Artists in Academia: artistic research as practice

Artists have long demonstrated that research is often central to the act of art-making and that art is a means of knowledge-production. For artists affiliated with academia, research is not only a foundational element but an occupational requisite. The lines of artistic research and scholarly research are often blurred.

This impact is particularly evident in Boston — its academic legacy boasting over 40 universities and colleges located in the metropolitan area alone. Hosted by Artadia and Tufts University Art Galleries at School of Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) at Tufts University, this panel of artists working with and within academia will share their diverse approaches to pushing the boundaries of what it means to engage in artistic research. They will also discuss strategies for effectively articulating and advocating for the wider relevance of artistic research within academic contexts, thereby offering up other possibilities for creative practice to nourish, challenge, and re-imagine academic inquiry.

Generous support for this program has been provided by the Wagner Foundation.

Image: Lucy Kim, Hands Pollinating Vanilla Flowers (Edmond Albius Method), detail, 2024.

Host or Publisher Tufts University Art Galleries