DC+CMI

The Visual Culture and Curating Laboratory (VCC Lab) of the University of Thessaly responds to the contemporaneous needs of research on issues concerning the intersection of curatorial practices with visual cultural studies. The mission of the VCC Lab is to become a place of research and education in issues related to the development of exhibition proposals with an emphasis on socially engaged art, artistic and inter-artistic research, as well as cultural mediation. These are areas that are at the state of the art research, precisely because they connect academic cultural research with society with social and productive agencies in the context of the creative economy. VCC Lab’s aim is to support and create primary production in the cultural and creative sectors and to strengthen its circulation both locally and internationally, as well as the creation of formal and non-formal education networks and bridges. Aim is to develop strategies concerning the public space, participation, collectivity, performativity as well as to advance different models that allow the meeting of art and politics. They can operate in an interdisciplinary context as well as within different social spaces, contributing, in this way, in the essential interconnection of art with society. The long-term goal of the VCC Lab is to empower professionals in culture, but also citizens through the development of dialogue between the public and cultural and artistic issues, the promotion of social inclusion and cohesion through the strengthening of the democratic operation of cultural institutions and the emergence and research of new professional possibilities, know-how and skills in the context of the contemporary post-industrial condition.

The VCC Lab is aimed more broadly at those interested in exploring the perspectives but also the limitations within the framework of curatorial, artistic, cultural, social and political practices. The creation of the VCC Lab will contribute to the recognition of the Department of Culture and Creative Media and Industries at a national and international level through the development of innovative research in fields that the Department serves. They are at the cutting edge of research, as well as the relevant education of students with the aim of broadening professional perspectives of the Department’s graduates in today’s labor market.

Based on the above, the VCC Lab has the following objectives:

1. the coverage and support of the teaching and research needs of students (undergraduates, postgraduates & doctoral candidates), researchers (doctors and postdoctoral fellows) and the teaching staff in general of the Department of Culture and Creative Media and Industries
2. the interconnection of academic research with the economy and society through the development of partnerships with social, cultural and productive entities based on specific research programs and partnerships in areas related to the interests of the VCC Lab
3. cooperation with laboratories, research centers or institutions of higher education of the country or abroad, as long as the scientific objectives coincide, go hand in hand and complement each other with those of the VCC Lab
4. the formation of research groups consisting of students (undergraduates, postgraduates & doctoral candidates), researchers (doctors and postdoctoral fellows) and teachers of the Department of Culture and Creative Media and Industries and/or foundation or institutions of higher education of the country and/or abroad for the promotion of studies and research in thematic areas related to the interests of the VCC Lab
5. the undertaking of research projects and programs, autonomously or in collaboration with laboratories, research centers or or institutions of higher education of the country or abroad, as long as the scientific objectives coincide, go hand in hand and complement each other with those of the VCC Lab
6. the organization of scientific lectures, workshops, seminars, symposia, conferences, winter/summer schools and educational activities with the participation of local and/or foreign scientists and researchers in thematic areas related to the interests of the VCC Lab
7. to serve educational, research and social needs of any kind if the assistance of the VCC Lab is requested by persons (natural or legal of any kind), bodies (public and/or private, social, scientific or professional) and institutions of higher education of the country and abroad
8. to support the preparation of doctoral studies and postdoctoral research
9. the development of publishing activity in printed and electronic form in thematic areas related to the interests of the VCC Lab
10. the contribution to the creation and promotion at domestic and international level of dynamic primary material (works, projects, research literature, etc.) such as through, for example, translations, networking with international journals, creation of competitive scientific articles, creation of promotion possibilities of research in different geographical and linguistic environments
11. the creation and constant updating of a website with information on the structure, the target location, the logistical equipment, the printed/electronic material (e.g. books), the staff and the activities (of any kind) of the VCC Lab
12. the creation of a thematic library concerning the research objects of the VCC Lab
13. the promotion of the work of the laboratory by any appropriate means.