EU- Research Project
SPATIAL PRACTICES IN ART & ARCHITECTURE FOR EMPATHETIC EXCHANGE
(Barbara Holub)
SPACEX responds to the troubling rise of populist nationalism and conflict in European societies by engaging new publics and forging a culture that embraces diversity, difference, and discursive exchange within cities, towns and urban sites. Spatial Practices in Art and ArChitecture for Empathetic EXchange (SPACEX) is a transdisciplinary research action that utilises secondments between academic institutions and third sector organisations in order to scope and map European spatial practices. The lack of interdisciplinary knowledge by those working in the cultural sector has significantly affected the way in which the social benefit of cultural activities is understood, articulated and applied. SPACEX proposes that inventing new and inclusive ways of living together, requires the implementation of new transdisciplinary and cross-sectoral practices and methods, that connect spatial practice with cultural sociology, cultural policy, critical pedagogies and behavioural economics.
The University of Applied Arts Vienna is one of the 29 academic and non-academic partner organisations of SPACEX.
Barbara Holub is the principal investigator on behalf of the University of Applied Arts.
Secondments at the University of Applied Arts:
Margot Mecca (Festival dei Popoli, Firenze/ Italy)
Maria Loizidou (AA & U for Architecture, Art and Urbanism, Lefkosia, Cyprus)
Avril Corroon (Project Arts Space, Dublin/ Ireland)
Barbara Holub (Van Abbe Museum, Eindhoven/ Netherlands; NN Contemporary, Northampton/ UK)
Project website: https://www.spacex-rise.org/
Collaborative Events
https://kkp.uni-ak.ac.at/performance-discussion-townhall-meeting-empathetic-exchange/
Townhall Meeting: Empathetic Exchange
An evening of discussions and performances
24 Oct 2025, 17:00
With contributions by: Mel Jordan (Coventry University) and Andrew Hewitt (University of Northampton), leaders of SPACEX; Jitka Hlavačková (Prague City Gallery/ GHMP, Prague), Susanne Prinz (Kunstverein am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, Berlin), Vittorio Iervese (Università di Modena, Modena), Aline Hernandez/ Marianna Takou (CASCO Art Institute, Utrecht); Annette Krauss (University of Applied Arts Vienna), Julienne Lorz (University of Applied Arts Vienna), Barbara Putz-Plecko (University of Applied Arts Vienna / former Head of the Dept. Art and Communicative Practice), and others.
Moderation: Kathrin Wildner (urban ethnologist, metroZones, Berlin).
