A retrospective of the EMERGING project’s Think Tank

On November 6th, 7th, and 8th, 2023, the EMERGING team publicly presented their work in progress regarding the systematization of artistic research conducted in Portugal within artistic higher education institutions and research centers. This event, in addition to serving as a dissemination activity, was also designed as a methodological tool for the project, as it allowed for refinement and updating of the research based on contributions received.

Drawing upon the situated knowledge of artistic, teaching, and research practices of team members in various university settings, data extracted from art theses with artistic practice components deposited in various Portuguese university repositories were presented. On the first day, the team met with consultants and received their feedback on the research project’s report. Consultants Maibritt Borgen from the Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen, Costanza Barbieri from the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, and Sofia Marçal from the Museum of Natural History and Science also took the opportunity to present their work and engage in discussions aligned with the team’s research themes.

On the second day, researchers expanded the discussion of the work done and welcomed contributions from other academic peers in the social sciences and humanities, as well as representatives from the cultural and artistic sphere, such as mediators, educators, and curators. The final day was dedicated to the community of doctoral students, with a special focus on the transfer of knowledge from Portuguese artistic research and ways to preserve this legacy in the future. In this regard, one of the project’s outcomes was presented in broad strokes: the proposal for an academic research collection (arC), which will feature over 40 possible epistemic objects accessible through a digital platform still under construction.