New Impact Accelerator Funding awarded to researchers in the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures
Three academics from the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures have received funding through a new scheme enabling them to lead impactful research projects
Three academics from the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures have received funding through a new scheme enabling them to lead impactful research projects in collaboration with a range of researchers and partners.
Delivered by the Leeds Arts and Humanities Research Institute, the internally funded Arts and Humanities Impact Acceleration Account scheme aims to support University of Leeds researchers to achieve impact through arts and humanities research and to contribute to societal, cultural and economic benefits to people and organisations outside academia.
Teaming up with Polite Rebellion, Dr Laura King – Associate Professor in Modern British History in the School of History – will lead the project ‘Loose Ends: Exploring Radical Family History Through Art’, examining how to share family histories in different creative forms. Through artistic workshops, a participatory installation at Compass Festival, and an online website, ‘Loose Ends’ will provide audiences with a ‘kit’ to start thinking about family trees, and perhaps rethinking them.
Dr Laura King, School of History
"I'm really delighted to win this funding,” Laura says, “as it will help us develop a new project on inclusive forms of family history for those who feel like the family tree doesn't really capture their reality. What's especially exciting is that I'll be working with the amazing artist Ellie Harrison and her team – the funding allows us to support the work of talented freelance and independent artists like Ellie."
Dr Catherine Stones is Associate Professor - Graphic Design in the School of Design. For her project, ‘Let’s Talk About “Things”: Celebrating Evocative Objects for People with Dementia’, Catherine will collaborate with Dr Jeanne Louise-Moys (School of Design) and Yorkshire-based mental health charity Community Links to raise awareness of the significance of everyday/personal objects valued by people with dementia. These objects facilitate empowerment, reminiscence, social bonds, and respect, and through the project Catherine and her colleagues will seek to make object value more accessible, ‘human,’ and compelling. They hope the project will help stakeholders in dementia care to promote carer engagement with objects.
Dr Catherine Stones, School of Design
“We are thrilled to receive this award,” Catherine says. “We'll be able to do a lot of valuable impact work with our money and formalise our relationship with Community Links, our new partner. They are also very excited about working with us. Together we can now explore the value and potential of storytelling and co-creation of arts methodologies with people living with early-stage dementia, something that simply wouldn't be possible without this funding. We're very grateful to the panel for the award.”
Aylwyn Walsh – Professor in Performance and Social Change in the School of Performance and Cultural Industries – will lead the project ‘Staging Climate Action: Dialogic Arts Activism for Climate Justice in SA’. Working with Professor Paul Routledge (School of Geography) and the South-Africa-based Well Worn Theatre Company (WWTC), they will co-produce a youth-focused climate justice education workshop in Johannesburg to examine the use of arts activism for climate justice mobilisation in South Africa. This will inform a follow-up public gathering/ indaba in Johannesburg that will build skills capacity around the use of arts activism for organisations working on climate justice – and conduct a scoping study for ongoing funded collaboration.
Dr Aylwyn Walsh, School of Performance and Cultural Industries
“We are so pleased that the LAHRI IAA funding allows us to expand on our arts activism work with Tshisimani Centre for Activist Education,” Aylwyn and Paul say. “We are now able to put our toolkit into action with South African climate justice activists. Our partners Well Worn Theatre Company are looking forward to being able to film 'Burning Rebellion' to engage many more people with the work on the collective creativity that is needed to tackle climate crisis and how it affects those most vulnerable to exclusion.”
Alix Brodie-Wray, Impact Manager for the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures, said:
“The Arts and Humanities Impact Acceleration Account is new for us here at the University of Leeds so it was great to see so many excellent applications. We were particularly pleased to have reached academics beyond the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures, with applications from staff in the Faculty of Social Sciences and the School of Geography applying and co-applying. I have had and continue to have lots of conversations with staff interested in the scheme. Whether or not they have gone on to apply, it has been great to spread the impact message and learn more about the breadth and depth of the work undertaken across the University.
“The successful applications have an embedded arts and humanities approach showing how vital our methods are to reaching people and making change on a deeper level. There is a fear sometimes that arts and humanities can be instrumentalised in impact work – here we can see that embeddedness and collaborative approach to partners, which builds a more solid foundation for change.”
Professor Matthew Treherne, Pro-Dean for Research and Innovation, said:
“We are so pleased to be able to fund these fascinating research projects, and grateful to the Research and Innovation Service for making it possible. We hope that the funding will enable Laura, Catherine and Aylwyn to achieve lasting impact in their respective areas through increasing and deepening engagement with their partner organisations. We wish them the best of luck with their projects and look forward to seeing where their research and impact activities lead.”
Ruth Rayner, Translational Research Portfolio Manager, University of Leeds Research and Innovation Service, said:
“The Research and Innovation Service is always delighted to support the exceptional work being done in the arts and humanities. These IAA grants will enable this talented cohort of academics to undertake interesting research while fostering impactful partnerships and user engagement. By providing flexible support, we ensure that brilliant ideas have the opportunity make a real difference in society.”
The window for applications to the second round of the IAA scheme is now open and the deadline for applications is Wednesday 4 September 2024 at 5pm. Academic staff at the University of Leeds can find more information about the scheme on the Leeds Arts and Humanities Research Institute Hub: IAA (AHC) Guidance and Application.
