, critical, political and societal entanglements of art, curating, and pedagogy. Artistic, art educational and curational research connects to, and informs larger societal, cultural, and philosophical discourses.

Many research projects are identified as artistic research (AR) or arts-based research (ABR). This research happens, for example, in artists’ spaces, classrooms, exhibitions, museums and other institutions, and in the public sphere. The emphasis on art praxis (the combination of theory and practice) and AR and ABR brings transdisciplinary artistic knowledge to other research contexts in a unique way, and it enriches a broad range of research areas at Aalto University. Work stems from contemporary art production, artistic research, activism, and/or pedagogical motives.

Our research focus areas

    Critical social research and activism in art - Department of Art

    Critical social research and activism in art

    This research focuses on activism, ethical perspectives and aspects of social justice, bringing forth societal questions on cultural diversity and environmental issues, such as immigration, whiteness, gender-aware research, and disability studies. Research takes place through artistic practices and research, arts-based research, curating and mediating art. Research themes share a critical aspect on power structures and questions about privileged positions in society. Solidarity, emancipation, criticality and embodied knowledge play a crucial role in this discourse.

    Art education and future learning - Department of Arts

    Art education and future learning

    Research on art education has over 100 years of history in the department and has a vivid connection to art teaching practices within and outside of schools. It includes historical, artistic, arts-based, philosophical, epistemological and sociopolitical research in the areas of art, pedagogy, schooling, education, philosophy, psychology, and sociology. Emerging practices within art education includes varied notions of future arts learning, from programming to artificial intelligent.

    Art, science & technology - Department of Art

    Art, science & technology

    The focus is on the intersection of art, science and technology as well as on research of multi/inter/transdisciplinary education. Research is done in collaboration with researchers and teachers from other schools of Aalto University as well as individual artistic research projects, for example in Aalto Biofilia laboratory, and in the context of environmental art. The study includes the latest developments in technology taking into consideration (post)human, post-digital, post-internet, and other contemporary artistic aspects.

    Culture, material and history - Department of Art

    Culture, material and history

    Research in culture, material and history at the department of art focuses on social and cultural practice, and investigates how culture and cultural meanings are produced in society, both in the past and the present, with a special focus on materials (pigments, dyes, textiles etc.). The specific themes range from colour in arts to the use of material-based methods in cultural studies of dress. Most of the work is related in the fields of art and cultural history or artistic research, but our work also draws on other methodological traditions, such as social history, natural sciences and anthropology.

    Visual and popular culture & aesthetics -Department of Art

    Visual and popular culture & aesthetics

    This research focus targets visual and aesthetic cultures from sport and food and from media to politics. Diverse methodological traditions are embodied (cultural studies, anthropology, philosophy), and issues like gender, racialization, environment and the institutional problems of cultural production are central.

    Research groups & externally funded projects

    Fashion and Material Culture History

    Image: courtesy of Paula Hohti

    Finnish Arts Education Research

    Image credits: Juuso Tervo

    Feminism and Queer in Art Education (FAQ)

    a colorful drawing depicting a fruit, a Black mermaid, a hairy person in underwear and boots, an orchid, a rainbow-colored blob, high heels, a person with a flower growing from their armpit, a unicorn, a person with long hair squatting in boots and text "power" reading in between their legs, a quote saying "let's meet. here's a pic"

    Cluster for Critical Artistic Research (CCARe)

    Image show the black and white logo of CCARe (cluster for critical artistic research)

    Disability Studies, Art & Education (DSAE)

    Image of DSAE Logo with the acronyms each represented by blue, green, red, and orange triangles

    Art and Biopolitics

    image of micorbial phenomena

    Art, Science & Environment (ASE)

    Installation view from Teemu Lehmusruusu: Maatuu uinuu henkii (Respiration Field), Kaisaniemi Botanic Garden, Helsinki, 2019. Photo credit: Telling Tree art+rsrch (2, close)

    Re-fashioning the Renaissance

    Testing 16th century dye recipes. Photo: Refashioning the Renaissance project, 2019

    Research in Arts and Education

    Research in Arts and Education is an international peer-reviewed journal. Thematic scope of the journal includes, but is not limited to, the questions of art & design practice and production, criticism, pedagogy, curriculum and instruction. The journal welcomes all arts disciplines: visual arts, music, dance and other performative arts, their theories, practices and education. Research in Art Education grants an open access to all publications and is ranked in the publication forum of Finnish academic research. The journal also welcomes submissions from different fields, including among others, anthropology, art history, aesthetics, cultural studies, sociology, psychology and philosophy.

    Research in Arts and Education logo. Green spiral.

    Latest publications and artistic activities

    Sanna Lehtinen, Delfina Fantini van Ditmar 2022 Places: forum of design for the public realm

    Marika Ahlavuo, Matilda Heilala, Sebastian Aho, Hannu Hyyppä, Jaana Tamminen, Kaarina Kaikkonen 2021

    Einat Amir, Yossi Hasson 2021

    Einat Amir 2021

    Antti Arkoma 2021

    Laura Beloff 2021

    Laura Beloff, Tanya Ravn Ag 2021 Contemporary Art Stavanger

    Laura Beloff 2021

    Laura Beloff, Kira O'Reilly 2021

    Christopher Bratton, Dalida Maria Benfield 2021 Comunicazioni Sociali
    More information on our research in the Aalto research portal.

    Our conferences

    Art of Research Conference VII: Authorship and Responsibility

    Graphic image in green and black, written 'Art of Research 2020. Authorship and Responsibility', round green elements around

    Radical Relevances 2018

    Radical Relevances 2018

    InSEA 2018

    InSEA 2018

    4th Conference on Arts-based Research and Artistic Research

    Arts-based Research and Artistic Research

    The 1st International Conference on Disability Studies, Arts, and Education

    The 1st International Conference on Disability Studies, Arts, and Education

    Dank Contemporaneities

    Dank Contemporaneities

    Events

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    Lectures and seminars, Staff trainings, IT & digital tools, Support for teams, Training to support research –

    Learn about ethical review at Aalto University.
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    Marsio Presents, 15 April 2026: Creative Teaching in the Age of AI

    Marsio Presents: Creative Teaching in the Age of AI is a morning event for Aalto educators interested in how AI is reshaping pedagogy. Hear short, concrete cases from colleagues on using AI in teaching, assessment, and course design. Join to gain practical ideas, discuss ethical questions, and reflect together on what meaningful teaching looks like in the age of AI.
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    Lectures and seminars, Staff trainings, IT & digital tools, Support for teams, Training to support research –

    Learn about using REDCap at Aalto University.
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    Learn about handling personal data.
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