SibA Research Days 2026: Change and the Arts
SRD 2026 explores the changing relationships between music and arts research, artistic practice, communities, and society.
The event carries on the discussions of the preceding research days with their main themes of “Society and research in dialogue” (2024), and “Ethics and research in artistic practice” (2025).
We live in a time of profound environmental, societal, political, and technological turmoil, marked by large-scale developments that are reshaping our societies and cultures, and the arts. These transformations create a growing need to understand, adapt to and, perhaps most importantly, actively make change. How can music, the arts and research contribute to this process? What can we do as individual researchers and practitioners? How can we strengthen our voices as a creative community? What kind of meaning-making processes can arts contribute to?
SRD 2026 explores the changing relationships between music and arts research, artistic practice, communities, and society. It asks how research can deepen our understanding of the arts and support meaningful transformation, while considering the roles of communality and communities in shaping cultural meaning-making and artistic experiences. Furthermore, we may reflect on musicians and artistic work, art audiences, authenticity, musical value, and artistic value, examining how these concepts evolve in changing cultural contexts. The seminar brings together perspectives on adapting to change and actively making change—through arts, research, and the communities that connect them. At its core, Change and the Arts hopefully ignites us to explore how artistic and research practices can help us understand the forces shaping our world, navigate uncertainty, and imagine — and enact — new possibilities.
Change and the Arts as a meta-theme also refers to the reform of Uniarts and Sibelius Academy doctoral education and research, concerning structures, practices, curricula, and many other aspects. SRD 2026 is the first one as a joint Sibelius Academy Doctoral Programme and Research Centre, serving as a forum where we can explore, discuss and celebrate our multifaceted creative research community – perhaps coming up with new ideas for strengthening our community among the changes.
Call for presentations
We warmly welcome presentation proposals to the 2026 SibA Research Days, touching the theme of The Change and the Arts, or any other topic or research project you are working on. The event is open to doctoral researchers, research staff, and students of Sibelius Academy and Uniarts Helsinki, as well as to researchers and practitioners outside Uniarts Helsinki.
There are three proposal categories:
- Standard presentations 20 min (15 min pres + 5 min discussion)
- Short presentations 10 min (5 minutes pres + 5 min questions)”
- Recitals 30 min (25 minutes pres + 5 min discussion): Lecture-Recital, which includes both a presentation and an artistic component.
The format and style of the presentations are free. Creative proposals are welcome. Proposals can be submitted in English, Finnish, and Swedish. The seminar program will also include a keynote panel, a special workshop for master students, as well as networking and socializing hours.
The information (in English, Finnish, or Swedish) needed in the form includes:
- Your name
- Type of Presentation (of the above three categories * please note that you can also name two alternatives, i.e. standard and short, which would leave the organizers more room to design the programme)
- Affiliation (doctoral programme, academy, university)
- Title of your presentation
- Abstract (300 words max) * For all types of presentations
- Short Presenter’s BIO (100 words max)
- List of required technical equipment/instruments
- Note if you don’t allow recording of your presentation/recital
Paper submission web form will be added here later.
Important dates
- Call for presentations out: 2.9.2026
- CFP DL: 25.9.2026
- Notification of acceptance & registration open: (by) 9.10.2026
- Programme released: 22.10.2026
- Registration closed: 29.10.2026
- SRD: 5.-6.11.2026
Preliminary programme
Thursday 5 November
- 08:30 Coffee & registration (Black Box foyer**)
- 09:00 Opening remarks & music performance (?) (Black Box)
- 09:30 Keynote panel (Black Box)
- 11:00 Coffee break
- 11:30 Presentation session(s) (Black Box and, if needed S3101)
- 12:30 Lunch
- 13:30 Presentation session(s) (Black Box and, if needed S3101)
- 14:40 Coffee break
- 15:00 Master students forum* (Black Box)
- 16:30 End
Friday 6 November
- 08:30 Coffee & registration
- 09:00 Keynote / presentation session (Black Box)
- 10:30 Coffee break
- 11:00 Presentation session(s) (Black Box and, if needed, Auditorio)
- 12:30 Lunch
- 13:30 Presentation session(s) (Black Box and, if needed, Auditorio)
- 14:30 Coffee break
- 14:45 Final remarks
- 15:30 End
* Master student forum: A speficic workshop type of a session directed for the master students of SibA who’d like to present and discuss their research ideas. The forum includes brief research presentations (and/or posters) and following joint discussion on research at SibA. Call is distributed specifically by programme leaders and integrated in the teaching activities of programmes (e.g. with a reflection task). A separate invitation and registration will be created for master students attending this session. We also warmly encourage other participants to attend the forum, and students to attend the other SRD sessions.
** Book table: There is a table for display of books by participants and Uniarts publications. Anyone can bring their own books for display (or for give-away)
Contact
Organizing team
- Toni-Matti Karjalainen, Professor (arts management), Head of Sibelius Academy Doctoral Programme and Research Centre
- Kaarina Kilpiö, University Lecturer (music history)
- Lilja Lehmuskallio, Doctoral Researcher (arts management)
- Laura Valoma, Doctoral Researcher (arts management)
- Livia Schweizer, Doctoral Researcher (global music)
- Jannika Lahin, production
The event carries on the discussions of the preceding research days with their main themes of “Society and research in dialogue” (2024), and “Ethics and research in artistic practice” (2025).
We live in a time of profound environmental, societal, political, and technological turmoil, marked by large-scale developments that are reshaping our societies and cultures, and the arts. These transformations create a growing need to understand, adapt to and, perhaps most importantly, actively make change. How can music, the arts and research contribute to this process? What can we do as individual researchers and practitioners? How can we strengthen our voices as a creative community? What kind of meaning-making processes can arts contribute to?
SRD 2026 explores the changing relationships between music and arts research, artistic practice, communities, and society. It asks how research can deepen our understanding of the arts and support meaningful transformation, while considering the roles of communality and communities in shaping cultural meaning-making and artistic experiences. Furthermore, we may reflect on musicians and artistic work, art audiences, authenticity, musical value, and artistic value, examining how these concepts evolve in changing cultural contexts. The seminar brings together perspectives on adapting to change and actively making change—through arts, research, and the communities that connect them. At its core, Change and the Arts hopefully ignites us to explore how artistic and research practices can help us understand the forces shaping our world, navigate uncertainty, and imagine — and enact — new possibilities.
Change and the Arts as a meta-theme also refers to the reform of Uniarts and Sibelius Academy doctoral education and research, concerning structures, practices, curricula, and many other aspects. SRD 2026 is the first one as a joint Sibelius Academy Doctoral Programme and Research Centre, serving as a forum where we can explore, discuss and celebrate our multifaceted creative research community – perhaps coming up with new ideas for strengthening our community among the changes.
Call for presentations
We warmly welcome presentation proposals to the 2026 SibA Research Days, touching the theme of The Change and the Arts, or any other topic or research project you are working on. The event is open to doctoral researchers, research staff, and students of Sibelius Academy and Uniarts Helsinki, as well as to researchers and practitioners outside Uniarts Helsinki.
There are three proposal categories:
- Standard presentations 20 min (15 min pres + 5 min discussion)
- Short presentations 10 min (5 minutes pres + 5 min questions)”
- Recitals 30 min (25 minutes pres + 5 min discussion): Lecture-Recital, which includes both a presentation and an artistic component.
The format and style of the presentations are free. Creative proposals are welcome. Proposals can be submitted in English, Finnish, and Swedish. The seminar program will also include a keynote panel, a special workshop for master students, as well as networking and socializing hours.
The information (in English, Finnish, or Swedish) needed in the form includes:
- Your name
- Type of Presentation (of the above three categories * please note that you can also name two alternatives, i.e. standard and short, which would leave the organizers more room to design the programme)
- Affiliation (doctoral programme, academy, university)
- Title of your presentation
- Abstract (300 words max) * For all types of presentations
- Short Presenter’s BIO (100 words max)
- List of required technical equipment/instruments
- Note if you don’t allow recording of your presentation/recital
Paper submission web form will be added here later.
Important dates
- Call for presentations out: 2.9.2026
- CFP DL: 25.9.2026
- Notification of acceptance & registration open: (by) 9.10.2026
- Programme released: 22.10.2026
- Registration closed: 29.10.2026
- SRD: 5.-6.11.2026
Preliminary programme
Thursday 5 November
- 08:30 Coffee & registration (Black Box foyer**)
- 09:00 Opening remarks & music performance (?) (Black Box)
- 09:30 Keynote panel (Black Box)
- 11:00 Coffee break
- 11:30 Presentation session(s) (Black Box and, if needed S3101)
- 12:30 Lunch
- 13:30 Presentation session(s) (Black Box and, if needed S3101)
- 14:40 Coffee break
- 15:00 Master students forum* (Black Box)
- 16:30 End
Friday 6 November
- 08:30 Coffee & registration
- 09:00 Keynote / presentation session (Black Box)
- 10:30 Coffee break
- 11:00 Presentation session(s) (Black Box and, if needed, Auditorio)
- 12:30 Lunch
- 13:30 Presentation session(s) (Black Box and, if needed, Auditorio)
- 14:30 Coffee break
- 14:45 Final remarks
- 15:30 End
* Master student forum: A speficic workshop type of a session directed for the master students of SibA who’d like to present and discuss their research ideas. The forum includes brief research presentations (and/or posters) and following joint discussion on research at SibA. Call is distributed specifically by programme leaders and integrated in the teaching activities of programmes (e.g. with a reflection task). A separate invitation and registration will be created for master students attending this session. We also warmly encourage other participants to attend the forum, and students to attend the other SRD sessions.
** Book table: There is a table for display of books by participants and Uniarts publications. Anyone can bring their own books for display (or for give-away)
Contact
Organizing team
- Toni-Matti Karjalainen, Professor (arts management), Head of Sibelius Academy Doctoral Programme and Research Centre
- Kaarina Kilpiö, University Lecturer (music history)
- Lilja Lehmuskallio, Doctoral Researcher (arts management)
- Laura Valoma, Doctoral Researcher (arts management)
- Livia Schweizer, Doctoral Researcher (global music)
- Jannika Lahin, production