Azlan Guttenberg Smith

9.13 Experiments in Art Research as Invitations to Unexpected Territories (Panel) – virtual

Chair: 

Azlan Guttenberg Smith – University of Illinois, USA – virtual

Panellists:

Jorge Lucero – University of Illinois, USA – virtual

Sarah Travis – University of Illinois, USA – virtual

Abstract:

This presentation engages with experiments in art research as invitations to unexpected territories. It is rooted in the book Experiments in Art Research: How Do We Live Questions Through Art? (Routledge, 2024), co-edited by Sarah Travis, Azlan Guttenberg Smith, Catalina Hernández-Cabal, and Jorge Lucero. The text is a collection of arts-based research experiments, an embodiment of living questions that invites readers to stroll through their own practices, eyes wide open, hands eager, to discover kindred spirits in an exploration of unexpected territories. Originating from the graduate Art Education community at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the book unfolds through a tapestry of moments, practices, and people, embracing the celebration of works in progress and in community. Rooted in practices of invitations and permissions, the art-based experiments in this book are intertwined with personal stories – laying bare the transformative power of unconventional teaching methods, audacious artistic endeavours, and the breaking of scholarly norms within a community of artists and art educators. It begins by understanding that “art” and “research” and “teaching” are not separate. Some of the experiments in this book ask: How do I love across oceans? When is friendship itself my research? How can I open spaces for artistic experimentation within my pedagogy? More than answers, this book takes up questions through living artworks and communities. Readers are encouraged to put their own ideas and experiments in conversation with these practitioners and their methods. The contributors, drawing inspiration from varied artistic forms, in vibrant discourse with artists, arts educators, community arts activists, arts-based researchers, and research-creators, invite readers to explore the plurality of ways of being and knowing, seeding a rich tapestry of sensorial experiences that open to unexpected territories.