The webinar Art as a Contact Zone: Choreography of Artistic Research and Transformation, organized by the Contemporary Dance Department at Arkin University of Creative Arts and Design (ARUCAD), was held with academic Dr. Derya Yüksek and moderated by Sen. Ins. Bekir Şimşek.
Held at BA SPE03, the seminar explored art as a contact zone where bodies, ideas and experiences intersect, focusing on how choreography can function not only as an aesthetic practice but also as a method of inquiry, knowledge production and transformation. Drawing from her research and artistic practice, Dr. Yüksek addressed how artistic research develops through movement, observation, experience and relationality, while highlighting contemporary dance’s engagement with interdisciplinary modes of thinking.
Throughout the seminar, the transformative potential of art was discussed through the concept of the “contact zone” in relation to body, space, culture and social relations, emphasizing choreography as a research-based and critical practice beyond performance-making. Dr. Yüksek also shared reflections on observation, experimental production, moments of rupture and exchange as essential components of creative transformation.
Enriched through interactive exercises and a Q&A session with students, the event offered participants an experiential and critical space for reflecting on body-mind awareness, movement as knowledge production, and research-oriented approaches in contemporary dance.
