A Transdisciplinary Approach
edited by Domenico Quaranta
What does it mean to do artistic research today? Bringing together voices from across disciplines and geographies, this book explores the questions, methods, and urgencies shaping contemporary artistic research.
Originating from the international seminar Theories and Practices of Contemporary Artistic Research: a Transdisciplinary Approach, held at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in March 2025, and developed within the IartNET project, the volume reflects a pivotal moment for Italian higher arts education following the introduction of doctoral programs in 2024.
Structured in three sections – Defining Contemporaneity, Contemporary Artistic Research Practices, and Key Issues in Contemporary Artistic Research – the book moves from theoretical reflections on time and global crises to practice-based approaches, and on to pressing themes such as ecology, artificial intelligence, and sustainability.
By weaving together perspectives from leading scholars and practitioners, this volume positions artistic research as a vital tool for interpreting and engaging with the complexities of the present. Featured authors: Kristin Bergaust, Samuel Bianchini, Giovanna Cassese, Elena Cologni, Fosbury Architecture, Eva Frapiccini, Leevi Haapala, Johan A. Haarberg, Nicoletta Leonardi, Jacob Lund, Rosita Mariani, Domenico Quaranta, Lorella Scacco, Antonio Somaini, Akram Zaatari, Santiago Zabala.
Domenico Quaranta (PHD, University of Genova) is a contemporary art critic, curator and teacher. His research focuses on the mutual interferences between technology, culture and society, and on how our understanding of the human and our sense of the world evolve. His texts have appeared in numerous magazines, newspapers, books and catalogs. He is the author, among other things, of: Beyond New Media Art (Brescia, 2013); Surfing with Satoshi. Art, blockchain and NFTs (Milan, 2022); Net Art. Scritti sull’arte nell’era dell’informazione (Milan, 2023) and editor of several volumes, including GameScenes. Art in the Age of Videogames (Milan, 2006, with M. Bittanti). Since 2005 he has curated several exhibitions, including Collect the WWWorld. The Artist as Archivist in the Internet Age (Brescia 2011; Basel and New York 2012); Cyphoria (Quadriennale 2016, Rome); Hyperemployment (MGLC, Ljubljana 2019-2020) and A Leap into the Void. Art Beyond Matter (GAMeC, Bergamo 2023, with L. Giusti). He teaches at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Brescia and at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts, Milan, where he serves as Director of the School of New Technologies of Art since 2024.
