Funding announced for nine interdisciplinary research projects with impact beyond academia
The Cultural Institute and Leeds Arts Humanities Research Institute (LAHRI) are delighted to announce a range of ambitious, interdisciplinary projects that have been successful in this year’s Interdisciplinary Research and Impact Fund for Culture (IRIFC).
Launched in 2020 by the Cultural Institute and LAHRI, the IRIFC aims to support the creation and development of collaborative, cultural interdisciplinary projects that have strong potential to develop into ambitious funding applications or lead to significant research impact.
The latest round will support projects to investigate a range of diverse topics, from decolonising the museum to looking at fossils as cultural objects, from diving deep into Tim Hetherington’s photographic archive to looking at Space on the Page.
Which projects received funding?
Fossils as cultural tools
Dr Fiona Gill, Lecturer in Palaeontology and Geochemistry from the School of Earth and Environment will be looking at ‘Bridging Boundaries: fossils as cultural, historical and scientific objects’, in collaboration with Associate Professor Sonja Andrew.
How can contemporary art be used to support migrant domestic workers?
Dr Gill Park, Lecturer in Art Gallery, Museum & Heritage Studies from the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies will be using the fund ‘Images and Journeys: investigating the capacity of contemporary art to support the advocacy of migrant domestic workers living in the UK.’ The project will run in collaboration with Dr Amy Charlesworth, Lecturer in Art History at the Open University.
Concerts, relaxation and wellbeing for new parents
Professor of Applied Music Psychology, Professor Karen Burland Clark will be using the fund to evaluate the wellbeing outcomes of the Sheffield-based Concerteenies Relaxation Concerts for new parents. The project will be supported by Associate Professor in Music Psychology, Dr Freya Bailes.
Decolonising the Museum
Professor William Gould from the School of History, together with Dr Arunima Bhattacharya, Postdoctoral Research Assistant, will be looking at decolonising museum practices and discussing who it’s for and why it matters.
Diving Deep into Tim Hetherington’s Archive
Associate Professor in Media and Communication, Dr Katy Parry, will be leading the project ‘Telling it your way: photostory workshops and the Tim Hetherington Archive.’ The project will run in association with Katy Thornton, a Collaborative Doctoral Award PhD Researchers based at the Imperial War Museum and KCL, and Camilla Thomas, Executive Producer of the programme for adults and young people at the Imperial War Museum.
Space on a page
Looking at the significance and creative use of digital spatial relationships between words, lines and blocks of text, ‘Space on a Page’ is a project led by Dr John Stell, Senior Lecturer from the School of Computing with support from Professor Fiona Becket and Dr Kimberly Campanello (School of English), Dr Martin Thomas (School of Languages, Cultures and Societies), Dr Claude Heath (Royal Holloway, University of London) and Dr Joanna Taylor (University of Manchester).
Bridging the gap between arts and sciences
Lecturer in Composition and Music Technology, Dr Scott McLaughlin will put the interdisciplinary fund into action by piloting ‘Validating the artist as science co-researcher.’ Dr McLaughlin will be working in collaboration with University Academic Fellow in Biosphere-Climate Interactions, Dr Cat Scott (School of Earth and Environment).
Consuming fashion sustainably, and the power of social media
Dr Eunsuk Hur from the School of Design will be collaborating with Dr Pammi Sinha, Associate Professor in Fashion Management, to look at ‘Leveraging social innovation for sustainable fashion consumption: The roles of social media for sustainable local communities.’ The project will receive support from Professor Soo Hee Lee, University of Kent (Professor in Organisation Studies); Holly Bentley — Batley Oxfam GB Online Shop Deputy Manager; Lauren -LCCE Director Leeds Community Clothes Exchange (LCCE) and Rachael Fox of Leeds Repair Café.
East Leeds Songlines: Community, Place, Communication
This pilot project will test collaborative working between new partners from the School of Languages, Cultures and Societies and the East Leeds Project, a visual arts organisation based in Gipton. The wider project aims to improve community communications around issues such as public health and legal rights. The project is led by Dr Martin Thomas, a Lecturer in the School of Cultures, Languages and Societies , with support from Kerry Harker and Claire Irving (East Leeds Project C.I.C.).
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If you want to find out more about any of these projects, please contact us via email culturalinstitute@leeds.ac.uk
The Leeds Arts and Humanities Research Institute initiates and incubates the development of cutting-edge interdisciplinary research across and beyond the arts and humanities. To find out more about their work, visit their website or contact lahri@leeds.ac.uk.
