The ArtsResearchLab (ARL) is the research portfolio for the KZNSA. ARL encourages critical thinking and curious inquiry through the process of making, presenting and engaging with art as a form of research. Every-one has the ‘right to research’, yet access to this right remains confined to the University context. The first ARL project was funded by the National Arts Council, where the ARL employed an exploratory, experimental and collaborative approach to produce and share knowledge through mentorship and the cultivation of a supportive creative network.

Moving beyond the confines of the University as the traditional house of research, ARL focuses on making practice-based research knowable and accessible to a broader audience of artists, cultural producers and community members within KwaZulu-Natal, and nationally.

Working collaboratively as a team of writers, designers, curators, cultural producers and practice-based researchers, the ArtsResearchLab team are generating artworks, written content, media, events and proposals to enable growth in research expertise, in the arts through the KZNSA – with, for and in the city of Durban.