Solidarity as a form of imagination

Artistic research between the personal, the political, and the communal

This dossier features submissions in which artistic research invites alternative ways of collaborating, coexisting, and imagining – contributing to broader political and societal transformations. The dossier starts from the idea that collectivity is a practice of mutual support, shared responsibility, and generous trust.

In a time of imperialist violence, increasing polarization, and rising fascism, we ask: In what ways does artistic research engage with urgent societal issues that demand immediate response and solidarity? This dossier explores the societal urgency, socially engaged and activist potential of artistic research, as well as the ethical and moral frameworks within which it operates: Who takes responsibility, for what or for whom, and under what conditions? We are curious about artistic practices that reveal a political layer in the ways of imagining, producing, and distributing – based on values such as sharing, care, and independence – and which can work toward artistic and alternative economic ways of being and organizing.

Central questions:

How can collective forms of artistic research extend beyond individual knowledge production? How can we, in times of urgency, transform the slow temporality of research into a strength rather than view it as a limitation? How can collective artistic research practices transform institutional structures into spaces of shared responsibility and political imagination? How do we prevent institutional logic from undermining the urgency of societal engagement, and instead strengthen its social potential?

Possible themes in this dossier (non-exhaustive):

• Ethics as a collective practice
  
• Redistribution of solidarity
  
• Activism and urgency
  
• Undercommons
  
• Artistic research as testimony
  
• Relational practices
  
• Slowness as resistance
  
• Political imagination
  
• Radical pedagogy
  
• Self-organization
  
• Communal knowledge production
  
• Regeneration and repair
  
• Alternative futures

The editorial board of FORUM+ welcomes contributions in Dutch or English (max. 6000 words, including a margin for review). Proposals are submitted by email to redactie@forum-online.be. They will subsequently be subject to peer review. Author guidelines and an article template can be downloaded at www.forum-online.be/publiceer-in-forum.

The first deadline for submission to this dossier is 1 January 2027, but contributions toward this dossier can also be submitted afterwards for a future issue.