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Subfield · Arts and Humanities

Visual Arts and Performing Arts research

Visual Arts and Performing Arts is a subfield of Arts and Humanities. Science Explorer counts 168k research works in it since 1950. 16.6% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

In short: an expansive category encompassing creative disciplines that engage the senses and express human creativity and imagination.

Research works
168k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
28k
per year above
Top-10% rate
16.6%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Topics
17
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+28%
the tick is no change

What is Visual Arts and Performing Arts research about, and what is growing?

By the world's output in 2019–23, its most used keywords are Visual Culture, Globalization, Art, Education, Cultural Studies, Theatre. Gaining share since 2009–13: Arts, Interdisciplinary Education, Performance, Ritual, Bollywood. Losing share: Colonial Spanish America, Indigenous History, Art Market, Technology.

▲ gaining share of this field◆ holding its share▼ losing share

Size is the world's fractional works in 2019–23 in the topics tagged with each word; colour compares the word's share of this field with 2009–13. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Visual Culture12k◆ 0.90×4 topics
  2. Globalization11k◆ 1.00×3 topics
  3. Art11k◆ 1.12×5 topics
  4. Education10k◆ 1.13×5 topics
  5. Cultural Studies8,855▲ 1.16×3 topics
  6. Theatre7,507◆ 1.07×2 topics
  7. Cultural Heritage6,653◆ 1.07×3 topics
  8. Cultural Politics6,231◆ 1.10×2 topics
  9. Photography5,602▲ 1.18×2 topics
  10. Narrative5,053◆ 1.11×2 topics
  11. Pedagogy5,004▲ 1.31×2 topics
  12. Identity4,539▲ 1.48×2 topics
  13. Aesthetics4,478◆ 0.94×2 topics
  14. Drama Education4,360◆ 0.87×1 topic
  15. Performance Art4,360◆ 0.87×1 topic
  16. Ekphrasis4,209◆ 1.14×1 topic
  17. Intermediality4,209◆ 1.14×1 topic
  18. Innovation3,929◆ 1.05×2 topics
  19. Colonial Spanish America3,694▼ 0.68×1 topic
  20. Indigenous History3,694▼ 0.68×1 topic
  21. Media3,658◆ 1.05×2 topics
  22. Society3,658◆ 1.05×2 topics
  23. Bollywood3,531▲ 1.51×1 topic
  24. Indian cinema3,531▲ 1.51×1 topic
  25. Technology3,516▼ 0.78×2 topics
  26. Performance3,146▲ 1.57×1 topic
  27. Ritual3,146▲ 1.57×1 topic
  28. Contemporary Art3,084▼ 0.84×1 topic
  29. Relational Aesthetics3,084▼ 0.84×1 topic
  30. Comics2,789▲ 1.31×1 topic
  31. Graphic Novels2,789▲ 1.31×1 topic
  32. Architectural Geometry2,724◆ 1.09×1 topic
  33. Artistic Representation2,724◆ 1.09×1 topic
  34. Academic Achievement2,693▼ 0.86×1 topic
  35. Arts Education2,693▼ 0.86×1 topic
  36. Arts2,678▲ 1.64×1 topic
  37. Interdisciplinary Education2,678▲ 1.64×1 topic
  38. Cinema2,264◆ 0.94×1 topic
  39. History2,264◆ 0.94×1 topic
  40. Art Market1,957▼ 0.77×1 topic

Which countries lead Visual Arts and Performing Arts research?

On research quality in 2022–2025, the United States, the United Kingdom and India rank highest in Visual Arts and Performing Arts. By volume, the United States and Brazil publish the most (5.5k and 3.1k works in 2022–2025).

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 United States · #1 all time 15.3% top 10% · 5.5k works
  2. 2 United Kingdom · #2 all time 17.2% top 10% · 2.2k works
  3. 3 India · #7 all time 15.6% top 10% · 2.4k works
  4. 4 China · #9 all time 17.0% top 10% · 1.1k works
  5. 5 Spain · #6 all time 15.6% top 10% · 2.5k works
  6. 6 Germany · #5 all time 9.8% top 10% · 1.6k works
  7. 7 Türkiye · #10 all time 20.4% top 10% · 1.1k works
  8. 8 Australia · #4 all time 20.6% top 10% · 700 works
  9. 9 Italy · #8 all time 14.4% top 10% · 909 works
  10. 10 Canada · #3 all time 17.2% top 10% · 796 works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 35 countries ranked in Visual Arts and Performing Arts. Composite of field-normalised excellence (50%), output (30%) and citations (20%); the bracket is the all-time rank.

All countries ranked in Visual Arts and Performing Arts

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 United States 5.5k works
  2. 2 Brazil 3.1k works
  3. 3 Spain 2.5k works
  4. 4 India 2.4k works
  5. 5 United Kingdom 2.2k works
  6. 6 Germany 1.6k works
  7. 7 France 1.1k works
  8. 8 Türkiye 1.1k works
  9. 9 Mexico 1.1k works
  10. 10 China 1.1k works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

United States: 25.4%Brazil: 14.2%Spain: 11.4%India: 10.9%6 others listed: 38.2%25%largest
United States5,474 · 25.4%Brazil3,056 · 14.2%Spain2,460 · 11.4%India2,351 · 10.9%6 others listed8,252 · 38.2%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Visual Arts and Performing Arts research?

Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain) ranks first in Visual Arts and Performing Arts on research quality in 2022–2025, followed by Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Universidad Complutense de Madrid Spain · Madrid · #30 all time 15.3% top 10% · 186 works
  2. 2 Universidad Politécnica de Madrid Spain · Madrid · #49 all time 22.6% top 10% · 104 works
  3. 3 Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Mexico · Mexico City · #20 all time 12.4% top 10% · 264 works
  4. 4 Universitat de València Spain · Valencia · #34 all time 20.2% top 10% · 72 works
  5. 5 Film Independent United States · Los Angeles · #36 all time 14.4% top 10% · 151 works
  6. 6 Universidade de São Paulo Brazil · São Paulo · #55 all time 10.0% top 10% · 201 works
  7. 7 The University of Melbourne Australia · Melbourne · #9 all time 24.7% top 10% · 70 works
  8. 8 Universidad de Sevilla Spain · Seville · #40 all time 13.4% top 10% · 137 works
  9. 9 New York University United States · New York · #3 all time 17.0% top 10% · 66 works
  10. 10 Universidad de Granada Spain · Granada · #72 all time 12.5% top 10% · 116 works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 37 institutions above the floor of 40 fractional works in Visual Arts and Performing Arts.

Top 100 Visual Arts and Performing Arts institutions

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Universidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoMexico 264 works
  2. 2 Universidade de São PauloBrazil 201 works
  3. 3 Universidad Complutense de MadridSpain 186 works
  4. 4 Film IndependentUnited States 151 works
  5. 5 Universidad de SevillaSpain 137 works
  6. 6 Universidade Federal do Rio de JaneiroBrazil 122 works
  7. 7 Universidad de GranadaSpain 116 works
  8. 8 Universidad de Buenos AiresArgentina 115 works
  9. 9 Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP)Brazil 115 works
  10. 10 Universidade Federal de Minas GeraisBrazil 112 works

Who are the leading researchers in Visual Arts and Performing Arts?

Among the most productive authors in Visual Arts and Performing Arts, Michel Foucault, Norman K. Denzin and Sigmund Freud rank highest on the composite score.

  1. 1 Michel Foucault Poland · #5 worldwide 4.6k citations · 194 works
  2. 2 Norman K. Denzin United States · #16 worldwide 8.6k citations · 169 works
  3. 3 Sigmund Freud United States · #25 worldwide 2.7k citations · 174 works
  4. 4 Juan Ramón De La Fuente Mexico · #61 worldwide 1.5k citations · 228 works
  5. 5 Howard Gardner United States · #205 worldwide 3.7k citations · 123 works
  6. 6 Mihály Csíkszentmihályi United States · #346 worldwide 4.1k citations · 107 works
  7. 7 Michael Newman United Kingdom · #676 worldwide 4k citations · 97 works
  8. 8 Walter Benjamín France · #726 worldwide 1.3k citations · 106 works
  9. 9 David William Foster United Kingdom · #1,486 worldwide 474 citations · 132 works
  10. 10 Richard Schechner United States · #1,792 worldwide 537 citations · 114 works

Re-ranked on the composite score from the 3,062 highest-output authors in Visual Arts and Performing Arts. Identities come from OpenAlex author disambiguation, which occasionally merges or splits people.

Top 100 Visual Arts and Performing Arts researchers

Where is Visual Arts and Performing Arts research done?

The largest centres of Visual Arts and Performing Arts research in 2022–2025 are Madrid (Spain), London (United Kingdom), São Paulo (Brazil) and Mexico City (Mexico). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Princeton Meadows and Paranavaí.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Madrid Spain 654 works
  2. 2 London United Kingdom 576 works
  3. 3 São Paulo Brazil 553 works
  4. 4 Mexico City Mexico 521 works
  5. 5 Paris France 401 works
  6. 6 New York United States 369 works
  7. 7 Rio de Janeiro Brazil 358 works
  8. 8 Buenos Aires Argentina 280 works
  9. 9 Moscow Russia 259 works
  10. 10 Los Angeles United States 247 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. Princeton MeadowsUS · 34.1 works24×
  2. ParanavaíBR · 35.5 works17×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Visual Arts and Performing Arts than the world average.

See Visual Arts and Performing Arts on the map

Visual Arts and Performing Arts research by country

The best places for Visual Arts and Performing Arts research inside each country, with that country's researchers and world standing.

Where is the best place to study Visual Arts and Performing Arts?

Among universities, judged by research, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina and University of the Arts London score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%20%40%mean 17.79%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →Universidad Politécnica de Madrid: 104, 22.6%Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina: 103, 11.8%University of the Arts London: 64, 21.8%Universidad Internacional De La Rioja: 50, 14.4%Universidad de Valladolid: 84, 13.1%Universidad Nacional de La Plata: 66, 8.7%Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar Üniversitesi: 27, 19.7%Universitat Politècnica de València: 112, 12.8%Auckland University of Technology: 36, 21.5%Royal College of Art: 19, 31.5%Universidad Politécn…University of the Ar…Universidad Internac…Universidade do Esta…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1 Universidad Politécnica de MadridSpain 68.722.6%9.7×104 +163.3%
2 Universidade do Estado de Santa CatarinaBrazil 62.311.8%17.9×103 +222.8%
3 University of the Arts LondonUnited Kingdom 60.721.8%50.6×64 +103.0%
4 Universidad Internacional De La RiojaSpain 59.514.4%11.3×50 +351.6%
5 Universidad de ValladolidSpain 59.413.1%10.0×84 +148.5%
6 Universidad Nacional de La PlataArgentina 57.58.7%9.8×66 +287.0%
7 Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar ÜniversitesiTürkiye 57.519.7%20.3×27 +404.4%
8 Universitat Politècnica de ValènciaSpain 57.012.8%9.2×112 +94.8%
9 Auckland University of TechnologyNew Zealand 53.421.5%6.0×36 +212.8%
10 Royal College of ArtUnited Kingdom 53.131.5%31.8×19 +4.6%

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is Visual Arts and Performing Arts research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 28% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Architecture, Art, Education, Arts and Performance Studies and Creative Drama in Education.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

  1. Architecture, Art, Education+393%
  2. Arts and Performance Studies+387%
  3. Creative Drama in Education+271%
  4. Cinema History and Criticism+260%
  5. Artistic and Creative Research+199%
  6. Visual Culture and Art Theory+197%
← shrinkingno changegrowing →

Growth in output from 2005–09 to 2015–19. Every topic is a page of its own.

What does Visual Arts and Performing Arts include?

Latin American history a…19kLatin American history and culture: 19k fractional worksTheatre and Performance …18kTheatre and Performance Studies: 18k fractional worksVisual Culture and Art Theory: 14k fractional worksArt, Politics, and Modernism: 13k fractional worksSouth Asian Cinema and Culture: 12k fractional worksArt Education and Development: 12k fractional worksArchitecture and Art History Studies: 10k fractional worksArts and Performance Studies: 9,125 fractional worksArt History and Market Analysis: 8,992 fractional worksComics and Graphic Narratives: 8,899 fractional worksCinema History and Criticism: 8,177 fractional worksArt, Technology, and Culture: 7,972 fractional works

Area is fractional works in that topic. Every name below is a page of its own.