“Artistic intelligence” : harnessing the power of the arts to address complex challenges, enhance soft skills and boost innovation and competitiveness

Expected Outcome: Proposals should contribute to the first two expected outcomes, and either the one listed under Focus 1, or the one listed under Focus 2. The potential of art-science and/or technology collaborations to address societal challenges and drive innovation is better understood. Guidance, toolkits, and actionable methodologies are developed to promote these collaborations, providing policymakers, professionals, and training organisations with clarity on intervention scope, applicability across various fields, and evaluation methods, metrics, or tools. New and existing national, European or international networks for art-science-technology collaborations are established or strengthened, expanding opportunities for artists to engage with science and technology. Focus 1 Approaches, methodologies and model interventions for integrating arts and creative practices to enhance soft skills across public and private sectors are developed, tested and disseminated. Focus 2 The effectiveness of critical artists’ engagement in interdisciplinary teams is demonstrated alongside the assessment of the viability of research-intensive emerging technologies through at least three low technology readiness level (TRL) pilot demonstrators. Scope: Artistic research fosters inter-, multi-, and trans-disciplinary thinking, inspiring innovative problem-solving and offering new avenues for innovation across policy areas, akin to scientific research. EU initiatives such as SciArt and S+T+ARTS [1] show that art-science-technology collaborations enhance scientific and technological progress. Art acts as a catalyst for innovation, developing creative solutions to complex challenges and brings fresh perspectives to the scientific community. Artistic research is increasingly fostering mutual fertilization between the arts and academia. Collaboration with artists leads academics to adopt experimental practices, while artists increasingly engage with theoretical aspects of their practice. Closer collaboration between artists and companies in emerging technologies ensures that technological developments are guided by diverse, human-centred perspectives. Artistic research offers cross-disciplinary insights that challenge conventional thinking, spark innovation beyond technical efficiency, and address societal challenges holistically. Furthermore, artistic intelligence [2] makes complex concepts accessible and engages audiences emotionally and culturally. Artistic expression facilitates the adoption of innovative concepts and practices and catalyses social innovation, supporting s…