Academy of Creative and Performing Arts (ACPA)

Impact and Relevance

Below some examples of ACPA projects that have a meaningful impact on arts and society. This page will be refreshed every now and then with other projects that exhibit how arts research bears upon our perception, our understanding, and our relationship to the world and other people.

Statement on societal relevance of research at ACPA

The question of the societal relevance of research at ACPA has as many answers as researchers. Some research forms a link between artistic practice and its audience, or has a tangible and/or potential impact in terms of public policy, health or education, while other research is primarily directed towards an audience within the academic and artistic community – which, it should perhaps be stressed, is also part of society, and a part which could be seen as increasingly marginalised.

All of these approaches should be viewed as complementary: research is both driven by a vision of its potential impact, and by the conviction that the relevance of arts and humanities research is expressed by their addressing fundamental questions of what it is to be human, and by their prioritising critical thought and understanding.

ACPA promotes this complementarity among the staff/student community in the way that we investigate, in and through artistic practice, who we are and how we relate to the world and to other people.

Making Matters. Collective Material Practices in Critical Times

The NWO-funded research project Critical Making, a collaboration between several educational and art institutions, engages with practices that cross the disciplinary boundaries of art, design, engineering and technological making, and (artistic) social intervention. Read more

Doesn't Play Well With Others

What are the socio-political implications of performing Johannes Brahms's chamber music in 19th-century style? This project explores prickly resonances between socio-political currents that Brahms abhorred and modern ultra-Romantic revivalist movements in political, literary and musical spheres. Read more

MOOC – The Importance and Power of Music in Our Society

Launched in 2017, The Importance and Power of Music in Our Society is an open online course, taught by Professor of Auditory Culture Marcel Cobussen and music philosopher Hafez Ismaïli M’hamdi and accessible to anyone with an internet connection. This MOOC provides a thorough introduction to the various ways in which music and society are connected through engaging lectures, insightful interviews, challenging assignments, interesting readings, and of course a lot of musical examples. Read more