How should we make sense of transdisciplinary inquiry? How does it relate to artistic research? What are the limitations, barriers and challenges we must confront? Why develop an orientation towards Transdisciplinarity? Whose agency does it foster? How do we facilitate inclusive inquiry?
These are the questions I posed to doctoral researchers at the University of the Arts in Helsinki as part of my teaching demonstration for an evaluation of docent position in the field of artistic research with the Uniarts Research Institute on October 10, 2025.
in the talk I examined case studies probing publicly exhibited contemporary artistic works investigating more-than human perspectives. I discussed theories and practices for conceptually examining the origins and pathways to transdisciplinarity as an โorientationโ in artistic research and examined notable artists engaging in transdisciplinary orientations. A second set of case studies explored artistic research in contested spaces as Curatorial, Participatory or Performative modes facilitating transdisciplinary inquiry. Finally, I posed the thresholds of transdisciplinarity today examining investigative aesthetics and forensic practices engaged in human rights and social justice.
