Seminar: Creating research based art: process, challenges and opportunities

Public Involvement & Engagement Seminar Series 2019/2020

Postponed - Creating research based art: process, challenges and opportunities

Speaker: Dr. Felicity Boardman, University of Warwick & Esther Fox, Visual artist

Event abstract

Dr Felicity Boardman (Warwick University) and Esther Fox (Artist and Practice Based Researcher) will explore the collaborative processes that have led to the creation of a research-informed artwork Pandora’s Box, exhibited at the Science Museum London and a touring installation, I:DNA.  The use of art can widen audience engagement with research, and similarly artwork can benefit in creating a narrative that arises directly from research. However, art and research have contrasting disciplinary backgrounds that can be difficult to reconcile in collaborations. In this talk, Esther and Felicity will explore how they approached the fundamental differences between their disciplinary backgrounds and how these, implicitly or explicitly, shaped the artistic outputs that were ultimately created.  

The four main themes they will consider are: the conceptual underpinning of research and artwork; the translation of these concepts into artistic products; audience engagement; evaluation and impact.  Over the course of creating artistic outputs from the research, there needed to be a careful balance between research integrity and allowing the artist to adopt the role as “provocateur”.  Achieving this balance presents many challenges, however it also provides an opportunity to foreground lesser known perspectives and create rich, nuanced work that can inspire and engage in ways that neither research nor art can do alone.   

All are welcome. For more information contact Dr. Julie Roberts.

This seminar is part of a series funded by the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences Bart Fund and the School of Health Sciences Public Engagement Steering Group.