About the Centre for Artistic Research (CfAR)
The goal of CfAR is to investigate and to show how far artistic research can reach when it is conducted at the postdoctoral level.
CfAR´s activities are divided into two interrelated areas: (a) fostering a postdoctoral community in Artistic Research, and (b) promoting funded research projects in Artistic Research. The former covers everything that graduated artist-doctors do or may do academically, in society, or in the arts field. The latter consists of collective or individual externally or internally financed research posts and projects. Participants in the Artistic Research culture are provided opportunities for exchanging ideas, experiences and practices; possibilities to advance their professional careers after graduation; collaborative projects; possibilities for teaching at Uniarts Helsinki or elsewhere; financing opportunities and jobs; further education; possibilities for interdisciplinary and cross-artistic networking and opportunities to continue their research in applied contexts. CfAR’s other activities include:
- providing research services for Uniarts Helsinki.
- providing a basis for Uniarts Helsinki affiliation.
- communicating about events, education, project calls and open job positions.
- promoting discussion of topical phenomena and questions.
- opening a forum for collegial discussions, encounters and networking.
CfAR is the home for all doctors in the arts, no matter how or where they work now.
CfAR hosts research projects focusing on topics or problem areas common to all the academies and/or several areas of the arts; they may include interdisciplinary, cross-artistic and inter-academic collaboration. It also hosts projects based on collaboration between the research centres and/or other universities. Like the other centres, CfAR research projects may include doctoral candidates from the Uniarts Helsinki academies (Academy of Fine Arts, Sibelius Academy, and Theatre Academy).
CfAR research projects share a commitment to the development of artistic research, its techniques and methods as well as its interdisciplinary connections. CfAR researchers aim to raise the standards of artistic research as academically valid, artistically ground-breaking, scientifically relevant and culturally acknowledged modes of activity. The calls launched by CfAR are always international.
The goal of CfAR is to investigate and, ultimately, to show how far artistic research can reach when it is conducted at the postdoctoral level.
CfAR in Uniarts Helsinki
In addition to creating lateral connections between researchers working at the postdoctoral level, CfAR contributes to the implementation of research at the Bachelor and Master education levels within the Academies. CfAR provides both teaching and research staff members of the Academies the same kind of services and supportive measures as postdoctoral researchers.
The collaboration between CfAR and the Academies is based on a twofold principle: 1) All postdoctoral researchers and postdoctoral staff members involved with Artistic Research or practice-related Art Research in Uniarts Helsinki are part of CfAR; 2) In one way or another, CfAR supports all postdoctoral activities organised by Academies: the most basic level of involvement is communication, where CfAR gathers information on all the postdoctoral activities at Uniarts on its web pages to keep the whole Artistic Research community informed. The Academies inform CfAR of all of their postdoctoral activities related to Artistic Research: new affiliations, staff members, project applications, funded projects and events. Postdoctoral researchers affiliated with or working at Uniarts are part of either the Academies (Academy of Fine Arts, Sibelius Academy, or Theatre Academy) or CfAR.
About the organisation of CfAR
CfAR is led by a steering group that is chaired by the head of the centre and consists of four representatives of the academic units (Academy of Fine Arts, Sibelius Academy, and Theatre Academy) in charge of artistic or arts-based research. The group gathers monthly and functions on the mandate of TTOR, Uniarts Helsinki’s steering group for research and doctoral training. The CfAR steering group makes the financial decisions in routine cases; in regards to internally financed research projects and the recruitment of research candidates, CfAR employs external experts.