«We owe them every second breath»
An exhibition, performance, film or theatre production, composition, design installation or a literary work – the bandwidth for an artistic doctorate is huge. They enrich the academic field with perspectives that can only be developed by artistic processes.
How does our perception change if we stop and think about plankton or breathing with the ocean, i.e., if we view ourselves as permeated by other life forms rather than as separate beings? The doctoral project «Mobilis in mobili – Drifting with/in planktonic seas», which is currently being created at ZHdK and connects biology, oceanography, cultural studies and design, raises these questions. The artistic doctorate at universities of the arts combines artistic practice with scientific reflection. Unlike a text-based dissertation, the focus is on an artistic work or methodology, supplemented by theory.
«The focus of the artistic doctorate is an important step to developing a profile, international visibility and innovation,» says Marijke Hoogenboom, Head of the Research Dossier and the Department of Performing Arts and Film. «We are strengthening our university as a place of research and in turn sending out a strong message for the future of education and research in the arts.» This promotion model has a special importance at ZHdK: it promotes new knowledge and forms of research that are also experimental, sensory and intellectual in nature. A variety of methods and interdisciplinary thinking are the rule rather than the exception.
Anthea Oestreicher’s PhD project clearly shows that. Her interdisciplinary artistic research combines different disciplines into a common way of thinking, researching and designing.
