About the centre

Art as Forum is dedicated to studying the relationships between art, communality and social communities at large.

Shifting focus from individual works of art to their social and infrastructural embeddedness, the centres research agenda is informed by instances of relationality, dependency and collective labour in artistic practices. Its ambition is to provide a better understanding of the social modes of existence of art through revisiting different historical periods, different geo-political contexts and different art forms. 

Art as Forum encompasses an array of enquiries into the “forum” as a locus of analysis in the arts, including:

• The institutions and relations that frame the production, circulation, and consumption of art
• The co-producing ventures and processes that afford historical and contemporary art practices
• The formation of publics pertaining to different art forms and their societal roles and functions
• The uses of art in different historical, medial, and spatial contexts
• The interplay between art practices and political processes and formations
• The theoretical conceptions of togetherness, separability, sensibility, and interdependency that can inform aesthetic theory

By focusing on art and communality, Art as Forum provides an important supplement to traditional art studies. The centre will forge new theoretical understandings of the societal modes of existence of art in relation and develop analytical practices that help us to conceptualise how artworks and social processes coalesce. By broadening the conceptual and interpretive approaches to art, Art as Forum attempts to give a more comprehensive description of the societal import of artworks and art practices.

The research centre accommodates Danish and international researchers at all levels, from doctoral students to senior researchers, and from a wide range of disciplines, including the traditional disciplines of art studies, cultural studies, media history, anthropology, sociology, economics, and philosophy. Research is conducted in close dialogue and collaboration with museums, theatres, art schools, libraries, and other organisations and stakeholders with an interest in the life of the arts amidst the life of society.