Organisational Imaginaries (2025-2028)

The construct “organisational imaginaries” which has been previously deployed within social theory and particularly in organisation studies. However, arguably it has not had the same level of development and focus as neighbouring constructs such as sociotechnical imaginaries. Within one of CAPIm’s intensives on Researching Imaginaries in Spring 2025, organisational imaginaries emerged as a key issue, especially through the conjunction of the presentations by Jason E. Bowman, Petra Johansson, Nuno Sacramento, Vincenzo Estremo, Cătălin Gheorghe, and Charles Esche. Each of these presentations touched upon the ways in which the infrastructural and organisational frames of artistic production and distribution were in themselves sites of creative agency and of the work of the imaginary. 

Building upon this development, we have initiated a range of educational and research activities under the heading “organisational Imaginaries”, working closely with several associated research projects and colleagues actively exploring different dimensions of organisation. Emerging from this we have initiated courses on “Distribution within Artistic Practice” led by Dr. Vincenzo Estremo with Dr. Michele Masucci (PhD, 2026) and “Self-Organisation in Contemporary Arts” (insert link to new page when created) led by Jason E. Bowman with Dr. Kerry Guinan (Masters, 2026). It also informs our collaboration with tranzit.ro/ Iași on the summer intensive “Imagined Organizations: Practices of Artistic Research Moving Across Semiperipheries” (2026). Other work associated with CAPIm that engages questions of organisation include: the “Curatorial Programme for Research 2026: (Self) Organization in North Africa“ and the research strand “On the Role of Editorial practices and Small-scale Presses in Artistic Research.” (insert link to new page when created).

A key strand within this work on organisation is the collaboration with Public Art Agency Sweden on an ambitious programme in conjunction with the Contemporary Arts Days 2026 on “Artists’ Organising in Times of Upheaval” (2026-2027).  We are also currently working in partnership with L’Internationale and the Business Design Lab on a series of case studies and a book project for release in 2027 that attempts to further develop the construct of organisational imaginaries through a series of empirical studies. 

Future events will be listed on our Events page.