OPEN CALL:Critical Making Research Project Seeking PhD Candidate & Junior Researcher

The Academy of Creative and Performing Arts (ACPA), Leiden University offers composers, performing artists, visual artists and (graphic) designers the opportunity to perform research in and through artistic practice. A PhD research training programme for visual artists and designers is offered through PhDArts, a collaboration between the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague and Leiden University.
Bridging art, design and technology through Critical Making: ACPA will appoint one PhD candidate and one junior researcher (artistic research) as part of the NWO financed project “Bridging art, design and technology through Critical Making.” In this project, the concept of Critical Making will be researched and developed in the context of critical theory and artistic research in order to address creative practices in which art, design and technology fundamentally and practically intersect. For more information about the project, please visit the project webpage.
The research consortium is headed by ACPA Professor Dr. Janneke Wesseling (Leiden University) as main applicant and Dr. Florian Cramer (Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences) as co-applicant. Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam, Waag Society in Amsterdam and West Den Haag are involved as consortium partners. Under the supervision of senior researchers affiliated with the institutes involved, a PhD candidate and a junior researcher will work on two subprojects and will be located with one or more consortium partners. These positions are open to artists and designers. Artistic research provides the methodological framework. Please follow the links below for more details regarding our vacancies:

The PhD Candidate will be responsible for the development of the subproject “The artist-researcher as critical maker in relation to digitization and new technologies and their impact on society”. This project problematizes and contextualizes the researcher’s (artist’s or designer’s) position as critical maker in relation to digitization, new technology and their impact on society. The PhD project will be part of the PhDArts programme of Leiden University.

Key responsibilities:
1. Completing a dissertation (written text and new artistic work)
2. Contributing to the two conferences organized by the research consortium
3. Contributing to the book prepared by the research consortium
4. Teaching and workshop activities in the context of the research project

The Junior Researcher will be responsible for the development of the subproject “Pushing the Boundaries of the Criticality of Making”. The central question will be: what are limitations and potentialities of criticality in creative practices? The project may be conducted as part of a PhD research project, in the framework of the PhDArts programme of Leiden University.

Key responsibilities:
1. Realizing and continuously documenting an artistic research project addressing the stipulated issues
2. Conducting a series of workshops with groups of Bachelor level art, design and technology students that introduce and practically explore the concept of Critical Making
3. Completing a visual and written project documentation and presenting the research at the two conferences organized by the research consortium.

Please review the admission requirements and application instructions carefully before beginning an application:

Job description & requirements position 1: PhD candidate (4 years, 1 fte): Here
Job description & requirements position 2: junior researcher (2 years, 0,4 fte): Here

Application deadline: 1/7/17.

The selection procedure will take place in July (week 27), and selected candidates will be invited for an interview in August/September (week 35). You are kindly requested to be available in this period.
For questions please contact: Lotte Betting, info@phdarts.eu