During the past three years of working on the Journal for Artistic Research, we continuously asked ourselves how we may want to negotiate the artistic and academic poles of the debate on artistic research. Fuelled by ideological interests and distorted by economics, this debate has yet to deliver a critical foundation to the kinds of practices we are interested in. As a consequence, we decided to help digging those foundations by supporting concrete projects rather than simply voicing our own expectations.

Welcome to JAR1, the first open submission and peer-reviewed issue of the Journal for Artistic Research. JAR remains a work-in-progress, and with this issue we introduce two major enhancements to the journal: a dedicated and open peer-reviewing process and an upgraded publication platform (the Research Catalogue) that is easier to use than its predecessor and enhanced with an initial set of social media functions.

The publication of this inaugural issue of the Journal for Artistic Research (JAR) coincides with a moment at which the term ‘artistic research’ has become ubiquitous. For some, this moment represents success, since, particularly in institutional environments, the production of objects, events or concepts is starting to lose its grip on the less tangible, intellectual and open-ended requirements of practice. For others this moment is viewed less favourably and represents an erosion of art’s perceived autonomy and efficacy.