Laura Gröndahl & Leena Rouhiainen Getting Started with Networking and Presenting Doctoral Artistic Research

About This Chapter

This chapter aims to support artistic doctoral candidates in the initial stages of their research in presenting and publishing their work. It does this by mapping some of the main research communities, events and journals within artistic research related to the performing arts. In addition to introducing some of the central international platforms, our focus is on offerings in the Nordic countries, owing to the fact that we are based in Finland. Thus, we have compiled a general overview of the kinds of events, platforms and networks we know to exist and how they differ from each other. Our intention is to provide some useful advice on how a newcomer to artistic research can approach and utilise the existing opportunities in order to advance her or his research and become an active member of the larger community of artistic research. We end the chapter with a summary of the relevant organisations, publications and events in the field.

Why Network?

Practically all doctoral candidates hope to be part of a supportive research community where they can present their ongoing projects, receive informative feedback and become acquainted with fellow scholars and artists. However, it is not always easy to pick the right forum to begin establishing good collegial connections. This is especially so if one comes from the arts and has no previous experience of academic environments. Exploring the field of artistic research alone might be jarring at first. Just a short search on the Internet offers a long list of university-based organisations, conferences and journals related to artistic research. Abbreviations such as SAR, JAR, SAAR, CARPA, EARN, PARSE, ADiE, NIDA/SHARE, IFTR, PSI, TaPRA, NOFOD, DaCI, DSA, and ANTS pop up. How should one know where to go, how to distinguish the events and fora from each other and what suits one’s own research best? It can be really frustrating if one ends up presenting one’s research to the wrong kind of audience, particularly one that fails to see its point.

Gaining insight from peers and colleagues on their experience in attending and collaborating with the various available networks are good ways to gain information that supports one’s own goals. Another way is to carefully read the websites of conferences, societies and journals and pay attention to the calls they put out. Participating in the community’s networks and platforms requires curiosity and some diligence but also supports the process of learning about and augmenting one’s own research. Engaging with the right kinds of environments and collegial discussion makes a difference. You learn about addressing the current problems facing the research field by critically reflecting upon conference themes and the presentations offered at them. By participating in networks and engaging with various platforms related to the field of artistic research, you can become a recognized member of the community more easily. Additionally, it is within artistic research’s networks, its institutions, publications, societies, seminars, and conferences, that the field’s recent and relevant challenges are discussed, its research findings are introduced, and its new collaborations are initiated. It is through these networks, centrally, that the domain of artistic research is maintained and critically developed. Participating in these developments is important for any artist researcher in order for their research to be informed and to relate to the wider field of artistic research in a timely and trustworthy manner.

However, attending conferences and presenting at them does require work and resources. Aside from drafting a proposal that is successfully accepted by a conference committee and constructing and delivering a presentation to the audience as part of the conference programme, conference fees, travel and accommodation challenge a doctoral candidate’s budget. This is so even if universities cover some costs through grants or other funds for conference attendance. Another route to entering the academic discussion is to publish your artistic research in a journal. While doing so often is a complex and taxing process, you learn about academic styles of writing and the peer-review process and gain critical insight into your research from your reviewers. Writing and publishing a peer-reviewed academic article includes writing the actual submission as well as the process of receiving feedback and revising the text. The process may take up to two years before you have a published journal with your own article in front of you! Conference presentations and journal publications can support each other, in that a journal entry might be edited and revised on the basis of a well-prepared conference presentation.

In the following passage we introduce some fora in which to present and publish your artistic doctoral research, as well as things to consider when drafting the required proposals for such fora. These basic tips are meant to help focus doctoral candidates in making choices about attending conferences and publishing artistic research as well as constructing related research outputs.

Some Characteristics of the Platforms of Artistic Research

Platforms dedicated to artistic research differ somewhat from the more traditional academic ones representing already well-known disciplines in the humanities and natural sciences. Many of the more traditional academic forums rely principally upon written and spoken texts that present recent research outcomes. A typical academic conference paper consists of a 20-minute presentation, such as a paper reading, followed by 10 minutes of conversation with the audience. There can also be roundtable discussions that present the views of several conference delegates and keynote lectures by invited experts. In general, at these conferences the audience typically spends its time sitting, listening and commenting upon presentations. Similarly, a conventional scholarly article follows certain guidelines that structure its content and form. Such articles should include a clearly formulated research problem, contextualize the significance of the problem, discuss how the problem is addressed – its methodological and theoretical framework – as well as introduce the outcomes and conclusions of the research. The contents are primarily communicated through a linearly proceeding text, although articles may contain informative images and even video clips, if the journal is online.

Artistic research foregrounds and is reliant upon artistic practice: art-making and exhibiting art. Therefore, publication and conferences on artistic research generally offer more versatile possibilities for presenting research. For example, in 2018, the Please Specify! 9th International Conference for Artistic Research by the Society for Artistic Research invited conference delegates to contribute with the following alternatives: normal paper presentations; living posters, five to eight minute long presentations accompanied by a slide or poster; panels, joint presentation or discussion by at least three participants with a maximum length of 90 minutes; and workshops, participatory activities with a maximum length of 90 minutes. Video screenings, performances, exhibitions or installations were also possible. (www.researchcatalogue.net/view/292240/294410) Conferences on artistic research aim to engage with artistic practice and in drafting conference presentations for such it is beneficial to creatively combine performative means of showing artistic work related to your doctoral research with other, more conventional forms reflecting its nature. Typically, artistic research conferences are arranged in venues that allow for at least minimal technical set up supporting exhibiting or performing art. A conference delegate should nonetheless check what technical support conference venues have on offer beforehand.

Artistic research experiments with formats of disseminating research in order to generate reporting that more closely resonates with the art practice addressed by the research. Therefore, aside from more traditional written articles, artistic research publications allow for essayistic and experimental writing. These include media-sensitive forms of writing that utilize formats of visual or video essays and electronic literature, for example. Nonetheless, some ground rules of academic writing are still followed, such as appropriate and systematic referencing, generally accepted ethical guidelines in research and art (e.g. www.tenk.fi/en) and intelligible argumentation. Authors are encouraged to use artistic material as an integral part of their articles. Multi-media online journals and publication platforms have been established to enable articles to present documented artistic processes. For instance, the Research Catalogue (RC) (www.researchcatalogue.net) hosted by the Society for Artistic Research (SAR) (www.societyforartisticresearch.org) facilitates the extensive use of audio-visual material, creative layouts and non-linear structures. Authors utilizing this platform can also use the RC as a repository for their unpublished work in progress. The RC thus allows a doctoral candidate to portray audio-visual documentation of their research-related artistic practice as well as to come up with alternative ways of presenting written text. Such journals as the Journal of Artistic Research (JAR) (www.jar-online.net), Ruukku – Studies in Artistic Research (www.ruukku.journal.fi/en) and VIS Journal (www.en.visjournal.nu) are based on RCs online platform and thus support the publication of hybrid texts.

Examples of Artistic Research Communities

Although the emergence of artistic research began gradually in the 1990’s, at present there are already several societies and networks as well as many universities that support its cause. For example, The Society for Artistic Research (SAR) is one of the most central international organisations promoting research across the arts. SAR publishes the Journal for Artistic Research (JAR), organises annual symposia on artistic research and runs the Research Catalogue (RC), which is the above-mentioned free online repository of artistic research, which is freely accessible by anyone. SAR activities should be at the top of the list of artistic doctoral candidates owing to its influential status and because its network and activities include many important figures in the European scholarly community who are involved in key debates about artistic research. The International Federation for Theatre Research holds a large annual international conference with approximately 800 delegates and publishes the academic journal Theatre Research International (IFTR) in order to facilitate the exchange between researchers in theatre and performance (www.iftr.org). It also hosts more than 20 working groups that include, among others, Corporeality and Choreography as well as Practice-as-Research. These groups are open to new participants and bring together international teams of top researchers to converse about important topics via email and face-to-face prior to the conference. Although the conference is theatre focused, its plentiful offerings always include dance and performance-related presentations that are practice-based or belong to the realm of artistic research. Performance Studies International (PSI) (www.psi-web.org), in turn, promotes communication and exchange among artists, thinkers, activists and academics within the field of the performing arts. It also hosts an annual international conference that encompasses both scholarly and artistic research. One of its working groups is specifically focused on artistic research. PSI publishes a new online peer-reviewed journal called Global Performance Studies (gps.psi-web.org). Both IFTR and PSI are good environments in which to receive feedback from and connect with, established scholars and artists working specifically in the field of performance and artistic research. In turn, the Nordic Summer University’s (NSU) (nordic.university) study group on artistic research has a given theme that remains the same for three years. The current study group is entitled Practicing Communities: Transformative Societal Strategies of Artistic Research. The group meets biannually and offers a collegial, friendly and low threshold environment to further one’s undertakings in artistic research. This might be a good place to consider for your very first public presentations. NSU also publishes peer-reviewed anthologies and monographs. So far, two of them have addressed artistic research.

Aside from research societies, universities with art programs have their own regular activities supporting artistic research including journals, seminars, summer schools, and conferences that either focus on specific topics or promote multidisciplinary discussions. The Performing Arts Research Centre of the Theatre Academy of the University of the Arts Finland hosts the biannual international Colloquium on Artistic Research in Performing Arts (CARPA) (sites.uniarts.fi/fi/web/carpa/) and releases the conference proceedings in its online publication series Nivel (nivel.teak.fi). CARPA focuses on the performing arts, mainly dance, theatre, performance and live art, and music. While supporting critical debate, the conference has a cosy and collegial atmosphere and supports the presentations of doctoral candidates and postdoctoral researchers alike. The PARSE Platform for Artistic Research Sweden (hsm.gu.se/english/Research/parse) hosts a biannual conference and an online peer-reviewed research journal, the PARSE Journal (parsejournal.com/journal/) that is published twice a year. Both of them support multidisciplinary artistic research, including the performing arts and are meant to offer a forum for dialogue between artistic researchers and researchers from other domains and disciplines. The Stockholm University of the Arts likewise arranges regular conferences on artistic research. The 2018 conference was entitled Alliances & Commonalities (www.uniarts.se/english/research-development/alliances-commonalities-2018) and it focused on the shared methods, materials, values, and questions at play in the field of artistic research. The Norwegian Artistic Research Programme (NARP) (artistic-research.no/?lang=en) hosts an annual conference on artistic research called the Artistic Research Forum. It specifically supports presentations on artistic practices from all fields and often includes presentations by Norwegian doctoral candidates.

Summer schools are another academic convention in which doctoral candidates are encouraged to further their artistic research by expert supervisors during intensive training weeks. The Summer Academy for Artistic Research (SAAR) (artisticresearch.fi/saar/) is a collaborative effort by Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish art universities and takes place in carefully chosen scenic settings in one of the three countries. The delegates include representatives from all art forms. Here, proposals and presentations are slightly more informal and follow given assignments. Typically, they are developed throughout the week through supervision and peer feedback. Participants have especially enjoyed connecting with peers from other environments and the in-depth feedback they have received during these intensive sessions.

What is generally noteworthy is that in the field of research in the performing arts, the boundary between traditional academic scholarship and artistic research is not as strict as in many other areas. One reason for this may be that theatre and dance research are relatively new disciplines and their development has been impacted by a more recent understanding of research and practical forms of knowledge within the humanities. The first was first developed within literature studies, the latter together with dance performance programmes. Researching a live performance event often leads to discussions that are somewhat similar to the ones occurring within artistic research. For example, the observing researcher is inevitably a part of the performance event and must problematize her position in a similar manner to an artist reflecting on her own work. Likewise, many dance, performance and theatre scholars themselves have previously been actors or directors, performance artists, dancers, choreographers and dance teachers prior to engaging with research. They thus have a hands-on sense and insider view of theatre, dance and performance practices that allow them to participate and identify with what they research in a different way than someone who does not have such experiences. Perhaps these are reasons why many academic associations within the performing arts willingly accept practice-based or artistic research and artist-researchers as well as encourage mutual dialogues. The Nordic Forum for Dance Research (NOFOD) (www.nofod.org) exemplifies this. The organisation has arranged a biannual conference since the 1990s and has always appreciated the practical expertise of its delegates. From the start, it has supported practical presentations in the forms of workshops, lecture-demonstrations, performances and the like. The conference has also established a special interest group in artistic research and supports presentations by MA and doctoral candidates. It is an event at which you easily get to know your Nordic peers and readily become part of the Nordic network. In our experience, this is a good forum for emerging scholars to gain support for their work, become active as a member of the organisation and with consecutive attendance at the conference to even become a board member. Acting as board members offers the potential of developing the organisation’s initiatives and gaining an inside view into what it takes to arrange conferences. NOFOD also supports the publication of the Nordic Journal of Dance: Practice, Education and Research (www.nordicjournalofdance.com). Conference presenters have the opportunity of developing their presentations into full peer-reviewed research articles in this publication.

Planning a Conference Presentation or Journal Entry

Before going to a conference or submitting an article, you might ask yourself a couple of questions, such as why you wish to make a conference presentation in the first place? The reasons may be many, and the choice of the right forum depends on your current interests. Sharing one’s research project and outcomes in academic contexts is an inherent part of doctoral studies. Through making conference presentations, you gain experience in publicly discussing your research interests and have the opportunity to receive feedback and advice from experienced scholars other than your own supervisors. In turn, in submitting journal entries, you learn about research-related written description and argumentation. Often through the peer reviewing and proofreading process that are central to academic publishing, you gain invaluable feedback that helps you to sharpen your thinking and skills in disseminating your research. Both conference presentations and journal entries assist in making your research known to peers and offer visibility for your home university as well. Additionally, listening to others’ presentations at conferences gives you a good overview of what is going on in the field. And participation in a conference can be a lot of fun! Conferences typically have activities such as receptions, dinners and performances in addition to the presentations.

When thinking about submitting a conference proposal or an article for a journal you should first thoroughly familiarise yourself with their instructions. The conference organisers usually launch a thematic Call for Proposals (or call for papers, presentations, participation, contribution… the terms vary), known as CfP. Some journals also do that, but some have the custom of continuously receiving proposals on all topics related to their field. Nonetheless, addressing the proposed thematics and abiding to the formatting instructions are important in order to get your proposal accepted. Typically, instructions include strict word limits and a description of the allowed formats of presentation or style of writing and audio-visual dissemination. If your abstract or article exceeds the desired number of words, for example, your submission might be rejected just because of that. Therefore, always read the CfP carefully because it tells you what kinds of contributions the organisers want. When conferences or journals are very attractive, they receive an abundance of proposals and the conference committee or editorial board thus needs to restrict the number of submissions they accept. However, when drafting a proposal you also need to consider how the specific themes and instructions match with your own wishes and expectations related to your research and if your proposal fits into the scope of the conference or publication.

In choosing where to present your research and in what form, perhaps the most important question to think about is with whom you want to discuss your research. Who are the people you wish will read your articles, attend your presentations, and give you feedback? Whose presentations do you want to follow? Before submitting your abstract, you might take a look at the previous proceedings or book of abstracts of former conferences. Perhaps you can even find streamed presentations from previous conferences online. Similarly, before submitting a proposal for an article, browse the previous issues of different journals and consider how your text would fit within the publication. In the optimal case, your work could participate in some ongoing discussion or provide an answer to a question or issue raised in a previous article.

Another important question is how you wish to communicate your ideas. Are you comfortable with traditional academic papers, or would you like to experiment with more artistic forms of communication? Are you interested in giving lecture-performances or demonstrations? Do you want to arrange or participate in practical workshops or do you long for in-depth philosophical and theoretical discussions? In the case of journals, are you comfortable with more traditional forms of academic writing or do you want to experiment with hybrid texts or expanded forms of writing that might also include audio-visual means of articulating the contents of your research? Today, most research publications are online. Some of them are accessible for free and thus belong to the category of open access publications. Others require commission fees for readers to access them. Of course, open access publications reach more readers worldwide than printed books and journals. The web environment also enables a more extensive use of images and even video clips. Yet, the layout format is often quite conventional in online scholarly publications. In the domain of artistic research there are exceptions, some of which have been mentioned above. The first and most influential of these is the Journal of Artistic Research JAR.

It is good to remember that the reason for rejecting a proposal is not necessarily its inferior quality; it may also be a pure formality. Most academic journals have clear profiling policies that define for example the themes, topics, theoretical approaches and writing styles of the articles. For example, the journal of Nordic Theatre Studies only accepts articles that have something to do with the Nordic or Baltic countries. If the conference organisers do not allow for practical workshops, they may have sensible reasons such as the lack of suitable rooms on the conference premises. Once again, look at the previous contributions and consider whether you would fit in this environment, mentally and physically.

Attending a Conference

When you go to a conference, it is good to remember that the time slot for a presentation is very limited, regardless of its form. Basically, there is time to properly discus only one or two ideas, especially if you want to offer an in-depth view on a topic. Preparing your presentation beforehand and rehearsing performing the presentation with an audience or some of your peers is a good idea. You can check if you stay within the time limit, get to rehearse any technical steps you need to take, as well as the pace and vocal projection needed to ensure your speech is easily understandable. The joy of conference presentations is in that nothing can replace the value of face-to-face contact with other participants. Even if an oral presentation reaches fewer people than a written publication, the attendees usually concentrate on your work more intensively, you will get immediate feedback from several different perspectives, and you can respond to it right away.

It is a good idea to register early for conferences. You can get an early bird discount on the conference fee and ensure that you still have a chance at reserving a hotel with a conference rate. Conference organisers often have access to slightly cheaper accommodation opportunities. Additionally, just before travelling to a conference, it is a good idea to check the programme and see where and when your presentation is. Then, you might also plan which other sessions you would like to attend by reading the book of abstracts that offer short descriptions of the conference’s other presenters and presentations. The first thing most presenting delegates do when they arrive at the conference venue is to register and then go to check the space and equipment in the room where they will present. Typically, the conference program has published the name of the moderator for each session of presentations. If you need help you might find the moderator assigned to your session and discuss how you would like them to introduce you and keep time. At this time, you can also check with them about any technical issues or concerns you may have. Sometimes conference rooms have designated technicians, with whom you can consult if you need technical support.

Nonetheless, as important as the presentation of one’s own project is, listening and learning from others as well as making contacts are some of the biggest benefits of conferences. In a large conference you can scan the variety of ongoing research, but you can only follow a fraction of the presentations, as there are often several parallel sessions running at the same time. Even if you probably spot more ‘big stars’ in a large conference, you are more likely to get into in-depth discussions with interesting people in smaller seminars or at summer schools. However, many larger organisations also host small working groups prior to or during conferences, which continue from year to year while maintaining the same basic team. These groups are much more intimate. They make it possible to focus on specific topics with similarly minded researchers and get detailed and informed feedback in the long run. The working groups may also convene outside of the larger conferences and publish their own anthologies.

Apart from the daily program, all conferences include free-form gatherings and parties. Attending these events often offers the most valuable experiences. The threshold of entering the academic community of artistic research is much lower, when you have met, or at least have seen, the established experts in real life outside of their official roles. Even more important is the opportunity to make contacts with peer researchers who might be your potential collaboration partners in future projects. Most research associations welcome new members. An active membership is one of the best ways of sneaking into a community because it often leads to some kind of voluntary work, where you can quickly get to know people.

Attending a conference involves many additional questions, such as the expenses of participating in a conference and access to available funding, which of course depend on the policies of your home university. More often than not, receiving funding is dependent on getting a presentation proposal accepted and actually presenting something at the conference rather than simply participating and observing the presentations of other participants. Different university and art environments might offer grants for travelling, presenting your work and attending professional conferences. Many times your elder peers, supervisors and professors can give you good advice as to how to fund your conference trips and write letters of recommendations for your applications.

Publishing Journal Entries

If you plan to publish an article or journal entry in the field of artistic research, you have many decisions to make. Among these are what specific research-related topic you want to write about or what artistic procedure you want to expound upon and how you will frame this exposition. The latter problem relates to the question of what styles or formats of writing or expressing your artistic research will adequately present its contents. Other important questions to engage with are: What professional discussion do you want to engage with through your writing and art? Who do you wish to reach and address with your publication? These interests direct your choice as to where to publish your entry. Once again, you should start by asking who you would like your expected readers to be. Are you writing to your fellow artists, to academic scholars, or perhaps to a wider audience? These different groups probably read different journals. Also, the style of your text depends on the answer. You must consider what your readers already know and what you have to explain to them in detail. Are they familiar with and interested in theoretical discussions on an abstract level? Do they know anything about artistic practices? Which discussions do you want the article to be involved in? Does the topic have relevance beyond your specific field? If so, you might go for a wide-ranging journal with a large audience. If not, you’d better stick to more specialized publications. Will international readers take an interest in it or is it limited to more local issues? This is decisive for choosing the language in which to write a particular article if you are not based in an English-speaking country. However, these days many national publications are bilingual or even trilingual.

You may also have several options for the genre of your text. Beyond research and theoretical articles, many academic journals also publish shorter essays, review articles, which browse recent discussions in the field, interviews, and book reviews, which are usually only about two–four pages. Perhaps the most important choice is between peer-reviewed and not peer-reviewed publications. If you intend to pursue an academic career, you probably need the former, which are more highly valued. If not, you may be happy with writing more informal essays that do not have to follow as strict guidelines and can come out more quickly.

It is good to bear in mind that the complete publication process of a peer-reviewed article takes a long time and is very thorough. At first, you send an abstract to the editor, who accepts it and often makes some suggestions regarding how to develop the text. The editor will offer a timeline as to when a first draft of the full text is needed and perhaps also some indication as to when you will receive the peer-reviews. Journals typically have word length restrictions as well as guidelines for reference markings that you should follow in compiling the article. Two qualified and recognized experts will evaluate the full-length article anonymously, and you are expected to revise it according to their instructions. Finally, the editor helps you to finalize the text, and, if you are not writing in your native language, it will also be proofread. All this may take up to two years – but the time is not wasted, as the author benefits from the guidance of at least three recognized and experienced researchers during the process.

In every case, when submitting your article, you should be aware of so-called predatory online publications, which charge authors but are not academically qualified. The following signs should make you suspicious that you might be dealing with such a publication: if not a single issue of the journal has come out yet, if the editor is unknown in the field, if the English is poor, or, finally, if unknown people ask you to submit an article about one of your recent conference papers.

Relevant platforms for artistic research in performing arts (from a Nordic perspective)

SAR – the Society for Artistic Research www.societyforartisticresearch.org/society-for-artistic-research

• Substantiates and disseminates artistic research as a specific practice of insight and knowledge creation.
• Includes all artistic disciplines and fields of artistic research.
• Individual and Institutional Membership.
• Hosts annual conferences.
  • Modes of presentation: paper, living poster, panel, workshop, screenings, performance, exhibition, and installation.
• Organises the Research Catalogue www.researchcatalogue.net
• Organises activities supporting artistic research and the Research Catalogue: Newsletters, Portal Partner members, Funding Agency Meetings, SAR Academy, Annual Prize for Excellent Research Catalogue Exposition.

JAR – Journal for Artistic Research jar-online.net

• JAR website consists of the Journal and its Network.
• JAR Journal is an international, online, Open Access and peer-reviewed journal that disseminates artistic research from all disciplines.
• JAR Journal promotes expositions of artistic research.
• JAR Journal supports all artistic disciplines, multiple methods, media and articulations.
• JAR Journal is peer-reviewed with an open process of reviewing.
• JAR Journal publishes 2–3 issues per year.
• JAR is based on the Research Catalogue (RC), which allows for experimental writing and multi-medial presentation.
• Language: English.
• JAR Network supports the community of artistic research and readers of JAR. It allows for publication that is beyond that found in typical peer-reviewed journals and carries less restrictions concerning content and formatting. It carries no restrictions in terms of language, length, topic, or theme.

RUUKKU – Studies in Artistic Research ruukku-journal.fi

• RUUKKU promotes discussion within the Finnish artistic research field in the international context.
• RUUKKU is an Open Access, peer-reviewed online journal on artistic research.
• RUUKKU supports all art fields.
• RUUKKU publishes 1–2 issues per year.
• RUUKKU is based on the Research Catalogue (RC), which allows for experimental writing and multi-medial presentation.
• Languages: English, Finnish and Swedish.

VIS – Nordic Journal for Artistic Research www.en.visjournal.nu

• VIS was established by Stockholm University of the Arts and The Norwegian Artistic Research Programme in 2018.
• VIS is an Open Access, peer-reviewed online journal.
• VIS supports all fields of artistic research in the Nordic region.
• VIS publishes 2 issues per year.
• VIS is based on the Research Catalogue (RC), which allows for experimental writing and multi-medial presentation.
• Languages: Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.

PARSE – Platform for Artistic Research Sweden www.parsejournal.com

• PARSE is an international artistic research platform based at the University of Gothenburg.
• PARSE promotes an innovative multidisciplinary research culture in the artistic disciplines.
• PARSE hosts public dialogue seminars and an international Biennial research conference, with open sessions that are free for everyone.

PARSE Journal

• PARSE Journal is an online, peer-reviewed and Open Access publication.
• PARSE Journal publishes original artistic research, creates dialogues, promotes collaborations between researchers in the arts and in other disciplines, and brings together different modes of artistic enquiry.
• PARSE Journal publishes 2 issues per year.
• Languages: English.

PSi – Performance Studies International www.psi-web.org

• PSI promotes exchange between artists, thinkers, activists and academics working in the field of performance through conferences, events, working groups and the GPS Journal.
• PSi conferences and events facilitate connections between scholars and practitioners working in different places in the world and contribute to further development and understanding of Performance Studies.
• PSi conferences and events welcome both artistic and scholarly research in all fields of performance studies and promote interaction between theory and practice, the local and the global.
• PSi holds annual conferences and related events throughout the year at its regional clusters.
  • Presentation formats: papers, panels, performative activities.
• PSi working groups meet during (and sometimes between) the yearly conferences.
  • 9 working groups, e.g.: Artistic Research, Performance Pedagogy, Performance Philosophy, Community Performance, Performance + Design.

PSi Journal: Global Performance Studies, GPS gps.psi-web.org

• GPS was launched in 2016.
• GPS is an online peer-reviewed academic journal.
• Languages: English.

IFTR/FIRT – International Federation for Theatre Research www.iftr.org

• IFTR/FIRT facilitates communication and exchange between scholars of theatre and performance research throughout the world.
• IFTR/FIRT mainly involves scholarly research in all fields of theatre and performance.
• IFTR/FIRT holds an annual international conference.
  • It is the largest conference in the field of theatre and performance research.
  • Presentation formats: mainly papers.
  • New Scholars Forum for doctoral students.
• IFTR/FIRT offers regional conferences and research working group symposia.
  • 24 Working groups, e.g. Performance-as-Research, Embodied Research. Choreography and Corporeality.

FIRT/IFTR Journal: Theatre Research International, TRI www.cambridge.org/core/journals/theatre-research-international

• TRJ is an online peer-reviewed journal accessible to subscribers, with Open Access to issues that are more than two years old.
• TRJ publishes 3 issues per year.
• Language: English.

FIRT/IFTR supports two book series with leading publishers:

• Themes in Theatre brill.com/view/serial/TT
• Studies in International Performance www.palgrave.com/in/series/14467

CARPA – Colloquium on Artistic Research in Performing Arts sites.uniarts.fi/web/carpa

• CARPA is a biannual international conference on artistic research arranged by the Theatre Academy of the University of Arts, Helsinki.
• CARPA focuses on artistic research in the performing arts, with an emphasis on artistic and pedagogical practice.
• Presentation formats: practical workshops, lecture-demonstrations, paper presentations, visual presentations, installations, video projections, other artistic arrangements.
• CARPA conference proceedings are published in the publication series Nivel nivel.teak.fi/
• Language: English.

SAAR – Summer Academy for Artistic research artisticresearch.fi/saar

• SAAR is a Nordic network cooperation.
• SAAR is held annually and intended for artistic doctoral candidates from different artistic disciplines studying in Nordic Universities.
• SAAR is a one-week teaching intensive, in which the participants present their ongoing research and discuss it in depth with the guidance of supervisors from different art fields.
• Language: English.

NSU – Nordic Summer University nordic.university

• NSU is an independent, academic institution that organises international, cross-disciplinary symposia in the Nordic and Baltic region.
• NSU activities revolve around thematic study circles.

NSU study circle on Artistic Research:

• The cycle 2019–2021 consists of six symposia in different countries with the theme Artistic Research / Performing Heterotopia. nordic.university/study-circles/7-artistic-research-performing-heterotopia

TaPRA – The Theatre and Performance Research Association tapra.org

• TAPRA is a UK-based academic platform that includes international members.
• TAPRA arranges an annual conference in the UK.
• TAPRA hosts 13 working groups, e.g. Bodies and Performance and Directing and Dramaturgy.
• Language: English.

NOFOD – Nordic Forum for Dance Research www.nofod.org

• NOFOD promotes collaboration between dance scholars and practitioners. The organisation defines dance in the broadest possible terms and embraces a wide range of research methods.
• NOFOD international conference is held biannually.
  • Presentation formats: papers, lecture-demonstrations, panel discussions, movement workshops, performances.
• Conference proceedings are produced at the authors’ discretion, available online.
• NOFOD collaborates with Dans I Skolen (Norway) to publish the Nordic Journal of Dance.

Nordic Journal of Dance Research: Practice, Education, Research (NJD) www.nordicjournalofdance.com

• Articles must be relevant in the Nordic context.
• NJD publishes research articles and practice-oriented articles.
  • Research articles are peer-reviewed.
  • Practice-oriented articles undergo an editorial process.
  • Articles can include alternative text formats.
• NJD publishes 2 issues per year.
• Languages: English or one of the Nordic languages.

DaCI – Dance and Child International daci.international/en

• DaCI is an international, non-profit association dedicated to the growth and development of dance for children.
• DaCI welcomes everybody interested in dance for children and young people.
• DaCI provides a newsletter and organises events.
• DaCI organises an international conference every three years.

DSA – Dance Studies Association dancestudiesassociation.org

• The Congress on Research in Dance (CORD) and the Society of Dance History Scholars (SDHS) merged in 2017 to form the DSA.
• DSA is an international organisation of dance scholars, educators, and artists.
• DSA arranges an annual international conference:
  • Presentation formats: papers, posters, roundtables, lecture-demonstrations, screendances and workshops.
  • DSA publishes conference proceedings with minimal editorial intervention.

Dance Research Journal DRJ dancestudiesassociation.org/publications/dance-research-journal

• DRJ is committed to cross-disciplinary research with a dance perspective.
• DRJ is a peer-reviewed journal published online and accessible for free for DSA members.
• DRJ publishes 3 issues per year.
• Language: English.

Conversations Across the Field of Dance Studies dancestudiesassociation.org/publications/conversations-across-the-filed-of-dance-studies

• Committed to current themes and debates in the field of dance studies and the profession.
• Peer-reviewed.
• 1 issue per year.
• Online, open access.
• Language: English.

Studies in Dance History – book series dancestudiesassociation.org/publications/studies-in-dance-history

• Monographs and anthologies.
• Manuscripts are approved by the editorial board.

ANTS – Association of Nordic Theatre Scholars blogs.uta.fi/nordictheatrestudies/the-association

• ANTS promotes cooperation between theatre scholars and students in the Nordic and Baltic countries.
• ANTS arranges an annual conference in collaboration with Nordic universities.
  • Peer-reviewed conference proceedings are published in the journal NTS.

Journal: Nordic Theatre Studies, NTS tidsskrift.dk/nts/index

• NTS focuses on theatre researchers in the Nordic and Baltic countries and for all researchers writing about theatre and performance related to the region.
• NTS mainly publishes scholarly research, related to the areas of theatre, dance and performance, mainly after 1850.
• NTS is a peer-reviewed, online and Open Access publication.
• NTS publishes 2 issues per year.
• Language: English.

TeaTs – Finnish Theatre Research Society teats.fi

• TeaTs promotes connections between researchers in all fields of the performative arts in Finland.
• TeaTs arranges a seminar day twice a year.

Näyttämö ja Tutkimus, the Yearbook of Theatre Research teats.fi/category/julkaisut

• Welcomes both scholarly and artistic research.
• Publishes peer-reviewed articles and contains non-reviewed sections for essays, presentation of research projects and artists’ commentaries.
• Published approximately every second year.
• Languages: Finnish, English and Swedish.

SenseLAb senselab.ca/wp2

• The SenseLab is a laboratory for thought in motion that is based in Montreal. It is an international network of artists and academics, writers and makers, from a wide diversity of fields, working together at the crossroads of philosophy, art, and activism.
• The SenseLab organises annual events, workshops and reading groups in various locations and through Internet-based communication.
• SenseLab publishes the Immediation book series together with the Open Humanities Press.
• Language: English and French.

Art / Research International. A Transdisciplinary Journal journals.library.ualberta.ca/ari/index.php/ari/index

• Hosted by the University of Alberta Libraries.
• Offers a space for practitioners to draw on working examples to discuss challenges, best practices, ethical quandaries, new directions (among other topics) for the practice of bringing art and research processes together.
• Peer-reviewed, online and Open Access publication.
• Publishes 2 issues per year.
• Language: English.

PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art www.mitpressjournals.org/loi/pajj

• PAJ is published by MIT Press.
• PAJ explores innovative work in theatre, performance art, dance, video, writing, technology, sound, and music, bringing together all live arts in thoughtful cultural dialogue.
• PAJ Issues include critical essays, artists’ writings, interviews, plays, drawings, and notations, with extended coverage of performance, festivals, and books. Podcasts, video and audio clips appear on PAJ’s online home.
• PAJ is published online, with partial Open Access.
• PAJ publishes 3 issues per year.
• Language: English.

OAR: Oxford Artistic and Practice-Based Research Platform www.oarplatform.com

• OAR engages with new and experimental ways of participating in knowledge production, specifically through practice-based research.
• OAR issues expand through the responses that are added to the site after the publication date. The platform invites responses to specific articles and themed issues at all times.
• OAR showcases experimental works, publishing content across different media, and allowing works-in-progress to be published over time.
• OAR is an online non peer-reviewed and Open Access publication.
• OAR publishes 2 issues per year.
• Language: English.

RIDE: Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=crde20

• RIDE is aimed at art education practitioners, theatre workers, drama therapists, policy makers, researchers, educators and academics from related fields, who are interesting in applying performance practices to cultural engagement, educational innovation and social change.
• RIDE is an online peer-reviewed and Open Access publication.
• RIDE publishes 4 issues per year.
• Language: English.

TDPT: Theatre, Dance and Performance Training www.tandfonline.com/loi/rtdp20

• TDPT is a research forum for practitioners, academics, creative artists and pedagogues interested in training in all its complexity.
• TDPT is a peer-reviewed (single-blind), online Open Access publication.
• TDPT publishes 3 issues per year.
• Language: English.

Critical Stages / Scènes critiques www.critical-stages.org

• Published by the International Association of Theatre Critics.
• A platform for debate and exploration on a wide range of theatre and performing arts manifestations from all over the world; a springboard for opening communication between theatre practitioners, theoreticians and the general public.
• Peer-reviewed, online and Open Access publication.
• Languages: English and French.

Center for Dance Research – Coventry University (C-DaRE) www.coventry.ac.uk/research/areas-of-research/centre-for-dance-research

• C-DaRe arranges an annual international conference on Dance and Somatic Practices as well as other symposia and events related to dance research.

Journal of Dance and Somatic Practices JDSP.

• JDSP is published by a collaboration between C-DaRe and Intellect publishing.
• JDSP focuses on practice and research that relate to dance and somatic practices and the influence this body of practices has on the wider performing arts. Allows for publication of experimental texts and visual essays.
• JDSP is a peer-reviewed online publication accessed through subscription.
• JDSP publishes 2 issues per year.
• Language: English.