Creativity and Arts in Organizations and Society (CAOS)
What is the CAOS Network?
The CAOS Network is a research community that brings together doctoral candidates, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty who are interested in the roles of art and creativity in organizing, leadership, and society.The network began with the shared desire to create a supportive, open, and intellectually vibrant environment where early-career scholars can develop their research, experiment with creative approaches, and learn from one another. CAOS is not simply a research group, but a collective space for thinking, creating, and exploring together.
How We Work
CAOS is grounded in the principles of collective creativity and shared responsibility. We meet regularly, and the format of our activities remains flexible and participant-driven. To ensure that leadership is contextual and shared, we rotate responsibility for organizing and chairing sessions.
What We Do
Our activities and gatherings include:
- Ad-hoc idea development sessions and reading groups
- Literature review workshops highlighting emerging research areas
- Seminars and workshops on art-based and practice-based research methods
- Pedagogical workshops on using art and creative practices in teaching
- Discussions on the politics, ethics, and social implications of creativity
- Hands-on creative workshops and collective making
- Collaborations across Aalto (including ARTS), as well as public-facing projects, exhibitions, and visits
Beyond academic exchange, CAOS seeks to mobilize knowledge and engage wider publics, exploring how creativity can shape work, education, and society.
Our Aim
CAOS is an experiment in collective creativity: a generative space that broadens perspectives, sparks new connections, and cultivates research that is thoughtful, relevant, and alive. Above all, we emphasize that the CAOS Network should be fun and inspirational not just instrumental!
Connect with CAOS
Events
- March 24, 2026: Dr Ally Zlatar - Autoethnography without confessions
- March 25, 2026: Dr. Pauliina Valtasaari | Leadership in Arts Organizations 鈥 鈥淪鈥
- April 14, 2025: Creative entanglements: affective temporalities and spaces for 鈥
- May 5, 2026: Workshop with Dr. Annamari Huovinen | Ostranenie as a technique fo鈥
The CAOS community
Philip Gylfe
Ana Paula Lafaire
Dr. Leni Gr眉nbaum
Radical creativity at Aalto
Learning Environments Research Group 鈥 2025 in Review
2025 recap: three doctoral theses on context-aware interaction design, AI as creative learning partner, and telerobotic puppetry for peacebuilding.
Aalto University鈥檚 art & design ranked 9th in the world
Five of Aalto鈥檚 fields placed in the top 100 in the prestigious QS ranking
AREA Lunch Talks on Artistic Research // April 2026
AREA is launching a new series of informal lunch talks dedicated to artistic research at Aalto ARTS.