Art_Climate_Research
Interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary projects bring together art, science, and society.
Science and society are seeking dialogue with artists who are increasingly addressing socio-ecological issues. Artistic methods and practices, as well as creative approaches, play a central role in this context: they open up new perspectives, create spaces for resonance, and enable transformative experiences.
Artistic research becomes a laboratory for new meanings, relationships, and modes of action—with a focus on climate, biodiversity, resources, justice, care, and more.
Key Questions
- What contribution can art, as well as artistic methods and practices, make to eco-social transformations?
- What connections and interactions exist between ecological sustainability and the development and exploration of the arts?
- How can creativity be strengthened as a future-oriented skill—in terms of improvisation, empathy, critical reflection, and collaborative problem-solving?
- How does creative competence become a key qualification for artists to help shape complex future issues responsibly?
- To what extent do art and creative practice transform meanings, relationships, and power dynamics—and thereby open up new spaces of possibility?
Why art is indispensable for sustainability
Artistic practice creates spaces of experience where abstract data and debates become sensually tangible. It can disrupt routines, imagine alternatives, and foster community. In this way, art contributes not only to communicating sustainability but also to embedding it as a cultural practice. By questioning narratives and designing new worlds of imagination, it strengthens the ability to navigate uncertainty and actively shape futures.
Art_Climate_Research: Shaping Change
Symposium, mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna
October 1–3, 2026
The symposium explores the significance of art, artistic research, and arts-based research, as well as their integration into transformative research.
The goal is to foster networking within mdw and across universities to develop research projects at the intersection of art and science.