academic BACKGROUND
Bachelor in Environmental Engineering, at Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo (Vitória, Brazil) (2004-09);
Masters in Transdisciplinary Design, at Parsons The New School for Design (New York, USA) (2014-16);
Ph.D. in Design for Transformative Education, at Monash Arts, Design, and Architecture (Melbourne, Australia) (2018-23).
Academic platforms
Research I am interested in
The research work I (co-)produce stems from the work as a University Lecturer at the Department of Art Education, Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland—combined with my applied, collaborative practice through my own social design studio, Make Aware Lab.
Embodiment & Materiality: (1) How to make the intangible tangible? Is it possible to materialize our intangible lived experiences in tangible, visible forms? By intangible lived experiences, I refer to relational, embodied, subjective and/or creative tacit experiences—for instance, thoughts, emotions, felt senses and sensations; (2) How does making the intangible tangible support awareness and sense-making?; (3) What are the specific affordances of combining embodiment and materiality to make the intangible tangible? How could materials evoke, prompt, initiate, surface, and/or sustain intangible experiences in us?
Perception & Awareness: How to engage with perception as a source of knowledge? How might we increase our awareness of the interdependent, relational dynamics of Self, Others and the World? How does language and experience relate? How is perception and aesthetics connected? How might we practice an ‘aesthetics of togetherness’? By aesthetics, I evoke the root meaning of the word from the Greek, aesthet, which means to feel, sense, perceive. By togetherness, I refer to the relational, interdependent dimension of being together.
Collective Creativity & Relational Agency: How might collective feeling, sensing and perceiving be cultivated as the basis for being together and creating open, caring, and creative environments? How might we cultivate awareness-based collective creativity? How to design for relational agency within systems, organizations, groups?
Arts-based Research & Social Arts: In the face of a number of vast, unprecedented and unpredictable societal challenges, what might arts-based research offer in response? And how might it resonate beyond the boundaries of arts and design? What are the unique roles and contributions intrinsic to art-making that could benefit society at large?
Education & Transformative Learning: What is transformative learning—and how do we see it in practice? How might education (formal or informal) be truly a transformative experience? What is the future of education—and what is the role of transformative learning in it? How might we design educational systems, and environments in which students feel empowered to belong, dream and act together? What is the role of technology to support creating such systems and environments?
PhD Dissertation: Awareness-based design (ABD)
In my PhD (Monash University, 2018-23), I explore the role of awareness-based design (ABD) in making intangible experiences visible—in the context of transformative learning (TL). The PhD asks: how to make intangible experiences visible during the process of TL? Through practice-based design research, the methods and sites of inquiry bring design to embodied awareness and embodied awareness to design (Hayashi, 2021). The PhD develops open-ended awareness-based design prompts to support educators and learners to become aware of non-verbal, embodied and relational experiences within a social field.
PhD’s complete dissertation here.
other research projects:
PUBLICATIONS:
Gonçalves, R. D., & Grocott, L. H. (2024). Awareness-Based Design: Bringing Design to Social Presencing Theater. Journal of Awareness-Based Systems Change , 4(2), 87-122. https://doi.org/10.47061/jasc.v4i2.8302
Gonçalves, R. D. (2023). Awareness-based design: The role of making aware for a transformative learning practice. [Doctoral Thesis, Monash University Australia]. Monash University. https://doi.org/10.26180/24932691.v1
Diatta, M. D., Gonçalves, R. D., & Grocott, L. H. (2022). A family of sensibilities: Toward a relational design practice grounded in materiality and embodiment. Design and Culture, 14(2), 205-229. https://doi.org/10.1080/17547075.2021.2018539
Hayashi, A., & Gonçalves, R. D. (2022). Awareness-Based Collective Creativity: A Studio-Based Practice for Social Future-Making. In G. Donnelly, & A. Montuori (Eds.), Routledge Handbook for Creative Futures (pp. 325-335). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003020714-41
Gonçalves, R. D., & Hayashi, A. (2021). A pattern language for social field shifts: Cultivating embodied and perceptual capacities of social groups through aesthetics, and social field archetypes. Journal of Awareness-Based Systems Change , 1(1), 35-57. https://doi.org/10.47061/jabsc.v1i1.478
Diatta, M. D., & Gonçalves, R. D. (2020). Threading Notes_Family of Sensibilities. figshare. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.13353374.v2
Gonçalves, R. D., & Karp, U. (2019). Emerging design and the embodiment of social transformation. In Unfolding: Education and Design for Social Innovation (pp. 44-56). CENTRO University. https://www.centro.edu.mx/PDF/hub/Unfolding.pdf
Education Design Lab. (2017). Facilitator’s guide: Tools, competencies, and mindsets for design-driven innovation in higher ed (R. Dutra Gonçalves, Ed. & Designer). Education Design Lab.
McEntee, K., Brandalise, I., Gonçalves, R. D., Riendeau, S., Thao, K., & Grocott, L. (2016). Archipelago of possibilities: Priming teachers to reflect on intrinsic motivations for change. University of Melbourne. http://www.iletc.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/archipelago-report-for-ILETC-project.pdf
Gonçalves, R. D., & Ojha, S. (2016). Designing learning environments for social dreaming: From inquiry to insight, and action. In Proceedings of FabLearn 2016: 6th Annual Conference on Creativity and Making in Education (pp. 34-40). (ACM International Conference Proceeding Series). ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3003397.3003402
Gonçalves, R. D. (2016). Social dreaming: From inquiry to insight, and action. [Master's thesis, Parsons New School of Design].
Gonçalves, R. D., & Teixeira, J. C. (2015). Emerging livelihoods: Thinking design practice through engagement models. The New School. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56787cbd40667a75f6c6feaf/t/5726a8abf8baf385ff64c06f/1462151341975/emerging_livelihoods.pdf
CONFERENCES & INTERNATIONAL GATHERINGS:
Gonçalves, R. D. (2025, Jan). Being Together Lab [Workshop]. Edda Norden, OsloMet, Oslo, Norway.
Gonçalves, R. D. (2025, Jan). Crafting Pedagogies of Togetherness [Arts Residency]. Erasmus+, Paris, France.
Gonçalves, R. D. (2024, Nov). Being Together Lab [Workshop]. Erasmus+, Design School Kolding, Kolding, Denmark.
Gonçalves, R. D. (2023, June). Awareness-based Design [PhD Consortium]. The 10th Nordic Design Research Conference (Nordes), Linköping University, Sweden.
Gonçalves, R. D. (2022, May). Embodied Awareness [Workshop]. Capacity Building of Creative Radicals, Aalto University, Finland. [Here].
Gonçalves, R. D. (2021, April). Future Imaginaries: If not this, then what? [Workshop]. FAAD Workshop 2021: Co-Creando el Futuro Emergente, Universidad de Temuco, Chile. [Here].
Gonçalves, & R. D., Huggins, H. Øverland, I., & Van Rhyn, C. (2019, October). Embodied Methods for Anticipation in the Future of Education [Workshop]. Anticipation Conference, AHO, Oslo. [Here].
Boell, M. M., Gonçalves, R. D., Hayashi, A., Scharmer, O, & Senge, P. (2019, July). Generative Social Fields Gathering [Co-organizer]. Garrison Institute, New York.
Gonçalves, R. D., Hayashi, A., Pomeroy, E., & Scharmer, O. (2019, June). Social Fields Research Summer School [Co-organizer]. Berlin, Germany.
Gonçalves, R. D., & Hayashi, A. (2018, October). Social Presencing Theater in Education [Keynote presentation]. Grant-makers in the Arts Conference, Oakland, CA.
Gonçalves, R. D., (October, 2017). Design Strategy Conference and World Tour [Participant]. Illinois Institute of Technology, Mexico City, Mexico. [Here].
Gonçalves, R. D., (October, 2016). Social Dreaming: From Inquiry to Insight and Action [Paper presentation]. FABLEARN 2016: Annual Conference on Creativity and Making in Education, Stanford University, Palo Alto.
Gonçalves, R. D., (Mar, 2015). Elasticity in Social Innovation [Workshop]. Verge Conference, Parsons The New School for Design, New York City. [Here].
Gonçalves, R. D., (October, 2016). Design Strategy Conference and World Tour [Participant]. Illinois Institute of Technology, São Paulo, Brazil. [Here].
ARTISTIC OUTPUTS
Hayashi, A. (2021). Social Presencing Theater: The art of making a true move (R. Dutra Gonçalves, Designer & Curator). PI Press.
Gonçalves, R. D., Hayashi, A., Madrazo, C., & Pastorini, L. (2020). Mayan Youth [Performance]. La Vaca Independiente, Izamal, https://vimeo.com/414733921
Gonçalves, R. D., Hayashi, A., Ferraz, D., & Sødahl, N. (2019). Haiku Performance [Performance]. Transformación, Arte y Educación, Hacienda Ochil, https://vimeo.com/321435024
Gonçalves, R. D., & Hayashi, A. (2019). Aesthetic Language Cards: A pattern language for making visible deeper structures of social fields. PI Press.
Gonçalves, R. D., & Hayashi, A. (2018). Social field archetypes: A study of shapes [Performance]. Presencing Institute, Denmark, https://vimeo.com/404437951
Gonçalves, R. D., Hayashi, A., Johnson, K., Madrazo, C., & Pastorini, L. (2018). Social sculpture: From one to two [Performance]. La Vaca Independiente, Mexico City, https://vimeo.com/295076751
Burgueno, A. K., Gonçalves, R. D., & Lukito, S. (2016). Project Interzone. The Alternative | Furnishers Market. Exhibition, Milan Design Week.
Awards
[2023]. Awarded Monash University’s Vice-Chancellor’s International Inter-campus PhD Travel Grant.
[2017]. Project Interzone featured as finalist in the 2017 World Changing Ideas Award, by Fast Company.
[2016]. Grand prize winner of The New School’s New Challenge for Master’s thesis Social Dreaming: From Inquiry to Insight & Action.
[2016]. Master’s thesis Social Dreaming: From Inquiry to Insight & Action awarded among 100 applicants by the Unreasonable Institute at Columbia University.
[2014-16]. Awarded a fully funded graduate scholarship by the Brazilian Government’s Ministry of Education (Science Without Borders).
[2013]. Selected among 100 global young leaders from a pool of 140 000 applicants for UN’s annual Summer School.
[2008]. Bachelor’s thesis awarded the Ashoka and Staples Youth Social Entrepreneurship Award, 2008.
*Studio and Research are completely intertwined as a practice. The projects that are (collaboratively) done are driven by (exploratory) questions. Writing, and sense-making, then, crystalize projects, questions, methods, and insights as research.