.able a free, accessible digital publication dedicated to research-creation and cross-functional collaborations between artists, designers, and scientists. Starting with the idea that publishing is what makes something public, .able reinvents academic research, making it more accessible through imagery. It is aimed at all individuals with the curiosity and desire to explore new realms of creation and research: .able combines academic rigour with accessibility by examining contemporary, sociopolitical, and environmental issues through imagery, placing these challenges into perspective.
The complexity of today’s world –the climate, health, immigration emergencies…– requires gathering all the tools and convening as many discipline fields as possible to reflect and act. How do you weave these insights to renew our understanding of the world, open new imaginaries, and move forward internationally? Between theoretical research and applied research, research-creation is a relatively recent field that links experimental, exploratory or critical approaches and practices, prioritizing sensitive experience.
What other alternatives to text exist to communicate the research practice between art, design and science – also called “research-creation”? Traditional methodologies and article formats are not always adapted to research exploring sensitive and unique forms. .able magazine was born largely from this observation, thanks to image-based formats, to allow a new appreciation of cross-disciplinary productions.
.able is a peer-reviewed magazine that experiments with what an academic publication could be if the conventions of traditional written formats were set aside, aiming to explore the various alternatives and possibilities presented by multimedia and multiplatform media, starting with smartphones. By providing immediate access to visual essays, .able magazine expands the gateways to art, design, and scientific research. Through facilities, devices, and performances, new methodological tools are developed: a source of shared knowledge, capable of responding aesthetically to contemporary changes.
The magazine has been conceived within the framework of the Chaire Arts & Sciences (2017-2023) at 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, with primary backing from the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation in France and Spain since 2024. Actar Publishers publishes the magazine with the assistance of over thirty international academic collaborators. These include: ORT Uruguay University School of Design, the School of Fine Arts at Complutense University of Madrid, the CCCB Centre for Contemporary Culture in Barcelona, Jorge Tadeo Lozano University in Bogotá, the EINA University School of Design and Art of Barcelona under the EINA Idea framework, the Elisava School of Design and Engineering of Barcelona, the ACTS Art Network on Science, Technology, and Society, the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin as part of the Cluster of Excellence Matters of Activity, and the University of Quebec at Montreal (UQÀM), among others.
The various editorial modalities of .able leverage and transcend the fragmented reading modes that dominate today, where we frequently shift from one medium and/or device to another. Employing a distributed system enables contributions to appear across a wide range of platforms, from major social networks to specialized academic distribution services.
As a visual-centric device, .able transforms text into an auxiliary element and reverses traditional text-to-image relationships through five original visual essay formats: scroll.able, pan.able, zoom.able, story.able, and video.able. Items are available in small or large screen formats, in portrait or landscape mode.
The magazine is designed as a single continuous edition that is updated with each new contribution. Content is referenced via keywords, allowing readers to uncover correlations between contributions and compose their own issues, save them, export them, or print them on demand. Free from periodical and paper-based publication, the magazine functions as a unique yet infinite entity, continuously enriched. .able publishes three to five articles per quarter on various themes: from the conception of sustainable fashion to live microarchitecture, as well as the dynamics of bacterial contamination and deep sleep exploration.
In addition, .able magazine is available in Spanish, French, and English, reflecting its willingness to continue working on accessibility, beyond traditional language barriers, in the world of academic research and publication.
Discover some of the most recent articles published in the magazine below…
re-corporealising MRI data
Jennifer Crouch – pan.able
living matter, biology, fluid, data visualization, digital craftsmanship, textile, identity, biomedical image, medical subjectivity, interconnection, cancer recovery, patient, body matter, corporeal matter, embodied knowledge
An artistic reinterpretation of data obtained from medical images that explores the multiscale complexity of our bodies, aimed at reappropriating identity and redefining the self while studying and transcending the bodily experience.
in the waiting line
Étienne Ollion and Dimitri Charrel – scrollable
waiting line, politics, sociology, power, conformism, experience
A visual essay that examines how waiting – the very act of waiting – structures society, from everyday life to politics, exploring the dynamics and inequalities in access to positions of power.
ex silico
Soft Biomorphs
Mads Bering Christiansen, Ahmad Rafsanjani and Jonas Jørgensen – zoom.able
soft robotics, bio inspired, exploration, practise-based research, design research, aesthetics
Research revolving around soft robotics that includes material science, mechanical engineering, artistic practice and design research that questions interactions between humans and biomimetic robots.
vascularization
research at the intersection of design, experimental surgery and nuclear physics
Emile De Visscher – video.able
practise-based research, experimental surgery, fulgurites, electrical treeing, new materials, design for the living
A project at the intersection of biology, experimental surgery, design and physics that explores how lightning-like processes can generate microvascular networks for potential medical applications.
How do I submit a contribution to .able?
To submit a contribution proposal to .able, please explore our five formats at https://able-journal.org/es/contribuir/ and follow the first step of the publishing process (presenting a pre-contribution).
Once you have created your proposal, please fill out and submit the online form. Once we receive it, we will evaluate your pre-contribution and contact you.
Contact us via our email at publishing@able-journal.org
Or through our social media: Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin
Recommended citation:.able. .able the visual journal of research in art, design and science. Mosaic [online], March 2025, no. 203. ISSN: 1696-3296. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7238/m.n203.2503
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