We are an interdisciplinary research group using practices of art, design, and craft as vehicles of inquiry. 

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We nurture a rigorous but open-minded research environment that accommodates diverse ways of being, knowing, and doing. By adopting the attitude of a craftsperson, we value the operational role of subjective and situated experiences in our various investigative processes. Each member brings along a set of personal, cultural, and disciplinary qualities that form the building blocks of the plural perspective prevailing in the group.

Central to Empirica’s approach is the reflexive character of creative practice, which becomes an important tool to challenge ourselves and others not only creatively but also intellectually. Documentation and reflection are thus essential in rendering our personal knowledge open, transparent, and explicit. Without limiting ourselves to disciplinary boundaries or topics, we persistently develop our art of research by theorizing, experimenting, prototyping, speculating, and (re)inventing ways to investigate empirical phenomena.

The group’s current research foci include making and materiality, creative practices and pedagogies, and world-making processes that extend beyond individual agencies to encompass multiple modes of social and environmental co-existence. These lines of inquiry allow us to openly invite different collaborators and promote a critical approach to knowledge production through diverse research formats. By communicating our research via articles, workshops, seminars, and exhibitions, we aim to cultivate an inclusive mindset and share our philosophy with various publics.

Empirica operates in the Department of Design at Aalto University (School of Arts, Design and Architecture).

Contact: Professor Maarit Mäkelä, maarit.makela@aalto.fi