The Centre for Applied and Participatory Arts will:

 

• position itself as a multi-disciplinary research centre which works closely with colleagues in academic schools, research centres and institutes across the University

• refine its mission and activities in 2018 - 2019 through consultation with industry partners drawing on their existing best practices, partnerships and collaborations

• demonstrate the value of arts and creative approaches to socio-political and psychosocial areas of research

• present a coherent public profile, after consultation, that will develop new partnerships, knowledge and understanding

 

The use of the arts and creativity across social and public sectors, both local and international is well known for its benefits in increasing well-being, education and cognitive awareness/understanding across a wide spectrum, from self-awareness and advocacy to policy change. In this vein the arts are often frequently applied across many contexts from therapeutic interventions with vulnerable groups, community building, professional development (leadership, coaching, facilitation), education (children, young people and school practitioners), to action research for organisational change and Science & Technology (STEAM). Our experience in applied arts practice, working as cultural brokers and facilitators in different HE, business and community contexts, enables us to work with the arts to create shared values and purpose in partnerships between researchers in socially-engaged projects and their partners in diverse communities and settings.  

The value of this ‘applied’ approach is explored in a recent report on HEI Knowledge Exchange collaborations published by Virani and Pratt, (2016) which analyses collaborations between HEI and industry. The report sets out a case for a greater role for ‘cultural intermediaries’ to establish trust between academic and industry partners who may have conflicting needs and attitudes in relation to research. Establishing or ‘translating’ rules of participation, they argue, is a key function in successful KE collaboration. 

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1 Virani, T. and Pratt, A. (2016), Intermediaries and the knowledge exchange process The case of the creative industries and higher education in Comunian, R. and Gilmore, A. (eds.) Higher Education and the Creative Economy. Beyond the Campus. Abingdon, Routledge.