ARTIS - Art and Research on Transformations of Individuals and Societies
The project Art*is – Art and Research on Transformations of Individuals and Societies (2020–2025), funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme, was a unique collaborative effort that explored and empirically documented both individual and collective transformations triggered by the transformative power of art.
The project was grounded in the premise that advancing cultural policies aimed at fostering a broader impact of the arts requires a systematic programme that integrates empirical and theoretical research with the perspectives of artists, art educators, and other cultural actors.
Methodologically, the project contributed to the integration of cutting-edge empirical approaches from psychology, neuroscience, and phenomenology. These were used to identify specific types of aesthetic experiences and to explore how such experiences correlate with changes on the individual level (neurocognitive, emotional, health-related) as well as on the societal level (pro-social and political attitudes). Research was conducted in leading museums and urban centers across Europe – including Savvy Contemporary, the Albertina Museum, the Venice Biennale, and the Gallery of Matica Srpska – as well as in participants’ homes and workplaces.
At the same time, the empirical findings were contextualized and critically examined through theoretical lenses drawn from philosophy, political science, and art criticism, establishing a dynamic dialogue between field data and conceptual frameworks. This theoretical-empirical focus was further enriched through a series of artistic interventions, experiments, and workshops co-designed by artists, art schools, and exhibition spaces, testing the capacity of art to act as a vehicle for social transformation across different contexts.
The insights generated through these interwoven processes were ultimately translated into actionable policy recommendations, developed and advocated by the project team in cooperation with cultural institutions and key stakeholders in the fields of arts and education.
In addition to the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, the Art*is project brought together a diverse consortium of higher education institutions and research organizations working in the fields of social sciences, art history, philosophy, pedagogy, and cultural policy. The consortium included: the University of Vienna (Austria), the University of Amsterdam (Netherlands), Humboldt University of Berlin (Germany), Aarhus University (Denmark), the Weißensee Academy of Art Berlin (Germany), Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, University of London (United Kingdom), the Interdisciplinary Forum NeuroUrbanism in Berlin (Germany), and the University of Oxford (United Kingdom).
The Faculty of Dramatic Arts was represented by the research team from the Department of Cultural Management and Production: Prof. Emerita Dr. Milena Dragićević Šešić, Prof. Dr. Irena Ristić, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ljiljana Rogač Mijatović, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nina Mihaljinac, Dr. Ksenija Marković Božović (Research Associate), Dr. Tatjana Nikolić (Research Associate), and Milan Đorđević, MA (Teaching Assistant). The FDA team led the work package titled Policy, Exploitation, Communication, Outreach, in collaboration with other partners. The main objective of this work package was to ensure broad dissemination and policy impact of the Art*is project results, including: the development of communication strategies and stakeholder engagement frameworks, the presentation of findings through conferences, symposia and exhibitions, the formulation of evidence-based policy recommendations, strategic liaison with decision-makers and cultural institutions, and the creation of curricula and online tools for arts education.
Based on five years of interdisciplinary research conducted within the Art*is project, the FDA team produced the document Policy Briefs to the Directorate General for Research and Innovation, which was officially presented on January 22, 2025, at a policy roundtable with representatives of the European Commission and other key decision-makers at the EU level. The document synthesizes findings and formulates recommendations across four thematic policy areas:
1. Art for Well-being and Societal Transformation: This section emphasizes the role of the arts in public health and social cohesion, highlighting the transformative potential of artistic experiences to enhance mental health, empower marginalized groups, and foster collective responsibility. The recommendations advocate for integrating artistic practices into urban planning, educational programs, and public health interventions—through artist residencies, art therapy initiatives, and support for museums as spaces for emotional and cultural dialogue.
2. Evidence-based and Transdisciplinary Approaches in Arts and Culture: This framework calls for transdisciplinary cultural research that brings together psychology, philosophy, neuroscience, cultural studies, and artistic practice. Recommendations include the development of innovative research methodologies, the creation of both qualitative and quantitative indicators to measure the impact of the arts, and the integration of the arts into European frameworks such as Horizon Europe, Creative Europe, and the New European Bauhaus.
3. Access, Empowerment, and Cultural Inclusion: This section addresses structural inequalities in access to culture, with particular focus on rural communities, migrants, persons with disabilities, and other excluded groups. It recommends supporting inclusive cultural institutions, establishing long-term employment opportunities for artists within public institutions (GLAM), developing public spaces for art, and ensuring fair distribution of digital cultural content while addressing algorithmic bias and safeguarding cultural rights.
4. Changing Attitudes Through Art and Education: This segment underlines the importance of aesthetic education as a key component in fostering empathy, creativity, and critical thinking. The recommendations call for integrating arts into EU education policies, developing curricula focused on emotional and aesthetic intelligence, supporting youth mobility through Erasmus+, and creating programs that use art to counter xenophobia and social segregation.
The policy recommendations are grounded in over twenty empirical studies conducted across museums and public spaces in Europe, as well as in the analysis of the long-term effects of artistic experience on attitudes, health, body perception, behavior, and values. The report also includes concrete proposals for reforming criteria for public cultural funding, integrating the arts into health policies, building new mechanisms for citizen participation in cultural policymaking, and driving structural transformations in the cultural sector to enhance equity and sustainability.
From June 25 to 28, 2024, the Faculty of Dramatic Arts (FDA) hosted the final scientific conference of the Art*is project, titled Contemporary Art: Museums and Public Spaces as Platforms for New Encounters. The four-day program brought together artists, curators, researchers, and representatives of museums and galleries to exchange experiences and critically examine the transformative potential of art in public space and within institutional frameworks.
On the first day of the conference, June 25, a public debate titled Urban Aesthetics, Art, and the Public Realm was held in the ceremonial hall of the University of Arts Rectorate. The discussion raised questions about the relationship between contemporary art, public space, and social reception. It explored art as a factor in urban well-being and the ways in which artistic interventions can transform the perception of the city, contributing to mental health, inclusion, and the everyday experience of public space. In the afternoon, artists and researchers gathered at the Cvijeta Zuzorić Art Pavilion for a panel discussion on The Role of Artists in Museum Education Programs. The conversation highlighted the importance of collaboration between museum educators and artists, particularly in developing inclusive programs for diverse social groups.
On June 26, the scientific discussion continued with the panel Museum Studies: Network Modeling, Psychological Mechanisms, Outcomes, where findings from the Art*is research were presented regarding individual psychological experiences of art in museum settings – what triggers a sense of transformation, and how museums can better respond to the needs of diverse audiences. A valuable contribution to the discussion was made by museum professionals and representatives of leading cultural institutions in Serbia, who shared experiences related to curatorial challenges in inclusive programming, the role of emotions in museum experiences, and the need for structural changes in audience development strategies.
In the final days of the conference, a two-part exhibition titled Passage in the Salon and Other Places of Encounter between Art and Life was held. This exhibition was the result of collaboration between the Art*is research team and self-organized groups of marginalized artists – namely, the collective Pleme F20 and the group Bitlsti (individuals with developmental disabilities who work within the Autonomous Cultural Center Matrijaršija in Belgrade). The first part of the exhibition opened on June 25 at the Oto Bihalji-Merin Salon, a former private and working space transformed into a gallery, while the second part opened on June 27 at the Street Gallery, located in a public passageway in the center of Belgrade.
The theme of the exhibition explores the boundaries between art and life, the visible and invisible exhibition space, and poses the question: where and how can we encounter art that was not created with the intention of being exhibited? In this sense, the conference contributed to a deeper understanding of artistic practices that develop beyond the reach of institutional culture but hold the power to provoke profound personal and social change.
The project results were presented at numerous international conferences and platforms, ensuring wide visibility and scholarly validation of the research conducted by the Faculty of Dramatic Arts team. At the UNESCO Conference on Education in Culture, Professor Emerita Dr. Milena Dragićević Šešić delivered a keynote lecture on the importance of aesthetic education for the development of empathy and social connectedness. At the ENCATC Conference in Lecce (Italy, September 2024), Dr. Nina Mihaljinac, Dr. Ksenija Marković Božović, and PhD candidate Milan Đorđević presented parts of the Art*is research on the transformative effects of art in museum and urban contexts.
In November 2024, Dr. Nina Mihaljinac gave a keynote speech at a conference in Vienna titled “Disruption and Rebuilding of Collaborative Practices in Arts”, analyzing the conditions and challenges of artistic collaboration in post-crisis societies. During a working visit to Kunstverein, a prominent cultural institution in Hanover, Dr. Ljiljana Rogač Mijatović presented the project’s results and initiated discussions on potential forms of further cooperation and knowledge transfer. Back in November 2022, PhD candidate Milan Đorđević took part in an international Art*is aestheticians’ workshop held within the framework of the Venice Biennale, contributing to empirical research conducted across several exhibition venues, including the Pavilion of the Republic of Serbia.
The insights and experiences of the Art*is project were not confined within a single research structure, but rather continued the long-standing work of the Faculty of Dramatic Arts team in critically examining the role of art in society. Work on this project was successively or continuously connected with other interdisciplinary and transnational initiatives in which researchers and educators from the Department of Management and Production have participated – such as EPICA – Empowering Participation in Culture and Architecture, which explored the notion of the commons and the activation of cultural infrastructure within communities, or Stronger Peripheries: A Southern Coalition, which challenged cultural hegemony and centralization in the European cultural system.
The experiences gained through Art*is are also in direct dialogue with the SHAKIN’ – Sharing Subaltern Knowledge through International Cultural Collaborations project, which focuses on marginalized knowledge and alternative models of cultural cooperation, as well as with several COST Actions in which team members actively contributed to the development of new methodological and policy approaches to culture and education.
The outcomes and insights of the project were also integrated into the pedagogical practice of the team, through the inclusion of selected findings, methodological approaches, and examples of empirical research in course units on cultural management, cultural policy, and international cultural relations.
