konS ≡ the Platform for Contemporary Investigative Arts is an open and evolving structure that seeks to establish links between communities, knowledge institutions, research centers and the economy at a systemic level, with all parties interested in co-creating a sustainable, safer and more ethical future in a dynamic, constantly changing world.
Efforts to establish an active network of research, production and justification of better conditions for research, development and realization of contemporary research art projects, brought together nine partners – NGOs, art producers, tactical media, public cultural centers and the Academy of Arts on the diagonal of Eastern and Western Cohesion Region: Kersnikova, Projekt Atol, Aksioma, Ljudmila, Cona, all from Ljubljana, and the University of Nova Gorica – Academy of Arts, Youth Center Velenje, LokalPatriot Novo mesto and MKC Maribor.
The content and structure of the newly established konS network is shared by a common vision: the establishment of capacity-building hubs where different audiences can be empowered to critically use new technologies (konS ≡ PARK), art research laboratories across the country that enable the production of contemporary research arts (konS ≡ NOVA) and the Laboratory for Speculative Innovation for Translating Farsighted Artistic Ideas and Inventions into Innovations for the Advancement of the Social Environment in Europe (konS ≡ PRACTICE).
Vision
We create an environment in which the activities of contemporary research art have good and stable conditions for functioning in the ecosystem of stakeholders from education, science, entrepreneurship and industry, which is recognized and supported by national and international policies. We achieve this in the following ways:
- we establish systemic connections that enable the recognition and inclusion of contemporary research art as a key stakeholder in social processes that create a better tomorrow;
- we encourage working conditions that enable sustainable operation in the field of contemporary research art and the development of larger-scale projects;
- we build mechanisms for inter-ministerial integration of policies that include contemporary research art in their core activities;
- we establish mechanisms that enable the economy and other social activities to access visionary technological and social innovations;
- we connect into important European and international networks and prepare initiatives for the formulation of policies in the field of contemporary research art in contemporary society.
Our vision is to establish a research and development and engineering-design platform that will create conditions on the market for sustainable co-financing of arts and at the same time institutions for transversal educational activities in the field of contemporary research arts, science and technology at all levels.