Evaluation of artistic research

In English The gradual inclusion of art colleges and schools into the regular university system has prompted previously craft-based subjects, such as music, visual arts, design and performance, to develop and formalize a research component. While such 'artistic research' is debated, many key points of this debate are actualized when project proposals and results are evaluated by institutional funders. To provide firmer ground for such evaluations, this article explicates some dimensions of value of artistic research: its public and private, and its intrinsic and extrinsic values respectively, particularly in relation to mainstream science. The article describes possible tensions between researcher and evaluator standards, stemming from the special conditions of this field, using a Swedish case study. Key dimensions of value and associated epistemic tensions are identified, involving levels of acceptable serendipity in research processes and outcomes, acceptable forms of communication and the cross-sectoral nature of artistic research.