8th Nida Doctoral School 2023:

The Elasticity of Research through the Sensorial

The ethos of the 8th Nida Doctoral School (NDS) foregrounds practice in the development and process of research. The aim of this week-long programme is to invite PhD candidates to explore their research through interactive propositions and to further their research enquiry through interdisciplinary exchanges initiated from their own artistic practice. The programme takes inspiration from the idea of “mid-stream”. Firstly, as a way of commencing conversations from the current place in each candidate’s research enquiry and their own artistic process. Secondly, candidates will be introduced to sonic, tactile and sensory prompts designed to facilitate interdisciplinary discussions about how different entry points might elasticise, expand and energise their research and the creative processes of their research topics. Through peer-driven exchanges, thinking-making, using conceptual propositions and sensorial prompts, participants at the doctoral school will work through individual and collaborative exercises to explore their PhD topics further. One objective is to focus on practice in artistic research by addressing modes of enquiry, sites of knowledge production and to facilitate dialogue on methods. A further objective is to address how writing serves to reflect on research processes, the sharing of methods and how the practice of writing itself impacts the dissemination of research and the artistic project(s) undertaken during the PhD.