Study day: Under the influence of art and spirituality

The tension between ecstasy and academic research

As part of Artefact 2023, which examines the influence of other states of consciousness, we question in this discussion what Western researchers can learn from the ecstatic project of contemporary artists and meaning-seekers. Following recent movements in the art world, traditional rituals, medicines and religious imagery are attracting renewed attention. They are being vetted for possible alternatives to a thoroughly rationalist and linear worldview. Artists are the explorers of this "new" world. Based on ecstatic and mystical technologies, they search for answers for which they are willing to completely surrender themselves to a process of transformation. Can researchers follow on this bold path or can they only watch from the sidelines? What is the role of the researcher in a zeitgeist that seems ready for other states of consciousness?