1. Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures
  2. School of English
  3. Research groups
  4. Practice

Practice

  • Group summary: The Practice Research Group (PRG) is home to a wide range of practice-led researchers, practice-based researchers, and scholars engaging with practice as research.

A person behind a podium at Leeds Lit Fest 2023. They're in the Leeds Central Library. A crowd is seated before them as they speak.

What we do

Practice research plays a significant role in the School of English’s research activity, with a growing number of staff and PGRs working in this area and longstanding Leeds-based initiatives including the Poetry Centre, Workshop Theatre and Stand magazine.

Practice-led researchers in English work in the disciplines of Creative Writing and Theatre Studies and a range of specific genres and areas within those.

We also work across disciplines, drawing upon a range of theoretical and methodological frameworks, often in collaboration with specialists in other fields.

Our practice research frequently reaches international publics through magazines like Granta, PN Review, and Tears in the Fence and publishers including Faber, Melville House, Sceptre, Verve, Viking and ZimZalla, thereby raising awareness of a range of pressing issues including the socio-political, environmental and ethico-aesthetic.

Research in our group has been funded by grants from Arts Council England, Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), British Academy, Centre for Practice Research in the Arts (CePRA), Leeds Cultural Institute, Wellcome Trust and more.

Aims and objectives

In light of the significant and growing contribution of practice-led research staff and PGRs to the School’s research culture, we provide a space to:

  • have conversations about practice research, including our specific intellectual and creative orientation(s), 
  • share our work-in-progress, including draft funding applications where applicable,
  • share and develop collaboration between colleagues in the School of English and the AHC – particularly Music, Performance and Cultural Industries (PCI), Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies (FAHACS), Medica & Communication, and the Centre for Practice Research in the Arts (CePRA) – as well cross-Faculty collaborations with Biological Sciences, Environment, Medicine & Health, etc
  • work on public engagement and impact activities, 
  • make visible the significant role of practice research in the School and develop our external research profile in this area
  • give specialist training and support to practice-led PGRs, and
  • invite relevant external speakers who address the needs of the group.

Who we are