Artistic and Design Research Grant Scheme – 9 consortia selected

Today’s societal challenges call for strong collaboration between science and professional practice. With the Artistic and Design Research grant scheme, Regieorgaan SIA and the Creative Industries Fund NL aim to encourage researchers, designers and makers from the creative industries to work together on solutions for issues relating to AI and circularity.

equal collaboration

Roselinde Wijnands, programme manager at Regieorgaan SIA: ‘With the Artistic and Design Research grant scheme, we are investing in the quality and power of collaboration between universities of applied sciences and the creative industries. It is wonderful to see how much urgency and commitment there is among researchers and makers to work together on societal challenges that now require action.’

Eva Roolker, programme manager at Creative Industries Fund NL, also stresses the importance of collaboration: ‘The supported projects work on artistic and design research methods that can be utilised to address social issues. It is precisely these kinds of tasks that require a combination of diverse knowledge, experience and expertise. These are brought together in the projects on an equal basis by cultural institutions and universities of applied sciences.’

assessment

The independent advisory committee consisted of Michael de Kruijf (chair), Kornelia Dimitrova, Esmee Geerken, Joost Grootens, Nanda Piersma en Antoine Heideveld. They assessed 13 applications based on the following criteria:
- Appropriateness to the chosen theme;
- Question articulation in relation to artistic and/or design professional practice;
- Quality of the consortium’s network;
- Quality of the project plan.

selection

From 13 applications, the following nine research projects with a duration of up to two years were selected:

Recomposing E-Waste – Hogeschool Rotterdam with Waag Society
Recomposing E-Waste looks at how discarded smartphones can be turned into digital musical instruments. This approach trains artists and designers in sustainable, circular ways of working. The aim of this project is to extend the life of digital devices and reduce waste in the cultural sector.

I Spy with my AI – Hanze with IMPAKT
Exactly what happens to the data AI collects about the human body is not always known. In I Spy with my AI, the focus is on AI’s technological view of the human body. The project examines how art can make people more aware of the loss of control over their body data. An interactive installation makes the insights understandable and clear.

Artificial Kinship – Avans Hogeschool with Instrument Inventors Initiative (III)
Artificial Kinship: Zorg voor de relatie tussen mens en machine (Care for the relationship between humans and machines) explores how AI and robotic art can contribute to human-centred healthcare. Collaborations between artists, healthcare professionals and researchers create new knowledge about empathy and connection between humans and machines. The aim of this research is to generate insights that both enrich the healthcare sector and further develop and connect artistic practices relating to these themes.

Teach Us How to Feel – Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht with MU Hybrid Art House
How do AI and embodied knowledge influence each other in the creative making process? Through artistic experiments, AI is approached as an ‘other’ that challenges our physicality and emotional world. The aim of Teach Us How to Feel: Belichaamde kennis en AI in het creatieve maakproces is to develop new creative strategies that connect human intuition and technology.

(On)zichtbaar arbeid – ArtEZ University of the Arts with State of Fashion
(On)zichtbaar arbeid: Een holistisch perspectief op een circulair mode- en textielsysteem makes hidden labour in the fashion and textile industry visible through art and design. Circular and social approaches are creating new ways of working. As a result, this contributes to more sustainable and equitable design practices.

Beyond the Prompt – Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten with Sonic Acts
Beyond the Prompt: Exploring Embodied Co-Creation with AI explores how AI can be meaningfully integrated into the creative process of artists. Artistic experimentation leads to new forms of expression in live performances. Here, AI is approached as a fully fledged creative partner.

Recycling as reproducing histories – Zuyd Hogeschool with Jan van Eyck Academie
Recycling as reproducing histories explores new ways of dealing with materials, by looking at artists and how they transform materials (including waste) into new materials. The project generates new ways of working for artists. The working methods are being tested with teachers and students in education and with designers in circular workshops. This creates support for a sustainable and ecologically conscious society.

Connecting Otherwise – Gerrit Rietveld Academie with The Hmm
The project Connecting Otherwise: Developing artistic/design research and workshop formats for regenerative digital practices will develop workshops about regenerative digital design, with a focus on sustainability and social justice. Through feminist and decolonial making principles, digital materiality is explored. Artists, designers and students collaborate on new, sustainable forms of digital culture in this project.

Towards Circular Communities – Fontys Hogeschool with Next Nature
In Towards Circular Communities, an artistic making process is utilised to explore how we as a society can grow towards a circular community. This includes not only humans, but also animals, plants and/or technology, in particular AI. The objective of the project is to imagine and speculatively design a circular community with AI as a sustainable component. It will result in an exhibition at the Next Nature Museum in Eindhoven.

pilot programme Cultural and Creative Sector

The Artistic and Design Research grant scheme is part of the Cultural and Creative Sector pilot programme. This is a pilot by Regieorgaan SIA, the Creative Industries Fund NL and the Cultural Participation Fund. The aim of this pilot programme is to explore how the knowledge base of the cultural and creative sector can be sustainably strengthened through practice-based research for wider societal challenges.