Research in performing arts and writing

What is our research like?

The Theatre Academy carries out research in the fields of performing arts and writing. Through their activities and experiences, researchers identify the kind of knowledge, skill and thinking that artistic work entails and generates. 

Art and academic research are not considered opposing acts, but different approaches that complement each other in dialogue. Both generate the kind of understanding that cannot be created by other means. 

Research topics are drawn from artists’ work and practice – their observations, insights, questions and development needs. Possible subjects or methods of research include a performer’s bodily experience, forming of a visual observation or soundscape, the role of the audience, design processes or manual skills needed in artistic work.  

The academy’s research may lead to new forms of art, ways of working, pedagogical practices, philosophical theories or arts-based methods and activities where the goal is to make a difference in society.  

Research results have a concrete impact on education in the arts, the structural development of the arts sector and audience engagement. Furthermore, research in the arts deepens our understanding of the human mind, cultures and the world, and it may not be until later that we fully grasp the significance of all the learning.  

The research carried out at the Theatre Academy in performing arts and writing draws from various theoretical approaches.  

Artistic research has long-running traditions at the academy, and we are an internationally renowned and esteemed forerunner in artistic research in the arts.  

Besides artistic research, various approaches used in the humanities and social sciences are common at the Theatre Academy.  Typically, our researchers’ interests lie at the intersection of science, academia and art where different disciplines engage in a dynamic dialogue. 

Doctoral Programme in Performing Arts

The Theatre Academy awards Doctor of Arts (Theatre and Drama), Doctor of Arts (Dance) and Doctor of Arts (Art and Design) degrees. Doctoral researchers selected through our doctoral admissions are usually professional artists working in the fields of performing arts or writing. Doctoral researchers are based in the Doctoral Programme in Performing Arts.