The research project “Creating Commons” explores interstitial practices which open the space between art and commons. They are challenging established notions of contemporary aesthetic practice as well as of contemporary commons, requiring the development of a new theoretical and aesthetic framework for this emerging field.
The framing questions for the research are:
– how can new forms of organization and collaboration bring forth different kinds of cultural works and social relations?
– how are new property relations articulated?
– how can artistic practices contribute to the further developement of the commons as inclusive, diverse and democratic forms of organization?
– what role can art and an expanded understanding of aesthetics play in the advancement of the commons as a political project?
We think these are urgent questions, because commons constitute constantly evolving realities pointing beyond the growing commercialization of culture and its damaging effects.
The research project is located at the Institute for Contemporary Art Research, Zurich University of the Arts, financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation (grant: # 100016_169419) and conducted in cooperation with HeK (House of Electronic Arts Basel).
Research is conducted by Felix Stalder, Cornelia Sollfrank and Shusha Niederberger. The project started in January 2017 and runs for 36 months.
