Aesthetics, as both a variety of practices and a field of research, has now begun a journey toward society and more applied thinking – that is, how can art, art thinking, and different forms of sensuousness interact with or interfere in societal contexts. In this special issue of InFormation we explore the frame of a possible contemporary art didactics, where knowledge production and dispersion in and through art and aesthetics are promoted. Here the qualities of responding to societal needs and challenges are negotiated with the particular qualities of art. The field of didactics is often tied to specific teaching methods, but can also be seen as a more general theory of learning. With the term ‘contemporary art didactics’, we want to propose a relational field of communication and interaction based on aesthetic activity and competence. In addition, we seek to emphasize the contemporary quality and engagement of this activity and competence. In this first article by the editor of the issue, some of the related discussions on application, autonomy and criticality are presented alongside a proposition to formulate certain specific art based qualities.