The conference is organised by Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel / RITCS School of Arts, University of Warwick, University of Stellenbosch, University of Gothenburg, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Centre Leo Apostel (CLEA), and The Imaginary Institute - who are devising the second day (March 6) in collaboration with Maarten Stragier (KCB) and Bobby Smith (Warwick University)

From Experience invites artist-researchers to reflect on their lived experience of the arts PhD: What motivated them to pursue a doctorate? How has the experience of doctoral study influenced their practice? Have academic requirements or protocols shifted their working processes — and if so, how? What obstacles, openings, or unexpected turns arise at the meeting point between professional arts practice and doctoral research in higher arts education?

The Imaginary Institute will facilitate play-based sessions inviting participants to imagine possible futures for research in and through the arts. These sessions approach creation as a collective, systemic process that tests current models of knowledge production. Participants will explore how artistic research can function as an ecology of practices linking art, science, play, and other ways of knowing through the co-creation of collective intelligence protocols.

Full programme and registration:
https://kunstenplatformbrussel.be/en/news/from-experience-the-arts-phd-in-practice-in-collaboration-with-the-university-of-stellenbosch-the-university-of-gothenburg-the-university-of-warwick

Deadline: 23 February 2026