In the last two decades there has been an ongoing debate about the role of art and design practices in the field of academic research. In this discussion the process of making and the artefact created during art and design practice are conceived to have a central position in the research process. The new approach has recently been internationally applied, discussed and argued over in the broad field of art - including dance, theatre, music, architecture, fine arts and design. In recent discussion these attempts have been labelled practice based - or practice-led -research. The anthology at hand will bring out the diverse discussion around the concept of practice-led approach and the central questions it poses in the field of visual arts and design.

The articles address connections built between various art and research practices. It also problematises the double position of an artist-researcher i.e. what happens to an artist when s/he enters to the field of research?This anthology contributes to the topical discussion through exploring possibilities, reporting cases, forming programmes and making philosophical analyses. All of these contributions are deeply based on practice-led research already conducted and evaluated to meet the academic requirements set for a doctoral dissertation.