Research

HEAD – Genève organises its research activities (research projects, conferences, publications, exhibitions, colloquiums and round-table discussions) in the Research Institute for Art and Design (IRAD). Led by a small team that coordinates and manages the administrative side, these activities are developed within the school’s various courses, based on the initiatives of the teaching staff. This proximity between teaching and research ensures constant discussions that gradually include MA students in a research dynamic that some might pursue with postgraduate studies.

See all research projects

Head of Department

Anthony Masure

Assistants

Christelle Granite-Noble

Network of Expertise in Design and Visual Arts – HES SO

General information
HEAD – Genève is a member of the Network of Expertise in Design and Visual Arts (RCDAV) of HES SO. The network’s scientific committee, led by HES SO’s Board of the Faculty of Design and Visual Arts defines, coordinates and manages the research activities on a regional level in Western Switzerland. It consists of the six schools which are members of the Board of the Faculty of Design and Visual Arts: The Conservation-Restoration Department of the Haute Ecole Arc (HECR Arc) in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Lausanne University of Art and Design (ECAL), Ecole de design et haute école d’art du Valais (EDHEA) in Sierre and HEAD – Genève, Geneva School of Art and Design. Together with the Board, the scientific committee defines the strategy, goals and content of research and training programmes in Design and Visual Arts in Western Switzerland, drawing on the expertise of professional, economic, cultural and institutional stakeholders.

Organisation

The scientific committee of the RCDAV consists of six members appointed for two years.

Davide Fornari (ECAL)
Patrick Keller (ECAL)
Anthony Masure (HEAD–Genève)
Alexandra Midal (HEAD–Genève)
Jelena Martinovic (EDHEA)
Agnès Gelbert Miermon (HE-ARC Conservation Restauration)

Missions

In global terms, the RCDAV ensures complementarity between projects and consistency in their general strategy. It contributes to improving the research skills of its member schools. It supports projects that help consolidate research teams and develop the acquisition and transmission of new knowledge and skills in emerging fields. The RCDAV actively promotes collaboration between institutions, skills groups and researchers from universities, and favours cross-disciplinary projects.

Finally, the RCDAV provides financial support for research. Indeed, on a regional level, researchers from member schools apply to the HES SO Fund, which is managed by the RCDAV. It finances research projects in design and visual arts and project proposals (enabling students to draft an SNF project).

- Deadlines to submit projects have been set for 1 March and 1 October.
- Applicants may submit one project and one proposal at a time.

Research at national level

Researchers have several possibilities to support the research effort: projects, publications, colloquiums, international workshops as well as career development.
For more information, please visit the website of the University of Geneva, which gives an overview of the various types of support as well as the HES SO’s AR&D pages
In the field of art and design, some foundations may also be willing to support research. See Promotion culturelle.

At national level, researchers at HEAD-Genève will mainly apply to two support funds:

- The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) is one of the main institutions that promotes research in Switzerland. The SNF’s main activity consists in assessing project requests. The SNF includes five promotional tools:
Research projects
Careers (it supports young talent, from PhD dissertation to teaching assistant, for example through study abroad scholarships)
Programmes
Infrastructure (funding for research infrastructure when it is vital to the implementation of research projects)
Scientific communication (publications, meetings, seminars, conferences and communication projects)

- The Swiss Innovation Agency (Innosuisse), the Swiss Confederation's innovation promotion agency, also provides significant support. Innosuisse specifies three areas of support:
Encouragement for projects: In this context, the agency co-finances joint research and development projects between companies, public bodies, non-profit entities and public research institutions
The creation of start-ups: Innosuisse makes researchers aware of entrepreneurship and provides support to create a company or set up an organisation
The transfer of knowledge and technology (promotion of the transfer of knowledge and techniques between universities and companies in order to foster innovation projects and start-up ideas.

For project application procedures, please contact Anne-Catherine Sutermeister.

Research networks in Switzerland

Backed by teachers who enjoy the intellectual challenge, research projects began in the early 2000s. In 2003, the heads of Swiss design schools founded the Swiss Design Network (SDN), followed by the Society of Artistic Research (SAR) in 2010 and finally, the Swiss Artistic Research Network (SARN) in 2011.

- Swiss Design Network (SDN), Swiss competence network of design research, secretariat located in Bern

- Society of Artistic Research (SAR), Non-profit organisation for artistic research, based in Zurich

- Swiss Artistic Research Network (SARN), Platform for the coordination and communication of artistic research activities of Switzerland’s art schools, secretariat located in Geneva.

Deadlines for project submission

To submit research projects
HES-SO: March 1st and September 15
FNS: April 1st and October 1st
Innosuisse: On a monthly basis. For exact dates follow this link

To submit an esquisse
An esquisse allows to finance the writing of a research project
deposit at least one month before the deposit of the project to FNS, Innosuisse or a fondation
HES-SO: March 1st and September 15

PhD programm at HEAD - Genève

Conditions

At the moment, universities of applied sciences, a category which includes universities of art and design, cannot award doctorates. However, various options are possible to support the writing of a PhD dissertation at a School of Art. On one hand, partnerships with Swiss universities may be developed, while on the other, collaborations with art schools abroad that are authorised to award PhDs may also be encouraged. In order for these theses to be developed in close coordination with HEAD – Genève’s specific teaching and topics, the school encourages the development of an official partnership between an organisation—foreign or Swiss—authorised to award a doctorate and a professorship at HEAD.

HEAD – EPFL Convention

In 2016 HEAD—Genève initiated an agreement to cooperate with the EDAR (Architecture & Sciences of the City at EPFL) PhD programme from the Doctoral School of EPFL. In a context where the increasingly complex relationship between form and use challenges both systems of representation inherited from the 20^th century and the division of tasks between analysis, creation and application, HEAD and EDAR have decided to work together to develop innovative types of research that combine fundamental research with the critical and creative open-mindedness of artistic work.

The aim is to promote a “research through art and design” option in the field of urban research at EDAR in order to welcome PhD students from art and design faculties. EDAR EPFL will thus be able to supplement its choice of courses with a specialisation based on artistic creation as an area of work, or a working model for a PhD thesis that would meet EPFL’s academic requirements. More specifically, the agreement aims to invite applications for two doctoral assistant positions each year: Hired as assistants at HEAD – Genève, the PhD students are given time to write the thesis over four years, in parallel with their part-time position. The doctoral assistants work on their theses within the context of the EDAR doctoral programme. They take part in the courses and study under the joint supervision of an academic staff member from HEAD – Genève in order to gain a doctorate from EPFL.

In this context, EDAR EPFL undertakes to develop ad hoc PhD courses focused on themed research areas based on artistic expression and design, by developing an EPFL EDAR training course for teachers at HEAD – Genève.

Open positions

Please consult the list of HEAD - Genève job offers for open PhD positions

Links

ELIA, The European League of Institutes of the Arts, independent network organisation for higher arts education, based in The Netherlands

Cumulus International Association of Universities and Colleges of Art, Design and Media, global association for art and design research and education, secretariat located in Finland

Design Research Society, international and multidisciplinary learned society for design research community, registered in Scotland

Deustche Gesellschaft für Design theorie und forschung e.V., nonprofit organization for design issues, based in Berlin

European artistic research (EARN), share and exchange knowledge and experience in artistic research, registered in Helsinki and Dublin

Institut für Künstlerische Forschung, independent research institute, based in Berlin

Research Through Design (RDT), Conference series website

Organisation/networks

Reviews/newspapers

ART&DESIGN
Journal of Art and Research, revue de recherche en ligne d'art et de culture contemporaine, Glasgow School of Art, Angleterre
JAR: Journal for artistic research, revue de recherche en ligne d'art et de design, Universités suisses, Suisse
Working papers in art and design, revue de recherche en art et en design, Université d'Hertfordshire, Angleterre
Parse Journal Platform for Artistic Research, Sweden
Revue Faire, Bimonthly critical publication dedicated to the analysis of Graphic Design

ART
Central Asian Journal of Art Studies, revue de recherche d'art et de culture contemporaine,Т. Zhurgenov Kazakh National Academy of Arts, Kazakhstan
Crossings, journal de recherche d'art et technologie, Trinity College, Dublin, Irlande
Ctheory, revue de recherche international de théorie, technologie et culture, Université de Victoria, Victoria, Canada
Drain magazine, revue de recherche en ligne sur la théorie et la praxis dans la culture contemporaine, Universités américaines et canadiennes
e-flux journal, revue de recherche en ligne sur l'art et la culture contemporaine, New York, Etats-Unis
emaj: online journal of art, revue de recherche en ligne d'histoire de l'art, Melbourne, Australie
Invisible culture: an electronic journal for visual culture, revue de recherche en ligne sur l'art et la culture contemporaine, Université de Rochester, Etats-Unis
Seismopolite: journal of art and politics, revue de recherche d'art et de culture contemporaine, Oslo, Norvège

DESIGN
Communication Design, Interdisciplinary and Graphic Design Research, revue de recherche en design et communication visuelle, Montréal, Québec, Canada
Design Issues, revue de recherche en design, MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Etats-Unis
Design studies, revue de recherche en design, Université anglaises, Angleterre
International Journal of design, revue internationale de recherche en design, Universités internationales, National Taiwan University, Taipei, De Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, Eindhoven
Journal of Design Research, revue de recherche en design, Universités internationales
Journal of Design and Science, revue de recherche en ligne en design et science, MIT Media Lab, Cambridge, Etats-Unis
Journal of the Design Studies Forum, revue de recherche en design, Universités américaines, New York, Etats-Unis
La revue du design, revue de design, Paris, France
Sciences du design, revue de recherche en design, PUF, Universités suisses et françaises, Nantes, Nîmes, Genève
The Journal of Sustainable Product Design, revue de recherche en ligne en design, Dordrecht, Pays-Bas
Azimut, réflexion et d'échanges sur les enjeux actuels du design, par les étudiants du post-diplôme de l'École des beaux-arts de Saint-Etienne, France

DESIGN/FASHION
Fashion Practice, The Journal of Design, Creative Process and the Fashion Industry, revue de recherche en mode, Universités internationales, London College of Fashion, Londres, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
Textile Research Journal, revue de recherche en textile et mode, Universités internationales, Los Angeles, Londres, New Delhi, Singapour et Washington DC

UPLOADING DOCUMENTS
Les défis de la recherche en Art et en Design en Suisse. Un cas d’école : la HEAD – Genève.
Article sur la Recherche HES dans la tribune de Genève
Qualité d’auteur des publications scientifiques – Analyse et recommandations
L’intégrité dans la recherche scientifique - Principes de bases et procédures

Where to find us

Research Institute in Art & Design (IRAD)
New Campus HEAD
HEAD – Genève
Building E
Avenue de Châtelaine 5, 1203 Genève

Isis Fahmy and Benoît Renaudin, Kairo[s] project 2016
© Isis Fahmy, La Manufacture - Haute école des arts de la scène and Benoît Renaudin, HEAD – Genève

Drawing of a photogram of the "Doris and Gregory" film, illustrating Ray L. Birdwhistell's text "A Kinesic-Iinguistic Exercise." An Excerpt From The Cigarette Scene, in The Natural History of an Interview (Norman ed.) A. McQuown), 1971, unpublished
© Leloup

Colony of Artists of Nida, Lithuania, s.d.
© archive photography from Yael Vishnizki Levi's research on Nida's political and cultural history

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