Major investment in research-creation
Advanced contributions to academic knowledge may take place in science labs and between library stacks, but progressive universities are starting to realize that they can also occur in a sculptor’s studio, at a composer’s piano or in a choreographer’s rehearsal space.
A new research project at Concordia has received $2.95 million from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada to explore this fresh approach, commonly known as research-creation.
“The process of sculpting a material is its own form of knowledge, the exploration of movement in choreography is a form of thinking in its own right,” says lead researcher Erin Manning, an associate professor in studio arts and film studies, the Concordia University Research Chair in Relational Art and Philosophy, and founder of the university’s interdisciplinary SenseLab.
The project, titled Immediations, explores how arts-based research creates new forms of knowledge that cannot be conveyed by the standard written dissertation, and investigates innovative ways of evaluating knowledge produced outside of the mainstream research setting.
Manning and her colleagues argue that research-creation produces forms of knowledge that surpass the limits of language; their goal is to identify how these forms can be evaluated, and determine what role they play in a contemporary university.
Immediations will be based out of SenseLab, a collaborative work space for artists, academics, researchers, dancers and writers, located in the Engineering, Computer Science and Visual Arts Integrated Complex. The grant will also be used to advance other research topics in SenseLab’s mandate, support its Inflexions journal and the launch of a new book series at Open Humanities Press, and strengthen partnerships with artistic groups outside the university that could lead to student residencies and exhibition space.
The project formalizes an existing network of collaborators from 11 international universities, as well as 17 community partners, including art collectives and activist groups; Immediations’ grant will fund major events in Australia, Europe and North America.
In Montreal next month, SenseLab is hosting the Three Mile Meal in Outremont, Mile End and Park Extension. From 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. from August 22 to 25, a free “public kitchen” will serve up local fare in each neighbourhood — Hasidic recipes in Outremont, Greek and Italian in Mile End, and East Asian in Park Extension — while bicycle-powered “lack of information booths” travel between the sites. The booths will encourage diners to find creative ways to interrelate.
“Our events generate an excitement that leads to new forms of collaboration, so instead of arriving with finished [products], participants leave with an enthusiasm about getting to work,” Manning says.