With a grant of DKK 3,167,494, Dalsgaard will examine surprises, particularly how they can function as a productive driving force and a source of new knowledge in creative and innovative processes. The new research project, titled Experimental Surprise: Pursuing Unexpectedness in Scientific and Artistic Practices, will span a period of four years.

He explains that surprises, both in theoretical and practical terms—that is, how creative professionals handle surprises in their work—are an under-explored concept.

In collaboration with researchers from GV Lab, a robotics lab at the University of Tokyo, as well as artists from Studio Olafur Eliasson in Berlin, he and Postdoc Frederik Vejlin will conduct two ethnographic field studies. These studies aim to explore and compare how surprises impact creative work in both science and art. Dalsgaard elaborates:

“Through these studies, we will primarily investigate the productive potential of surprises and how the right frameworks can be established to unlock this potential. As a theoretical foundation, we will develop a theory on the creative potential of surprises.”

He highlights that they also expect their development of theories to contribute to research in creativity and innovation by introducing a new conceptual framework. Moreover, they hope to map patterns that span across both the domains of art and science.

“We aim to highlight the potential of working with surprises. The goal is to provide organizations with a useful tool for planning and executing innovative projects. We expect that Studio Olafur Eliasson and GV Lab will benefit from collaborating with us in developing their processes.”

Dalsgaard concludes with the hope that the project can foster greater acceptance of the fact that unpredictability is not always a sign of lack of preparation. Instead, it can be used as a driving force to shape better futures.

A big congratulations to Peter Dalsgaard!