Arts

Creating spaces for dialogue between the humanities and social sciences and the world of the arts

Calls closed

Closed since

6 June 2025

At the intersection of arts and sciences, the program “Arts – Worlds in Action, Worlds in Reflection” aims to foster collective reflection and invention. By creating opportunities for encounters between scientific research and artistic creation, by encouraging cooperation between the disciplines of the humanities and social sciences and those of the arts, by organizing collaboration between these disciplines and artistic, cultural, and heritage institutions, and by building dialogue with society, this program seeks to enrich our understanding of many contemporary issues.

As both popular practices and markers of distinction; rooted in Indigenous worlds as well as imbued with universal meaning; objects of reverence as much as of trafficking; both cultural and financial assets — the arts and their products lie at the heart of numerous societal challenges. Creation itself, appropriation, circulation, dissemination, and commercialization are all key aspects. Acts of looting, destruction, censorship, and litigation paradoxically highlight their significance within diverse social imaginaries. Through the lens of arts and creation, research engages with new societal questions, shedding light on underexplored subjects.

The program will support partnership-based teams leading reflective projects that can contribute to public debate and inform decision-making. These teams may explore productive zones of friction between artistic and scientific approaches, analyze how the arts renew our perspective on social phenomena, study the transformative power of dialogue between different forms of knowledge of the sensory world, examine the role of artistic practices in the emergence of new collective narratives, and more. The program is particularly attentive to new forms of writing.

The program “Arts – Worlds in Action, Worlds in Reflection” aims to understand the transformations of practices and structures, imaginaries and representations over the long term by bringing together the humanities and social sciences with actors from the arts sector. The supported partnerships will help identify key challenges that societies of all eras have faced or continue to face.

As a true vehicle for reflection and awareness-raising, the Arts program seeks to broaden horizons by encouraging greater consciousness. The development of synergies between scientific, artistic, and cultural stakeholders — with the possible involvement of civil society — will foster the exploration of new transdisciplinary approaches and innovations, enabling a more powerful and meaningful transmission of knowledge to the public.

To fulfill this ambition, the program is structured around three main pillars:

Supporting research development: by funding partnership-based teams engaged in reflective projects on societal issues in all their forms of expression.
Building bridges: by creating opportunities for dialogue between researchers in the humanities and social sciences and actors in the arts (film, museums, philharmonics, visual arts, theatre, dance, etc.) who are committed to understanding societal change.
Disseminating knowledge: by promoting research through various channels (books, collections, journals, exhibitions, multimedia platforms) to reach a broad audience and contribute to public debate.

In 2025, particular (though not exclusive) attention will be given to projects addressing the issue of the “restitution” of artworks and, more broadly, cultural property on a global scale. All aspects of this "international relationship" and its multiple meanings may be explored. Dialogue with communities and civil society organizations, heritage institutions, and public authorities is especially encouraged.

1 call for projects per year since 2016
13 projects selected since the program's inception
€230,000 awarded in total

Discover interviews with the awardees:

The program "Arts – Worlds in Action, Worlds in Reflection" funds research projects in the early stages of development. In partnership with the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, it provides support to project leaders in refining their research questions, defining their methodology, and expanding their research networks. The aim is to further reflection on the arts and to shed new light on research through artistic practices.

Since their inception, the Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme (FMSH) and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation – French Delegation have supported the exchange and dialogue between different theories and practices of knowledge.

→ Learn more about the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation