In recent years, a growing number of researchers from the field of the Arts, are developing, in and beyond academia, innovative approaches to address the future and its critical challenges, such as the environment, post-coloniality or technologies, and have an increased impact on society.

The arts are a universal language. In our education systems and research methodologies, these essential tools and perspectives the arts offer have been underutilized. This group of creative futurists and arts-integrated researchers are working to re-integrate the arts to benefit learning and understanding of the earth and each other. Artists and creatives are known for methods that are speculative, non-reductive, and attend to both humanistic and natural concerns. This session will explore the promise and the power of the arts to address systemic problems.

For this exploratory round-table at the Learning Planet Festival, a2ru is pleased to invite four art-based researchers who are pursuing pioneering research practice, platforms and strategies to contribute to future research and positive change. Together, they will share their experience, and discuss how to better value and amplify that movement.

Participants in this roundtable are actively exploring and practicing creative integration in the public sector, higher education, and industry.

Speakers:
Aaron Knochel, Professor, Penn State University
R. Benjamin Knapp, Director, ICAT, Virginia Tech
Raphaële Bidault-Waddington, artist-researcher, futurist, LIID Future Lab
Theo Edmonds, Associate Dean/Co-Founder, University of Colorado Denver/Imaginator Academy

Moderator: Maryrose Flanigan, Executive Director, Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities (a2ru).

Recap : https://a2ru.org/recap-a2rus-artistic-research-for-future-challenges/