We invite artists, designers, researchers, and practitioners to contribute to the Arts-Based Approaches session at NordiCHI 2026. This session celebrates the dynamic interplay between artistic expression and human-computer interaction, exploring how creative practices can illuminate, challenge, and expand our understanding of technology and its role in human life.
Submission Instructions and Schedule
Session Focus
Aligned with the conference theme Pulse – exploring the energy that drives us, this session seeks contributions that harness the expressive power of the arts to explore:
- Embodied interaction and sensory experience
- Temporal rhythms and emotional resonance in digital systems
- Creative methods for participatory design and co-creation
- Artistic provocations and speculative futures in HCI
- Hybrid practices that blend performance, installation, sound, and visual arts with interactive technologies
- Arts-based critical approaches to HCI considering the theme of energy in the era of AI
What We’re Looking For
We welcome a wide range of submissions, including:
- Interactive installations (artwork that embraces HCI) deliberating energy (various forms and on differing dimensions, e.g., sustainability)
- Video-based artworks dealing with or engaging in energy (of various forms)
- Art-based research methods in HCI around the theme of energy
- Performances and live explorations of HCI themes regarding energy
- Papers that theorize or critique arts-based methods in HCI in the thematic context of energy
Important Dates (Anywhere on Earth)
- Submission deadline: April 23, 2026
- Notification of acceptance: June 30, 2026
- Camera-ready deadline: August 7, 2026
Why Contribute?
This session offers a vibrant platform to share your work with an interdisciplinary community, spark dialogue across fields, and contribute to shaping the future of HCI through artistic inquiry. The arts-based approaches programme will be presented during the main conference days, and the exhibition will be set in the context of Vaasa’s fascinating Catacombs at the Wasa Innovation Center and showcased during the conference dinner on Tuesday, October 6th, 2026. The spacious, ambient setting of the former 1800s built brewery mimics the chambers of a medieval castle.
Proposal Guidelines for Arts-Based Approaches Session
- Title
- Choose a clear, evocative title that captures the essence of your contribution.
- Consider including artistic or conceptual keywords that hint at your method or theme.
- Abstract (150–250 words)
- Summarize your contribution: what it is, why it matters, and how it relates to HCI.
- Highlight the artistic medium(s) used and the core idea or experience you’re exploring.
- Connect to the NordiCHI 2026 theme: Pulse – exploring the energy that drives us.
- Keywords (5)
- Contribution Type: Specify the format of your submission
- Artistic demonstration or installation
- Performance or live interaction
- Workshop or participatory session
- Practice-based research presentation
- Theoretical or reflective paper
- Conceptual Rationale (1500-2000 words)
As part of your submission, please include a Conceptual Rationale (1500-2000 words) that outlines the theorisation and thinking behind your work. This statement should:
- Describe the creative and theoretical motivations for your project.
- Explain how your work engages with the conference theme: Pulse – exploring the energy that drives us.
- Articulate the relationship between artistic practice and HCI inquiry, including any relevant frameworks, methods, or provocations.
- Reflect on the experiential, affective, or critical dimensions of your contribution.
This rationale will be considered for publication alongside your work in the conference proceedings and should be written for a broad interdisciplinary audience.
- Media and Technical Requirements – [for organisation purposes]
- Detail any equipment, space, or setup needs.
- *Please note that we are able to provide the space and basic installation materials (walls, tape, pins, plinths – audiovisual equipment will be subject to availability so please specify your exact needs)
- Include links to documentation (e.g., video, images, portfolio) if applicable.
- Biographical Note
- A short bio (100–150 words) highlighting your background in arts, design, or HCI.
Submission instructions
Detailed instructions about submission system and template will be provided later.
Chairs
Rebekah Rousi, University of Vaasa, rebekah.rousi@uwasa.fi
Johanna Silvennoinen, University of Jyväskylä
Anne Scott Wilson, Deakin University