Institute for Contemporary Art Research
The Institute for Contemporary Art Research (IfCAR) is the research unit of the Department of Fine Arts at Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK).
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Institute
IfCAR stands for an integrated concept of art and research and promotes diverse practices of engagement with the worlds we live in. By focusing on the synergies between artistic, curatorial, and scientific approaches and collaborating with partners from wide-ranging contexts, the institute continuously negotiates how research can generate innovative perspectives on changing social, cultural, and political environments.
Research projects
IfCAR supports the implementation of third-party funded research projects at the DFA. Most of the projects are funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation and focus on specific contexts, phenomena, and social developments. The project leaders and their teams thus shape international discourses and advance methods from diverse artistic-scientific contexts through peer exchange.
IfCAR Projects
The IfCAR team is committed to an open and diverse research culture. The institute produces excellent contributions to the international research field and strengthens synergies between artistic, curatorial, and scholarly practices. Drawing on the perspectives and expertise of DFA members, an ongoing negotiation of art and research takes place at IfCAR that moves beyond existing notions of artistic research. The goal is to foster innovative research practices and initiate transformative processes in the face of changing social, cultural, and political conditions.
IfCAR Grants
Every year, the Research Board of IfCAR awards project grants to members of the department for the testing of process- and practice-oriented research interests. The funding is open to students, mid-level faculty, lecturers and professors and aims to develop new and innovative research approaches in the sense of "risky projects". IfCAR grantees present the outcome of their projects at the biannual DFA Research Colloquium.
PhD
The PhD program of the DFA is run in cooperation with international universities and accepts new applicants every two years. The program consists of a pre/doc and a PhD level. In the pre/doc stage, artists, curators and artistic researchers go through a structured process that supports their positioning in the academic field and the conceptualization of their research approach. Participants who successfully complete this process and matriculate as PhD candidates at a partner university move on to the DFA PhD group. The PhD group focuses on peer exchange and mutual support in the research process. All participants are supervised by members of the DFA, and the program is also part of the Transdisciplinary Artistic PhD Program of the ZHdK, in which all five departments are involved.
Publications
People
Head Office
Team
Research projects
IfCAR Grants
Research Board
Contact
Address:
Zurich University of the Arts
IFCAR Institute for Contemporary Art Research
Pfingstweidstrasse 96
P.O. Box
CH-8031 Zurich
Office: Room 6.C07
Institute coordination:
Minda Deol
Administrative Assistant
E-Mail
Tel. +41 (0) 43 446 61 01