BFM PhD Seminar: Teemu Mäki

Title: What is artistic research ... and is it good for you?

Abstract: Artistic research is a fairly recent addition to the categories of art and research. It's a hotly contested concept and volatile field, where many definitions and ideas collide and compete. What is it, actually? In his lecture Teemu Mäki clarifies this, looks into different branches of artistic research and explains what are the risks and failures or artistic research and what is the great promise and potential of it — especially for artists. The lecture is based on theory, but focuses on practice, on what artists make and what's the role of research in it.

Teemu Mäki (1967–) is a director (theatre/dance/film/opera), visual artist, writer and theorist based in Helsinki, Finland. He studied painting in Academy of Fine Arts Finland (1986–1990) and got his doctorate (Doctor of Fine Arts, 2005) from the same institution. Since 1990 he has been an independent, freelancing artist, except for the years 2008–2013, when he was the Professor of Fine Arts in Aalto University. Mäki has had 59 solo exhibitions, participated in 243 group shows, written nine books and directed and written numerous theatre plays, films and operas. He is also active in cultural politics. He is the Chairperson of The Artists' Association of Finland and President of IAA Europe.

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