Prof. Dr. Sebastian Matthias

The overarching aim of the collaboration between RIFS and Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences is to identify, examine, experiment with, and evaluate an "aesthetics of sustainability" situated within the tensions and interrelations of multiple parameters. The collaboration focuses on three PhD research projects within the continuing education programme Art as Social Practice, funded by the Crespo Foundation. These projects serve as case studies for investigating the transformative potential of artistic methods in the contexts of transformative processes through artistic methods, radical pedagogies, and social and political imaginaries.

The collaboration explores potential synergies between different forms of knowledge while also addressing the inevitable tensions and trade-offs that arise between them. With regard to the programme as a whole, the research examines not only the outputs and outcomes generated by the individual local projects but also their inherent process qualities, thereby contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of the role of artistic practice in sustainability transformations.