Call for Proposals

Journal of Research Practice (JRP) Special Issue: On Reflecting and Making
in Artistic Research Practice

Over the last 2 decades, a lively discussion has developed about the
relationship between art and research. The roles of the professional artist
and the professional researcher have come closer to one another and often
merged in fruitful ways. The new institutional connection between research
and art/design has promoted much discussion concerning how reflecting and
making may be combined in productive ways.

A special issue of the Journal of Research Practice (JRP) will focus on
artistic research practice, drawing attention to the process of expressing,
performing, creating, inventing, in short, reflecting and making, in the
process of art and research. The special issue will cover the overlapping
area between art and research. It will give a platform to artists who are
exposing some form of inquiry within the context of their art practice.

The special issue is not part of the recent effort in the art/design fields
to present creative work in general as a form of research. On the other
hand, the special issue is more inclined towards extending our understanding
of both art and research practices by building on the many points of contact
they seem to share. One obvious point of contact is their common interest in
exploring beyond the familiar domain, beyond the received boundaries, to
look for "a certain thing," not merely "a thing of a certain kind." A
pragmatic aim is to offer ideas and insights to a wider audience of
researchers in other fields on how they can enhance their research practice
with elements of artistic inquiry. This will take research practice a step
forward in freeing itself from the received patterns of reflecting and
making which have become conventionally associated with research.

The special issue will also include some selected and revised articles based
on the papers presented at The Art of Research conference, November 2009,
Helsinki.

Proposals of about 500 words are invited. Authors of selected proposals will
be requested to develop their articles for the special issue. These articles
will be put through JRP's usual double-blind review process. Successful
articles will be published, after any necessary revision. The full call can
be found at:

http://jrp.icaap.org/index.php/jrp/announcement/view/6

Important Dates

Proposals due -------------------- February 28, 2011
Invitations to write articles ----- March 15, 2011
Articles to be uploaded online -- May 15, 2011
Review completed --------------- June 30, 2011
Revisions due -------------------- August 30, 2011

Editors

Maarit Mäkelä, Aalto University School of Art and Design, Helsinki, FINLAND
Nithikul Nimkulrat, School of the Arts, Loughborough University, UK
D. P. Dash, Swinburne University of Technology, MALAYSIA; Xavier Institute
of Management, INDIA
Francois-X. Nsenga, Independent Researcher in Industrial Design and
Sociology, CANADA

Please send your proposal containing your name and contact details, as a
plain text e-mail with a subject line stating "JRP Special Issue on Artistic
Research Practice [first author’s surname in brackets]" to:

Maarit Mäkelä, Aalto University School of Art and Design, Helsinki, FINLAND
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