"LAND-GRAB FOR AN IVORY TOWER" or " What Is Wrong with the Vienna Declaration on Artistic Research?"

Although the Vienna Declaration will likely become a future constitution and framework for artistic research in European art schools, no public debates of its content seem to have taken place in the six months after its publication. Florian Cramer and Nienke Terpsma think that it is time to speak up – and fundamentally disagree with its concept and framing of artistic research. Here at DAI we have to hold ourselves back to not quote their ENTIRE excellent article as it truly strikes a chord with us. It was published online by Open!

Here is one quote by means of a teaser:

"With educational institutions now claiming ownership of artistic research, and introducing their own quality and validation standards, they factually create their own art system........ As a result, artistic research will be split into two forms and systems: ‘AR’ in art schools as opposed to artistic research in art practice and art worlds at large. Is this desirable? We don’t think so. Instead of creating hospitable spaces, infrastructures and institutional recognition for artist-run research initiatives (from the Bureau de recherches surréalistes to the Community Futures Lab of the Afrofuturist Affair in Philadelphia or Lifepatch in Indonesia), ‘AR’ is in danger of ending up as its own self-referential system, with artistic researchers and projects that are recognised only within that system, and the system serving the ultimate purpose of preserving itself; in other words, a land-grab for an ivory tower."

https://onlineopen.org/what-is-wrong-with-the-vienna-declaration-on-artistic-research