In 2007, first students started their studies at Liepāja University New Media Art bachelor level programme. It was the first programme in Latvia that was developed based on topical ideas about art as research and practice-based artistic research. This approach to art education can be described as strongly critical to neoliberalist treatment of art and, particularly in Europe, was also a part of reaction from the side of art educators and practitioners to changes started by the Bologna process in the field of higher (art) education. The approach was integrated purposefully into the philosophy of New Media Art studies and research at Liepāja University, first of all by establishing MPLab – a Laboratory of Art Research as a space for creative growth where every student has more freedom and independence but is required to be able to mobilise independently and think critically and creatively. In this article, the basic assumptions for programme development, main events, and results are presented and analysed, based on inner planning and implementation documents of the study process, as well as research papers discussing the basic assumptions of the philosophy of the study programme. In the centre of philosophy and content development of the bachelor and later master and doctoral level study programmes at Liepāja University was the idea of art as a research activity. It is connected to the recognition of the dimension of science in art, more concretely, that art does not need commentary to become “scientific”. Similar to the science where the goal and the product of the actions is the new, emerging knowledge, the art can also be oriented toward the development of knowledge, in the process of artistic creativity, through experimentation, observation, reflection, and abstraction that influence the following process of art-making. The inquiry and experiment, as well as collecting and presenting data about materials and environment the artist works with, is an essential part of the artistic activity, especially in contemporary art. Based on practice, an artist is driven to the questions and hypotheses that later can change the course and result of his/her artistic work. The art based in practice is also becoming more and more interested in life and involvement in social processes, practical issues, and the critical discourse of the art. An element of the philosophy of artistic research is also an orientation to change and active action. Artistic research tends to the new, but it is planned not only as a performative but also transformative action; therefore, it is important to think about social responsibility and social engagement in the context of artistic research. Activity, engagement, orientation towards the change, and thought-through practice-based training are the most important elements of contemporary art to encourage social and cultural sustainability development. That is why in the education of young artists, a special place should be reserved for understanding society, its risks, and the economic and political contexts in which the artist is working. However, the issue of sustainability has to be treated in connection to local communities. Socially responsible art – art as research – is possible only by studying and integrating into the artistic research process the human needs in the place where they emerge and in active dialogue with local communities. All these elements were integrated into the philosophy of the research and studies when the programmes of new media art were started at Liepāja University. The aim of the article is to discover what and how theoretical thinking on practice-based artistic research programmes in the space of higher education of art was implemented in practice, involved in the development of New Media Art programmes at Liepāja University in the period from 2007 to 2010. The methods used include document analysis and analysis of secondary literature; however, in general, a descriptive approach was used. Conclusions show that by purposeful integration of the topical and in-depth view on art education at university and new approaches to art in society invented in the active discussions within the network of international experts, it was possible to create a contemporary centre of critical creativity at Liepāja University able to engage into artistic research of reality and virtuality in the contemporary technologically saturated cultural environment.
Diffractive Art Practices: Computation and the Messy Entanglements between Mainstream Contemporary Art, and New Media Art*