The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Practice-based Art Studies (PASS) will in the period 2023-28 build and consolidate a national research education and research development environment to create a connection and synergy between theoretical art historical research and the forms of applied, practice-based research and knowledge production that take place in the social and institutional networks of the art world. Based on an assumption of the transformative potential of art, PASS aims to investigate, qualify, and thereby promote the active role and influence of visual art in contemporary thinking and societal development.

We want to

  • aggregate and validate the knowledges that inform the ramified life of art in society and develop the capacities of applied, curatorial, and artistic practice-based research 
  • systematically include insights that stem from the field of practice-related knowledge production in the training of early-stage researchers in art studies and provide doctoral students with a better understanding of (and access to) the practices of the art world 
  • facilitate new partnerships and collaborations across the field and provide a dedicated platform for communication.

Funded by

The center is being established with a grant of DKK 25 million from the Novo Nordisk Foundation, 2023 - 2028.

The Center will create a framework for broad collaborations between important actors within the arts, and both young and established researchers will have the opportunity to meet and share knowledge across research fields. We expect that this will further strengthen art research and thus pave the way for new insight on the role of art in society.

 Berith Bjørnholm, Senior Vice President for Education & Outreach and head of the arts area at the Novo Nordisk Foundation