Coordinated by Nele Wynants, the Arts & Media Archaeology team within the Antwerp Research Institute for the Arts (ARIA – Antwerp University) investigates the dynamic interplay between theatre, science, and visual media, exploring their intertwined histories. Their research spans the long nineteenth century, a period marked by significant cultural shifts, and explores how knowledge and visual representations were disseminated through travelling entertainment. Simultaneously, the team looks at the enduring impact of this cultural fusion, particularly regarding the evolving dynamics between art and science.
Current research focuses on: (1) the dissemination of science and visual media within theatrical and popular cultural spheres; (2) the transnational circulation of knowledge, technology, and visual culture through nomadic forms of entertainment; (3) the examination of colonial narratives within visual propaganda and performance culture; and (4) the role of women in popular science and entertainment.
The Team
Principal Investigator : Nele Wynants
Researchers :
- Gitte Samoy: PhD-research project Spectacular Bodies: Performing Anatomy, Medicine and Anthropology
- Tim Overkempe: PhD-research project Spectacular Science: Performing Science and Technology
- Eva Andersen: Postdoctoral project Itinerant Show Businesses Networks
- Hannah Welslau: PhD-research project (BOF) Performances of the Otherworldly: Supernatural Science at the Fair in North-Western Europe (1850-1920)
- Sarah Adams: Postdoctoral project (FWO) Blackface Burlesques: Racialized Subjection in Popular Performance Culture of the Low Countries, 1770-1840.
- Evelien Jonckheere: Postdoctoral project (FWO) Physiognomic Culture in Popular Performance: On the Use of Stereo-‘types’ in Fin-de-siècle Brussels
- Anse De Weerdt: PhD-research project Travelling colonial pictures: Circulation of colonial magic lantern images between science, politics, and religion in Belgium (1885-1950)
- Thibaut Rioult: Postdoctoral project Objets chargés: Mettre en scène l’âme des choses // Charged Objects: Performing the Soul of Things
- Bart Moens: Postdoctoral project Panorama, Diorama and Cosmorama: Performing History and Geography
More about the team and the ongoing research on the Arts & Media Archaeology website.