How Artists Can Create Innovation Through Collaboration with Rodolfo Groenewoud

Ceri interviews Rodolfo Groenewoud, co-founder of In4Art an institute pioneering art driven innovation. Rodolfo has secured funding for over 75 experimental projects, working between art and the sciences and industry.  Rodolfo talks about how artists function as influential researchers, capable of changing businesses and scientific breakthroughs through their unique thought processes. He demonstrates how collaboration creates innovation when artists are given the psychological safety to experiment. If you want to know how to connect your creative work to industries beyond the arts and find new ways to secure funding, you won’t want to miss this episode.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Rodolfo discovered artists were natural innovators during his honeymoon in Cuba, realising their studios weren't just creative spaces but laboratories of research and experimentation. This led him to establish In4Art to bridge artistic approaches with business and scientific innovation.
• Traditional innovation follows linear thinking, while art driven innovation allows for ‘meandering’, letting creators explore unexpected pathways that businesses typically avoid, resulting in breakthrough solutions when properly facilitated and protected.
• In4Art develops interdisciplinary partnerships between artists, scientists and businesses through an iterative process, beginning with small scale exploration phases before securing larger funding opportunities, ensuring all participants receive value regardless of project completion.
• Artists applying for collaborative opportunities should focus on communicating their motivation and vision rather than detailed project proposals. Showing genuine interest in collaboration and the subject matter is more compelling than technical details.
• Successful collaborative projects require psychological safety, with Rodolfo serving as a translator between corporate timelines and artistic processes, helping companies understand that apparent lack of progress often masks profound development happening.
• The most successful projects achieve recognition across multiple domains, appearing simultaneously in museums as artwork, at scientific conferences as research as well as in businesses as practical applications.
• Emerging artists should align their financial needs with their preferred working style, working out realistic income requirements before targeting opportunities, rather than applying to every available funding source.
• Art driven innovation creates more responsible and sustainable technology by encouraging reflection, questioning and testing. It also demystifies complex innovations like AI. Artists are essential collaborators in any development process.

BEST MOMENTS

"I wasn't just entering places where artists were being creative or painting or sculpting. I was entering places of research and experimentation and prototyping, very similar to the laboratories and companies I'd been working with."

"The main word and how it differs is meandering. It's allowing for the possibility of meandering. Artists can go from step one to step four and then decide they want to spend two weeks thinking about step two B in order to reach step six afterward."

"We slice up potential long term collaborations into phases and try to be open. We have this amount of money so we can get it to there, we'll search for more. If we have it, we can take the next step."

"Artists are one of the most important groups we have that can help with testing, experimentation, questioning, and demystifying. For that alone, they should be a normal party in any innovation process."

"When entering artist studios, I realised these were places of research and experimentation, similar to business laboratories I'd worked with - just smaller, often centred around one person or team."

"I know of many organisations who are very restless and want to see results quickly. The biggest advice I have, give it a year or a year and a half. Don't try to judge too much what goes on in between."

"My special sauce is that I'm an easy collaborator. I can easily work with people from very different walks of life, understanding just enough about every topic to avoid asking stupid questions."

"Instead of going for everything, think about why it should be you to go for this opportunity. Most of the time, we can pick out the applications that have spent time thinking about their fit."

EPISODE RESOURCES

PODCAST HOST BIO

With over 30 years in the art world, Ceri has worked closely with leading artists and arts professionals, managed public and private galleries and charities, and curated more than 250 exhibitions and events. She sold artworks to major museums and private collectors and commissioned thousands of works across diverse media, from renowned artists such as John Akomfrah, Pipilotti Rist, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and Vito Acconci. Now, she wants to share her extensive knowledge with you, so you can excel and achieve your goals.

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