CO-OPs

Inter-territorial Explorations in Art and Science

The domains of art and science embody each in their own ways the shared values of a common modern culture. Which new insights may be generated by linking artistic-reflective thinking and scientific-analytical thinking? Which (reflections on) processes of knowledge production emerge when artists and scientists cooperate in solving research questions? These concerns constitute the starting-point of CO-OPs.

Transformations in Art and Culture
CO-OPs is part of the NWO-program Transformations in Art and Culture, which pursues scholarly study of phenomena interconnected with major changes in art and culture to better understand recent practices and products of art and culture and also get a theoretical handle on them. This program starts from three major processes of change: globalization, commercialization and technologization.

CO-OPs: Inter-territorial Explorations
CO-OPs comprises seven teams that consist of a scientist and artist who collaborate on a specific topic that both are concerned with but that so far was only studied from within one’s domain. Their effort should lead to insights and results that cannot be realized outside this particular cooperative framework. The emphasis thereby is on the research process. CO-OPs seeks to stimulate the articulation of new theories in the sciences by initiating research between the various art and science ‘territories’. The team projects address concerns associated with the humanities and the social and natural sciences. Several cultural podiums, institutions and museums participate in CO-OPs.

Public Events
The collaborations between artist and scientist take on the format of a laboratory study. Moreover, the public is considered an active partner in a process of interaction and exchange of ideas; periodically the public will be specifically involved in the research processes. The teams will present their work in different locations (museums, podiums, public institutions, internet) and in a variety of forms (debate, cultural event, performance, symposium, exhibition) in various cities in the Netherlands. The project, which runs until the end of 2007, will include many public events.