Category Archives: Practices

FOURTH NEW MEDIA DOCTORAL SEMINAR of SPRING 2022 – Thursday, 12 May, 16:30 – 18:30

WELCOME TO THE FOURTH NEW MEDIA DOCTORAL SEMINAR OF THE SPRING SEMESTER!

The seminar will take place on Zoom, Thursday 12 May, starting at 16:30 and ending at 18:30 (UTC/GMT+3, Helsinki, EEST). Mediated by Professor Lily Díaz-Kommonen, we have an interesting presentation by Kirsi Manninen about her work “Using ‘A Digital Pocket Atelier’ For Creative Teamwork — What Are the Impacts and Meaning of Digital Screen Sketching On the Professional Competence of Costume Designers?

Zoom link: Please click here to join the seminar!

PRESENTATION

Using ‘A Digital Pocket Atelier’ For Creative Teamwork — What Are the Impacts and Meaning of Digital Screen Sketching On the Professional Competence of Costume Designers?
by Kirsi Manninen

Illustration Image depicting a woman practicing self-regulating, organisational and work-related skills included with key-words. by Kirsi Manning

ABSTRACT

Over the past decades, costume designers have begun to combine traditional hand-drawing and digital sketching techniques in a costume design procedure. In addition to computer-aided costume design and traditional hand-drawing, costume designers have recently switched to advancing more and more different tablets and mobile devices while designing costumes for the characters. This thesis builds an understanding about costume sketching and considers how the particular competency of a costume designer — digital costume sketching — affects a designer’s subjective knowledge of one’s own skills as well as their ability to perform the tasks required for the design process and collaborative teamwork. The role of sketching techniques and digital sketchbooks has so far received too little attention from a research perspective. The participants in this study were recruited from costume designers who utilized a tablet device as a portable ‘pocket atelier’ and created costume sketches on the screen of the tablet. This thesis presents ideas and theories on the effects of digital costume design methods in the field of performing arts, as sketching tools and methods play a crucial role in the visual presentation of costume sketches and communicating with them.

This practice-based research relies on ethnomethodology and is interested in the routines of sketching and the outcomes and meanings of specific design activity. In this study, the source of knowledge is based on thinking through drawing and on the interpretation of physical and digital costume sketches. The purpose of this thesis is to find answers to the research question: what are the impacts and meanings of digital costume sketching on the professional competence of costume designers?

Qualitative methods offer an effective way to use a practice as a source of data by illuminating retrospective accounts related to sketching techniques. In this thesis, I have approached and participated in my research topic openly from many perspectives. The key method in this dissertation has been that by making things progress. For this reason, I have avoided over-planning both in the conduct of research and in the preparation of written outputs. I tried to do matters one thing at a time and see how the research that has already been done leads to new subjects.

The material for this study is collected through a literature review, samples from digital character creation courses (students), the researcher’s own autoethnographic data and through semi-structured interviews. Participants in semi-structured interviews consist of eight professional costume designers between the ages of 20 and 60, drawn from the fields of theatre, film and other performing arts from across Finland. The aim of the data collection is to obtain answers to research questions. The focus of my research is to examine the nature of costume sketching methods and the significance of the research topic from the point of view of the practical working life of costume designers.

Regarding the research question, it was found that the positive feedback as well as the better management of the use of sketching tools, time and space had a positive effect on the whole costume design process. Overall, the results indicate that there was an association between digital costume sketching methods and the professional competence of the designer. Taken together, these results suggest that the digital transformation changed the costume designers’ vision of their expertise to better meet the needs of the organization they worked with.

Keywords: costume design, digital costume sketching, screen sketching, tablet device, competence

BIO

Image showing DA candidate and Scenographer Kirsi Manninen and some of her self-portrait works

DA Candidate Kirsi Manninen

Kirsi Manninen, MA, is a Helsinki-based costume designer, teacher of digital character creation and doctoral candidate at Aalto University. The topic of her research is: Digital Transformation and Professional Competence in Costume Design. Her professional credits include designing costumes for more than one hundred productions for television, theatre, and film. She is one of the pioneers in the development of digital sketching methods for costume designers. She has taught and lectured digital character creation in several institutions in Finland and abroad: Aalto University School of Art and Design, London College of Fashion: UAL, University of Arts London, University of Lapland, Prague Quadrennial (the world’s largest exhibition of theatre architecture) and (Teme, LP) Union for the Theatre, Film and Television Designers and TV1, Finnish Public Broadcaster Yle. In 2020, she was awarded an Artist of the Year in Helsinki.

ORCiD

Webpage

Contact

 

Design or Die – Creative Value Creation and Competitiveness

Quite often people in the creative sector are not very familiar with selling their doings nor they are aware of their IPR. The seminar will also discus how companies and public sector could make use of design in multi disciplinary product and service development, innovation processes and strategic planning. 

You are welcome to discuss with us on Tuesday 4 December 2018 at 10-13 at Harald Herlin Learning Centre. 

https://studios.aalto.fi/design-or-die-event

Register for participation RSVP 3rd Dec at 9 the latest

Program:

Welcome to Aalto
JUHANI TENHUNEN (Aalto)
Design or Die – project in short
ANU RAAPPANA (LAMK)
Creative Industry as Primary Industry – not Just a Supporter
PETRA TARJANNE (TEM)
Crossing Borders between Design Education and Work Life through Collaborative Experimentation
TARJA SALMELA-LEPPÄNEN (ULapland)
 
Three Perspectives for Creative Work and Selling
”Selling Design”,
”Designers as Sellers”,
”Designing B2B Selling”
MIKKO ILLI (Aalto), MARIA KUUSISTO (Sherpa)
IPR Toolkit for Designers
JUSSI ILVONEN (Ornamo)
Panel discussion and questions 10-20 minutes.

New Media Doctoral Seminar, September 27

Welcome to the Media Lab Doctoral Seminar
TIME: Thursday September 27, 2018, from 16:30–19:30
LOCATION: Aalto University, Väre, room O112.

DOM-L0007 New Media Doctoral Seminar
Responsible teacher: Prof. Lily Díaz-Kommonen

Presentations by: Neha Sayed and Roberto Pugliese. See abstracts below.

The seminar is open for all. Welcome!


Roberto Pugliese aka ALIASING

(M.Phil., D.Sc. (Technology), ITA/FI, b. 1980)

https://www.robertopugliese.net

Roberto Pugliese is a media artist and researcher based in Helsinki, working with time-based digital and physical media. His work consists of compositions, installations and performances. Often concerned with memories, recordings and loss, his pieces can incorporate animation, sound, moving objects and the modification of physical media using programmed hardware and software. By collecting, processing and coupling audio and visual material, he works towards a common language among visual and sonic imageries. The installations often use sound and its transformation to establish alternative relations between the visitor and the space.

“My installations deal with the passage of time by creating objects and spaces that embody memories, in their disappearance, transformation and potential for reinterpretation.
My compositions and performances explore the relationship between sound and images, their perceptual integration in time and space and intertwined choreography as one medium.”

He collaborates with dancers and choreographers for the creation of alternative stages and new forms of media performance (SocEmo, Aalto University, Helsinki), and with scientists and researcher to develop interactive settings targeting special groups (Asperger’s syndrome) to facilitate social interaction and promote creativity (MEDIAT, CNRS, Paris).


‘Place’ as New Media architecture

by Neha Sayed

Abstract: ‘Internet of things’ promises a new configuration of space augmented with data sensing and sharing technologies challenging the notion of ‘PLACE’. The advent of these surveillance technologies promises an ‘openness’ affecting the way we live our daily life. The ‘place’ that is bound to change in this process altering the way we perceive it. This research aims at exploring the evolution of this place in ‘Internet of things’. Building on the Posthuman Ontology of Karen Barad, I began the research by trying to investigate the notion of place. The research is autoethnographic and the place that I studied is a market square I have grown up in. For last two years, I have conducted observations with the community and I am now formulating the notion of place as a resultant phenomena of a correspondence between human activity and space. In this ever evolving cultural phenomena the role of cultural interfaces is crucial. I am identifying these interfaces which will transform as they get embedded with sensor driven technologies. This research will attempt to test these technological interventions and assess the resulting place.

Neha Sayed: Basically an architect from Mumbai I have done a combination of architectural practice and teaching for last eighteen years. I did my masters in experience design from Konstfack, Stockholm, which added another skill of being a researcher. My work in the masters was focused on developing user centered design and studying research methodologies to achieve the expected outcome. Since 2009, apart from teaching and architectural practice I have been conducting research within communities and their relationships to space and in turn place. In 2012-13, I lead a team of researchers to draft street furniture manual for a heritage town of Matheran, which is the only pedestrian tourist destination having a very unique community dynamic. The manual is being adopted for the policies and design. The project inspired me to think of place specific design interventions with active participation of the community. My practice as a designer has remained strong all this while, which is mostly around interior architecture, where the smart technologies are treated as a material. My concern about the role of sensor driven environments grew and it led me to explore the changing nature of place in the case of Internet of Things.

Reimagining video conferencing – a design workshop with MIT MediaLab and Aalto MediaLab

Reimagining video conferencing is a co-design workshop aiming to create alternative solutions for virtual panel discussions, video conferencing and other kinds of group meetings online. In this participatory session we will think and discuss about user experiences for a tool that would extend user engagement over physical location and achieve a rich ecology for participation online. The layout and user interface of a tool for group video conferencing would be challenged and reimagined also. This event is organised and led by the Learning Environments research group in MediaLab, department of Art, design and architecture, Aalto University, FI in collaboration with MIT Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA.
It is free and open for participation for students and non-students.

Sign up by sending an email to jana.pejoska@aalto.fi including your name, department, study focus, skills (design, development, etc.) and a short description why you are applying.
Thu 14 September
13:30-16:30
Johanna, Learning Centre
Public event

Fulbright Arctic Initiative -ohjelman haku auki!

Fulbright Arctic Initiative –ohjelman toinen hakukierros on nyt auki arktisten asioiden parissa työskenteleville tutkijoille, ammattilaisille ja taiteilijoille!

Ohjelma tarjoaa oivan mahdollisuuden arktisten asioiden parissa työskenteleville asiantuntijoille päästä mukaan ainutlaatuiseen kansainväliseen tutkimusyhteistyöhön. Mukaan valitaan yhteensä noin 12 arktisten asioiden asiantuntijaa, jotka työskentelevät yhdessä 18 kuukauden ajan. Ohjelmaan voivat hakea asiantuntijat Arktisen neuvoston jäsenmaista eli Yhdysvalloista, Kanadasta, Tanskasta, Suomesta, Islannista, Norjasta, Venäjältä ja Ruotsista. Ohjelmaan valitut stipendiaatit tekevät tutkimusyhteistyötä muodostaen arktisen asiantuntijaverkoston keskittyen kahteen ennalta määrättyyn laajempaan arktiseen teemaan. Osana ohjelmaa stipendiaatit muun muassa kokoontuvat seminaareissa sekä suorittavat vaihdon yhdessä osallistujamaassa (suomalaiset vierailevat Yhdysvalloissa).

Lisätietoa ohjelmasta, tarkempi kuvaus teemoista ja hakuohjeet suomalaisille hakijoille: http://www.fulbright.fi/fi/fulbright-arctic-initiative

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FulbrightFIN/status/893399125093478400
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fulbright.center.finland/posts/10155620646892059

Haku ohjelmaan päättyy 16.10.2017.

Media Lab Doctoral Summer School: Event-Driven Culture: “The Visit” as Case Study

Call for Participation
_ Deadline Extended August 4, 2017

Event-Driven Culture: “The Visit” as Case Study

DOM-L0006 Department of Media Doctoral School
Dates: 29–31 August 2017
Location: Aalto University, School of Arts, Design and Architecture / Department of Media – Design Factory, Engine Room, Betonimiehenkuja 5 C, 02150 Espoo, FINLAND
https://designfactory.aalto.fi

Beyond being of place, culture can also be said to be a thing of time. This is particularly the case in contemporary virtual environments where multiplicities of human culture often converge, co-exist, and co-evolve. In this three-day seminar and workshop organized by the Department of Media (Media Lab) at Aalto University we first intend to explore the notion of time and how it is represented across diverse cultures. Subsequently we will focus on the notion of ‘Event’ as a unit of analysis with the ‘Visit’ as an illustrative example.

The School includes lectures, presentations, and group exercises/workshops in which participants will engage in concept design exercises.

Faculty:

Lily Díaz-Kommonen, Prof. of New Media, host (Aalto ARTS, Media Lab) (see bio)
Zsófia Ruttkay, Associate Professor (MOME, Hungary) (see bio)
Paul Mulholland, Senior Fellow, (KMI, Open University, UK) (see bio)
Rasa Smite, Associate Professor, (Liepaja U, Latvia) (see bio)

Credits: For doctoral candidates, it is possible to receive up to 5 credits.

To participate: Send us your name, email address and a brief description of your current research indicating why participation in the course would benefit your studies and practice by Friday August 4, 2017.

For more information and registration: saara.mantyla@aalto.fi

See the Summer School website: http://mlabsummerschool.aalto.fi


Preliminary assignment

We request that you bring a 300-500 word narrative prepared about a significant visit that you realized. Your narrative should answer the 5Ws questions: Who, what, when, where and why? You will be asked to present your narrative during the first day of the School. Your presentation cannot exceed three minutes. It is possible to use images and sound.

Preliminary readings

To prepare for the discussion and work please read, annotate and extract up to five keywords from the texts included below.

  • Pratt, Mary Louise, “Arts of the Contact Zones”, Modern Language Association (MLA), 1991. https://serendip.brynmawr.edu/oneworld/system/files/PrattContactZone.pdf, (Accessed on 30/07/2017.)
  • Clifford, James, Routes, Travel and Translation in the Late Twentieth Century, Harvard University Press, 1997.
  • Kimmel, Michael, “Properties of the Body: Lessons Learned from the Anthropology of Embodiment.” In R. Frank, R. Dirven, T. Ziemke, E. Bernández Eds., Body, Language and Mind, Mouton de Gruyer: Berlin, 2007.

Tasks

  • Using a systemic approach, map out the experience of ‘the visit’.
  • Consider how the digital bears an impact on the experience of the visit. What are the pros and cons? Focus on data gathering processes, from a multimodal perspective (e.g. text, images, sound, smell? touch?).
  • Using design research methods, propose a concept for an application (or tool) that supports this significant event, from a human-oriented perspective.

This Doctoral School will take place at the Aalto Design Factory, Otaniemi.
Getting there: 
http://www.aalto.fi/en/about/contact/route_otaniemi/

CALL FOR PAPERS Internet Histories: Digital Technology, Culture and Society

Internet Histories: Digital Technology, Culture and Society is an international, interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journal concerned with research on the cultural, social, political and technological histories of the internet and associated digital cultures. The journal embraces empirical as well as theoretical and methodological studies within the field of the history of the internet broadly conceived — from early computer networks, usenet and Bulletin Board Systems, to everyday Internet with the web through the emergence of new forms of internet with mobile phones and tablet computers, social media, and the internet of things. The journal will also provide the premier outlet for cutting-edge research in the closely related area of histories of digital cultures.

A hallmark of the journal is its desire to publish and catalyse research and scholarly debate on the development, forms, and histories of the internet internationally, across the full global range of countries, regions, cultures, and communities. Importantly, the journal draws on a wide range of disciplines within the humanities and the social sciences. Internet Histories will also be open to interdisciplinary studies of history of internet and digital cultures, from computer, information, engineering, and other science and technology researchers.

Contributions might include but not be limited to:

  • History of the internet and the web
  • Web histories
  • History of networks
  • Alternative, marginal, or subcultural histories
  • Feminist, queer, and disability histories
  • Local and regional internet histories
  • Gender and race studies of digital cultures
  • Histories of digital recording, production, distribution, file formats and sharing
  • Internet and digital music and sound histories
  • Infrastructure studies
  • National paths to digitalization
  • Telecommunications and computing convergence
  • History of code, protocols, services, interfaces, graphical representation and interactivity
  • History of online communities
  • History of digital uses, users and cultures
  • Internet governance, regulation and policy history
  • Historical cross-media studies
  • Pedagogy and teaching of internet histories
  • Methodological approaches to study digital and network histories
  • Histories of internet policy, law, and regulation

Submission Guidelines

A typical original article for this journal should be more than 6000 and no more than 8000 words; this limit includes tables; references; figure captions; endnotes. For advice on preparing a manuscript to submit to the Journal, please refer to the Instructions for Authors here.

This journal uses Editorial Manager to manage the peer-review process. If you haven’t submitted a paper to this journal before, you will need to create an account in the submission centre. Submit your paper here.

Editorial Information

Managing Editor
Niels Brügger
 – Aarhus University, Denmark

Editors
Megan Ankerson
 – University of Michigan, USA 
Gerard Goggin – University of Sydney, Australia 
Valérie Schafer – National Center for Scientific Research, France 
Ian Milligan – University of Waterloo, Canada 

Reviews Editor
Ian Milligan
 – University of Waterloo, Canada 

 

 

http://explore.tandfonline.com/page/ah/internet-histories

CfP IEEE ISMAR Workshop on Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality for Creative Industries

========================================================
CALL FOR PAPERS 

IEEE ISMAR 2017 Workshop on Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality for Creative Industries
October 13th, 2017 in Nantes, France
http://ismar-creativeindustries.polytech.univ-nantes.fr

========================================================

We are pleased to announce the IEEE ISMAR Workshop on Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality for Creative Industries. The workshop will take place in Nantes on October 13th, 2017.  It is organized in cooperation with the West Creative Industries cluster for Education and Innovation in Pays de la Loire.

The recent development of new and low-cost VR/AR technologies have pushed many creative companies, artists and designers to create new VR and AR experiences, exploring new interactions, new creative content and new environments. The production of these new VR and AR experiences tackle both technical, human and creative aspects. It is, thus, time to mix creative and technological viewpoints to share common understandings and lessons to provide better experiences for the final users. In this context, the workshop aims to foster participation of artists and designers as humanities scientists (philosophy, literature, etc.) to meet up with usual ISMAR attendance. 

Topics of interest
==================
Include, but are not limited to:
* Innovative interaction design with VR/AR systems
* User feedback and Quality of Experience assessment for VR/AR content creation
* Quality of Experience as an artistic intention in VR/AR
* Usage of VR/AR technologies in art performances and design
* Narrative studies/Storytelling in VR/AR
* Create in/with VR/AR, VR/AR platforms/tools to support design and art creation
* Theoretical issues in VR/AR: philosophical, aesthetic or sociological aspects (relationship to reality, “bubble effect”, etc.).

Submission
================
Authors are invited to submit original and unpublished research and application papers addressing all areas of the workshop.
All papers should be 2-8 pages long, submitted in PDF format and formatted using the ISMAR 2017 paper template available from https://ismar2017.sciencesconf.org/resource/page/id/19. 
Submitted papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published on IEEE Xplore as ISMAR 2017 adjunct Proceeding.

Important dates
==================
Deadline Workshop Papers: July 3rd, 2017
Notification Workshop Papers: August 7th, 2017
Workshop Papers Camera Ready Deadline: August 28th, 2017

Organization Chair
==================
Jacques Gilbert Université de Nantes, L’AMo, France
Carola Moujan  Ecole Supérieure des Beaux-Arts Tours Angers Le Mans, France
Toinon Vigier         Université de Nantes, LS2N, France


For more information, you can also contact toinon.vigier@univ-nantes.fr


Nida Doctoral School 2017 – Tweezers and Squeezers: Methodological Approaches and Research Methods in Art, Design & Architecture

Please read below about this year’s Nida Doctoral School (NDS) intensive course for DA and PhD students.

NDS is a wonderful opportunity for doctoral candidates to focus on their doctoral thesis development. There are 4 places for Aalto ARTS students and costs will be covered on ARTS School level.

You will find more information and the link to the Application Form by scrolling down.


Tweezers and Squeezers: Methodological Approaches and Research Methods in Art, Design and Architecture
Third Nida Doctoral School intensive course for DA and PhD students in art, design, architecture, humanities and the social sciences

21-26 August 2017
Nida Art Colony of Vilnius Academy of Arts, Lithuania

Application deadline: 31 March 2017

VAA Nida Art Colony, Neringa, Lithuania, 2016. Dronography by Robertas Narkus
 
Theme
The third Nida Doctoral School (NDS) will bring together a multidisciplinary group of practice and theory-based doctoral candidates researching different topics in the context of the visual and performing arts, design and architecture, sharing the common goal of completing a doctoral degree, to discuss and develop the methodological framework of their research projects. NDS will provide a platform for dialogue and the exchange of ideas, as well as a space for sharing feedback and peer support. The aim of NDS 2017 is to focus on research methods and on the development of methodological skills and approaches, and to provide critical feedback from distinguished international tutors.

Finding suitable methods and framing the methodological approach is one of the biggest sources of anxiety and uncertainty for doctoral researchers, especially practice-based, when developing and implementing a research plan. Could I treat my art or design practice as the main method? How should I write about my methodology? Or, as Henk Slager calls it, ‘methodicy’*? How should I safeguard myself and my audience from methodological excess? Does my methodological approach help or limit me in doing my research? When should I think about it: when starting or when concluding my research and thesis? What is the relationship between theory and practice in my research, and which philosophical/theoretical school should I refer to in order to base my argument?

Format
The third NDS will take place on 21-26 August 2017. Each day will include one-hour-long presentations by invited speakers and tutors, followed by one-hour-long discussions. The rest of the day will be dedicated to doctoral student presentations, followed by discussions and feedback (one hour per student). Invited speakers and tutors will act as respondents to the student research development work. The programme will also include slots for individual consultations.

The students are expected to participate in presentations and discussions, and to prepare for the course by studying a reading list compiled by the invited speakers and tutors and provided in early June. In addition to the discussions around the overall topic of the School, students are asked to prepare a 30-minute presentation of their own research and practice, with a special focus on their methodological approach. In these sessions, students will receive feedback from their peers on other doctoral programmes, as well as from the invited speakers and tutors of the School.

Invited Speakers and Tutors
In 2017, NDS has the pleasure to welcome three INVITED SPEAKERS:
–        Dr Joanne Morra, Reader in Art History and Theory, curator of the Doctoral Platform at Central Saintt Martins, University of the Arts London, founding principal editor of Journal of Visual Culture;
–        Dr Marquard Smith, academic, curator, commissioner, programmer, and Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Visual Culture, currently Programme Leader for the MA Museums & Galleries in Education at UCL Institute of Education;
–        Prof Juha Suoranta, social scientist and public intellectual, professor at the University of Tampere, author of ‘Artistic Research Methodology. Narrative, Power and the Public’ (with Mika Hannula and Tere Vadén, 2014), ‘Rebellious Research’ (in Finnish with Sanna, Rynnänen, 2014).

Dr Joanne Morra is a Reader in Art History and Theory at Central Saint Martins (CSM), University of the Arts London. She runs The Doctoral Platform at CSM, and is the Founding Principal Editor of Journal of Visual Culture. She has published widely on modern and contemporary art, in, for instance, New Formations, Art History, Journal of Modern Art, What is Research in the Visual Arts (eds. Holly & Smith). Joanne has edited many collections, including ‘The Limits of Death’ (MUP 2000), ‘The Prosthetic Impulse: From a Posthuman Present to a Biocultural Future’ (MIT 2006), ‘Visual Culture: Critical Concepts in Media and Cultural Studies’ (4 volumes, Routledge 2006), ‘Acts of Translation with Bal’ (Sage 2007). Recent activities include the exhibition ‘Saying It’ (Freud Museum London 2012), ‘Intimacy Unguarded: Autobiography, Biography, Memoir’ (with Talbot, 2013), ‘50 Years of Art and Objecthood’ (with Green, Sage 2017), and ‘Inside the Freud Museums: History, Memory and Site-Responsive Art’ (I.B. Tauris 2017).

Dr Marquard Smith is Programme Leader for the MA Museums & Galleries in Education at UCL Institute of Education. He is an academic, curator, commissioner, programmer, and Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Visual Culture. Recent exhibitions curated include, ‘The Global Archive’ (London, 2012), ‘Jordan McKenzie: An Englishman Abroad’ (Istanbul, 2014), and most recently ‘How to Construct a Time Machine’ (Milton Keynes, 2015). Marq writes on artistic research, practice-based research, archives, arts education, and most recently on experimentally in ‘MaHKUscript: Journal of Fine Art Research’. He is author, editor, and co-editor of over 20 books and themed issues of journals including ‘What is Research in the Visual Arts?’ (Yale UP, 2008), ‘Visual Culture Studies’ (Sage, 2008), ‘The Erotic Doll: A Modern Fetish’ (Yale UP, 2013), ‘The Prosthetic Impulse’ (The MIT Press, 2005). Marq’s previous academic roles include: Head of the School of Art and Design History, Kingston University, London; Research Leader and Head of Doctoral Studies in the School of Humanities at Royal College of Art; and Founding Director of the Institute for Modern and Contemporary Culture at University of Westminster, London.

Prof Juha Suoranta is a Finnish social scientist, and public intellectual. He is currently Professor at the University of Tampere. In total, he has published 38 books, such as ‘The Integrated Media Machine I: A Theoretical Framework’ (co-edited with Mauri Ylä-Kotola, Sam Inkinen and Jari Rinne), 2000; ‘Architecture: Theory, Research, and Practice’ (with Seppo Aura and Juhani Katainen), 2001; ‘Artistic Research. Theories, Methods, and Practices’ (with Mika Hannula and Tere Vadén), 2005; ‘Artistic Research Methodology’ (with Mika Hannula and Tere Vadén), 2014.  Suoranta has published extensively in the fields of education, political sociology of education, radical adult education, critical media education, and critical pedagogy. In his writing, Suoranta is interested in bringing together ideas and material from various disciplines, including media and cultural studies, sociology, educational studies, literature studies and literature.

Three TUTORS will guide the students through the course:
–        Dr Sofia Pantouvaki, scenographer and Professor of Costume Design at Aalto University;
–        Dr Mika Elo, Professor of Artistic Research, Head of Doctoral Programme, Vice-Dean for Research at the University of the Arts Helsinki, Academy of Fine Arts;
–        Konstantinas Bogdanas, artist and Associate Professor of Visual Art at Vilnius Academy of Arts.

Dr Sofia Pantouvaki is a scenographer and Professor of Costume Design at Aalto University. Her background includes over 80 designs for theatre, film, opera and dance productions in Europe, as well as numerous curatorial and exhibition design projects. She is co-author of ‘History of Dress – The Western World and Greece’ (2010), editor, ‘Yannis Metsis – Athens Experimental Ballet’ (2011), and co-editor of ‘Presence and Absence: The Performing Body’ (2014). She is editor of the academic journal ‘Studies in Costume and Performance’, project leader for ‘Visual Aspects of Performance Practice’ and the Vice-Head of Research for OISTAT Costume Design Group. Costume Curator for World Stage Design (2013), and Associate Curator for ‘Costume in Action’ (WSD2013). At Aalto University, she founded ‘Costume in Focus’ and is Principal Investigator of the research project ‘Costume Methodologies’ funded by the Academy of Finland (2014-2018). Sofia has taught and lectured internationally. Her recent research focuses on performance costume, fashion and costume curating, the potential of new materials and embodied technologies in costume practice, and clothing in the concentration camps of the Second World War.

Dr Mika Elo is Professor of Artistic Research at the University of the Arts Helsinki. His research interests include theory of photographic media, philosophical media theory, and artistic research. He participates in discussions in these areas in his capacity as curator, visual artist and researcher. In 2009-2011, he worked on the research project ‘Figures of Touch’ (figuresoftouch.com). In 2012-2013, he co-curated the Finnish exhibition ‘Falling Trees’ at the Biennale Arte 2013 in Venice. He is also a member of the editorial board of the ‘Journal for Artistic Research’.

Konstantinas Bogdanas studied painting at the State Institute of Art (now Vilnius Academy of Arts). He currently lectures on visual art at the Academy. Since 2012, he has supervised doctoral students’ practice-based research. Bogdanas has been exhibiting since 1986. In his artistic career, he focuses on concept-based artwork, andcombines different media (objects, installations, performances, photographs), the most important of which, however, is the medium of language. Formally speaking, Bogdanas is mainly concerned with questions of identity. He questions abstract notions, such as art, nation and perception, as well as the personal understanding of the self. The key words in his work are (non)coincidence, (in)adequacy, (un)necessity, (non)fruition, (un)usefulness, (non)understanding, (in)capability. The most important, though far from obvious key words, are artificiality and vulnerability. An element of humour is present, only it is not so striking; it always succumbs to existential doubt. His ‘poste restante’ posture of silent waiting and non-involvement should also be conceived as a conceptual work of art.

NAC Academic Board members will also contribute to the course.

What is Nida Doctoral School (NDS)?
In Nida, we explore unorthodox approaches to research. Through making, performing, writing and discussing, we test the possibilities for generating knowledge outside the conventional venues and models of academic research. NDS participants are offered a possibility to position their own research and practice within a broader field of research approaches. NDS aims to open up the horizons for experimental development by intersecting with a diversity of disciplines and experiences. The goal of NDS is to provide time, space and a conceptual framework for participants to gain an insight into their field of research, as well as to broaden and diversify their outlook and methodological tools.

Nida Doctoral School is an international programme designed and organised by the Nida Art Colony of Vilnius Academy of Arts, and Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture, for doctoral students in the visual and performing arts, design and architecture. In 2017, the University of the Arts Helsinki is joining the organisers’ team.

NDS is tailored for doctoral students in the visual and performing arts, design and architecture. However, some limited places are intended for students within the humanities and social sciences, if their research is related to the arts, design and architecture. The programme comprises seven day-long intensive courses, organised once a year, and 1-6 month-long doctoral residencies which are part of the international Nida Artist-in-Residence Programme (the annual application deadline is 15 March).

Tuition, Funding and Costs
There is no tuition fee. Free accommodation and catering are provided for selected applicants from Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture, University of the Arts Helsinki, and Vilnius Academy of Arts. In addition, Aalto and UniArts students are provided with a travel grant. Other participants are expected to cover their accommodation and catering costs, which amount to 300 Eur/person in a double room, and travel costs.

Application
Please fill in the NDS application form.
Application attachments (motivation letter, CV and portfolio) should be sent to rasa.antanaviciute@vda.lt
All application documents should be submitted by 31 March 2017.

Up to 16 students will be invited to take part on the NDS course.

Practical information regarding accommodation, travel arrangements, payment and all other issues will be sent to the selected participants in due course. You can check out the facilities of Nida Art Colony here and the programmes of previous NDS courses here.

For any other queries, please contact Dr Rasa Antanavičiūtė, Manager of NDS and Executive Director of Nida Art Colony, at rasa.antanaviciute@vda.lt

About Nida Art Colony (NAC)
Nida Art Colony is an art and meeting space, surrounded by sand dunes and seas. As a resourceful platform, it runs an Artist-in-Residence Programme, Nida Doctoral School, and initiates art, education and research projects. We aim at a creative confluence of academic and non-academic education, artistic and scientific practice, hard work and leisure.

NAC is a subdivision of Vilnius Academy of Arts, and opened in 2011. It operates all year round, receives about 700 people a year, and provides space for workshops, intensive courses, exhibitions, seminars, rehearsals, artists’ talks and screenings in its premises of 2,500 square metres. Its activities can result in presentations, exhibitions, broadcasts and publications.

NAC is located on the Curonian Spit, a peninsula dividing the Curonian Lagoon and the Baltic Sea. The spit is on the UNESCO World Heritage List as one of the most beautiful and unique cultural landscapes of Europe. It also forms Neringa National Park. Nida is 50 kilometres from the Lithuanian seaport of Klaipėda, and 360 kilometres from the capital city Vilnius.

*Methodicy: ‘[…] a strong belief in a methodology founded on operational strategies which cannot be formulated and legitimized beforehand’ (Henk Slager, The Pleasure of Research, 2015, p. 30).

Invitation: Presentation skills courses for doctoral candidates in April/May

3 courses on presentation skills by the Language Centre (Aalto University), details below

·         Informative Presentations course 12.4.-10.5.2017, Vie-98.1228, H05, 1 ECTS

·         Esitelmöintitaidot kurssi 19.4. – 17.5.2017, Vie-98.1228, H06, 1 op

·         LC-0320 Presentation Skills 2.5. – 18.5., 3 ECTS


Presentation Skills Course for Doctoral Students in English (group H05) and in Finnish (group H06). 

See detailed information below in English and in Finnish. Suomenkielisen kurssin tiedot löydät lopusta.


Informative Presentations course 12.4.-10.5.2017, Vie-98.1228, H05, 1 study point.

A conference presentation coming up? Want to practice and build your confidence? Sign up in Weboodi for a short and effective presentation skills course “Informative presentations”  Vie-98.1228, group H05 (held in English), 1 study point.

The course consists of three sessions:

Wednesday 12.4.2017, 12:30-15.45

Wednesday 26.4.2017, 12:30-15.45

Wednesday 10.5.2017, 12:30-15.45

During the course, you have a chance to practice your presentation skills and public speaking in a small group (max 10 participants). The course consists of video-recorded presentation exercises, personal feedback, and practical tips for planning, structuring and giving your presentation. Moreover, the course is an excellent opportunity to meet other doctoral students and share experiences of conference presentations.

The course held in Aalto University Language Center, Otakaari 1.

Sign up in Weboodi!


Esitelmöintitaidot kurssi 19.4. – 17.5.2017, Vie-98.1228, H06, 1 op.

Hei! Onko sinulla kongressiesiintyminen lähestymässä? Haluatko harjoitella esitystäsi, saada palautetta, vinkkejä ja lisää varmuutta esiintymiseen? 

Esitelmöintitaidot-kurssi, Vie-98.1228, ryhmän H06 opetuskieli on suomi, mutta esityksesi voit toki pitää englanniksikin. Kurssi on suunnattu ensisijaisesti jatko-opiskelijoille ja tavoitteena on harjoitella konferenssiesitelmiä. Esitykset videoidaan ja saat palautetta ja vinkkejä hyvässä hengessä. Kurssi on myös oiva tilaisuus tavata muiden alojen jatko-opiskelijoita ja jakaa kokemuksia. 

Kurssi koostuu kolmesta tapaamisesta:

Ke 19.4.2017 klo 12.30 – 15.45 

Ke 03.5.2017 klo 12.30 – 15.45 

Ke 17.5.2017 klo 12.30 – 15.45 

Harjoitukset pidetään kielikeskuksessa, päärakennus, Otakaari 1, Otaniemi.

Ilmoittaudu nopeasti weboodissa! Kurssilla otetaan vain 10 opiskelijaa. 


LC-0320 Presentation Skills (3 ECTS) 2.5. – 18.5. on Tuesdays and Thursdays 10am-14.30pm  (in English)

This course is for all non-Finnish speaking students and researchers. On the course you´ll get to practice academic presentations, speeches, argumentation and also improvised performing.

The main goal is to feel good about speaking in front of an audience and to improve communication skills in different contexts. You´ll get lots of feedback too!

Register in oodi.