interarts

Interarts is an umbrella term for practices that integrate multiple art forms into a single project, process, or theory. It emphasizes collaboration across disciplines—visual arts, music, theater, dance, cinema, digital media—and often incorporates technology and audience participation. The aim is to create hybrid works that transcend conventional boundaries of any single discipline.

The term gained prominence in the late 20th century through developments in intermedia, multimedia performance, and interdisciplinary arts, and has been used by cultural organizations, universities, and arts funding bodies to describe programs, residencies, and curricula that bring artists from different fields together. It is distinct from but related to interdisciplinarity and cross-media production.

Practice typically involves collaborative, process-driven creation: site-specific installations, performance installations, multimedia performances, and interactive works. Methods include projection, sound design, video, sculpture, theater, dance, and digital storytelling, often exploring social, political, or cultural themes. Technologies such as video projection, mapping, VR/AR, and sensors are common.

Educational and institutional contexts offer degrees and residencies in interarts or related fields, and many arts centers host interarts residencies or programs focused on cross-disciplinary collaboration. The approach is also used in curatorial practice and festival programming to present hybrid works.

As a field, interarts emphasizes experimentation and collaboration but faces challenges such as funding fragmentation across disciplines, intellectual property considerations, and the need for flexible evaluation criteria. When well supported, interarts can expand audiences and encourage innovative forms of artistic expression.

See also: Interdisciplinarity, Multimedia art, Cross-media production.