.able, the academic journal that brings together art, design, science and research, arrives in Spain

The visual magazine .able is a publication that seeks, through the power of image and design, to disseminate scientific research, so that it reaches a greater audience, thus transcending the academic field. A project promoted by the Foundation that exemplifies our way of understanding the intersections between art, science and society.

In our time, more than ever, the transmission of knowledge goes beyond words and needs visual support, not only to become more informative, but to develop fully. In this sense, art and design have a lot to contribute to science and it is necessary to imagine possible futures where interaction between these disciplines takes place in order to also promote social transformation.

From this desire a highly innovative project was born: the .able magazine, originating in France, although with an international nature thanks to its accessibility in English, Spanish and French. Even beyond language, the publication renews the concept of scientific journal, crossing traditional language barriers in the world of research and academic publication, to bring them closer to the common language of sensitive experience thanks to images and their multiple digital formats.

Its origin takes place within the framework of the Chaire Arts & Sciences (2017 – 2023) of the École Polytechnique, the École des Arts Décoratifs – PSL and the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation. Its development is supported by the EnsadLab research laboratory and its edition is carried out by Actar Publishers. It also has the collaboration of more than thirty international academic collaborators, among which are: the Royal College of Art in London, the National Autonomous University of Mexico and L’Intermédiathèque, a museum of the University of Tokyo.

.able combines academic rigor and accessibility by exploring contemporary, socio-political, and environmental issues through image, putting these challenges into perspective. .able’s audiences range from those working in the fields of art, design, science, technology, social sciences and humanities, education, academia, and publishing, to intellectually inclined readers who may find these visual essays an engaging opportunity to delve into academic thought and practice.

It publishes between three and five articles per quarter, on various topics, the most recent ranging from the conception of sustainable fashion, to that of living microarchitecture, through the dynamics of bacterial contamination and the exploration of deep sleep. Its dissemination is free of charge, both on the website and on social networks where the content of the research articles can be accessed in rich content formats native to each network. Someof its articles even have a version that can be exhibited in the halls of a museum and also offer a customizable paper version, which can be downloaded freely and free of charge.

Spanish version, with a global perspective

After the presentation in November 2023 in France, on March 19, 2024 we celebrated the launch of the Spanish version at Medialab Matadero. This new step has represented an important milestone for the magazine and its network of collaborating entities, always in search of a wider audience worldwide, in this case with a very important focus on the Spanish-speaking community.

Thus, the presentation of the Spanish edition was attended by people who were essential in its creation, such as Lucía Casani, director of the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation in Spain; Emmanuel Tibloux, director of the École des Arts Décoratifs (Paris); Samuel Bianchini, editor-in-chief of the magazine; Gwenaëlle Lallemand, editorial and communication coordinator of .able; Ricardo Devesa, editor-in-chief of Actar Publishers; and the authors of four of the studies that have been translated into Spanish: Aniara Rodado, Ana Piñeyro, Francesca Cozzolino and Aurélie Mosse, in addition to the cultural manager Maria Ptqk, moderator of the event.

In the words of the director of the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation, Lucía Casani, it is a key project “that exemplifies the line that the foundation is taking in art, science and society”. Aware of the importance of the image in the conception and transmission of knowledge, .able seeks to be a journal accessible to new readings and productions of knowledge from the Spanish-speaking world.

Publication formats

This unpublished publication offers multiple entries to research in arts, design, and sciences for everyone, through its five original visual essay formats: scroll.able, pan.able, zoom.able, story.able, and video.able. Available on a small or large screen, in portrait or landscape mode, the journal’s articles showcase the richness of interdisciplinary research that explores singular formats and languages. Thanks to this number of formats, the dissemination can be carried out through different devices and, thus, the experience is enriched and becomes more dynamic. The text, on which the visual creation is based and which complements it, is merely accessory, since it is not necessary to understand the study, but it is useful to guarantee links with other academic publication platforms (metadata) and citations of individual contributions to research.

The sixth format

The journal is designed to be kept up to date as new contributions are introduced. The content is referenced, allowing readers to discover correlations between contributions and produce the sixth format, print.able. In this way, users can compose their own issues, save them, export them or print them, which represents a powerful tool for researchers, teachers, lecturers, students and the general public.

How to participate?

Participation in .able is a structured process that allows contributing individuals to share their ideas and perspectives in a collaborative and transparent manner.

To be able to publish on .able, it is necessary to have the support of the international editorial board, which manages reviews based on a peer system, thus guaranteeing the scientific and artistic relevance of the contributions. The publication is conceived through alliances of interdisciplinary teams that work on the common theme to develop innovative approaches to research. The practice is carried out through debates around the concrete contribution, thus ensuring that a dialogue and a true synergy between art and science is generated.

At the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation we are aware of the importance of generating these unusual connections between the different disciplines, as a way to democratize knowledge. By supporting this project, we not only seek to participate in the dissemination of innovative content, but also in the creation of a networked space where creativity, curiosity and dialogue converge to create a brighter future full of possibilities.