Method as Material
Treating research methods as something to be handled, tested and reshaped — not simply applied.
Prato Academy / ACADEMY 2027 · FIFTH EDITION
ACADEMY 2027 · FIFTH EDITION
Doing Research
The fifth Prato Academy moves to Venice. Responding to the curatorial direction of the Architecture Biennale, Doing Research asks how research methods are practised, questioned and rewoven — in place, in public and in company.
WHEN6–9 July 2027
WHEREVenice, Italy
FORMATFour-day, in-person doctoral summer school
ABOUT THIS EDITION
Every method
is a thread.
Prato Academy is a transnational, interdisciplinary summer school founded in 2023 as a joint venture of Monash University and the Institute for Digital Culture at the University of Leicester. Each edition brings a small cohort together with an invited collaborator to experiment with how research is done.
In 2027 the Academy is hosted in Venice with the Venice Digital and Public Humanities Lab at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, and — to be confirmed — the Biennale Sessions programme of the Venice Biennale. The city, its archives and the Architecture Biennale become the field for four days of collective, hands-on research.
For PhD students and early-career researchers in the creative arts and cultural heritage.
Four research threads
Every method is a thread. The 2027 programme is woven from four connected lines of inquiry.
The Socialised Researcher
Research as a collegial, networked practice shaped by peers, communities and institutions.
Transnational Fieldwork
Working on site in Venice, across cultures, languages and disciplinary traditions.
Machine Entanglements
Digital, computational and AI-mediated tools as partners and provocations in research.
Four days.
New ways of doing.
Provisional outline — detailed sessions and facilitators will be confirmed closer to the Academy.
The Socialised Researcher
Arrival & Threading
- Welcome and orientation with the Venice Digital and Public Humanities Lab, Ca’ Foscari
- Research lightning talks — every participant introduces their project
- Forming research clusters across disciplines
Venice & partners
The Academy is a joint venture of Monash University and the University of Leicester, working each year with invited collaborative partners.
Collaborative partner
Venice Digital and Public Humanities Lab
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
Collaborative partner · TBC
Biennale Sessions
Venice Biennale