Arts Lab: Purposeful playgrounds for research
Published: 30 June 2023
ArtsLab Labs and Teams collaborated on their first ArtsLab Showcase event wherein the goal was to present their independent research practices, outline the scope and aim of ArtsLab, and inform people about available opportunities for contribution, upcoming events as well as membership.
On the 14th of June 2023, University of Glasgow staff and students were invited to participate in an open conversation with our ArtsLab and Themes researchers in the Advanced Research Centre. College of Arts colleagues highlighted their individual research projects, spoke about the purpose of their work, and invited the wider public to follow or get involved in their future projects. If you have never heard of ArtsLab or its Lab and Themes before, the best way to describe them would be ‘purposeful playgrounds for research’ wherein research teams explore their fields of interest through various activities such as panel discussions, workshops, field trips, collaborations with institutions and researchers external to the College and University and other events that can steer their practice and approach to research into different disciplines and perspectives.
Arts Labs present at the showcase were Textual Editing Lab, Collections Lab, Migrations Lab, Scottish Hub of Sustainable Futures Global Network, Digital Cultural Heritage Lab, Digital Departures Lab and Games and Gaming Lab meanwhile the interdisciplinary Themes included Heritage, Urban Studies and Development, Islands in the Global Age, Landscape of Mutability, Spheres of Singing, Scottish Food and Drink Histories, and Emotions Across the Disciplines. Attendees were free to roam between the stalls to speak to individual Labs and Themes teams, participate in their respective activities and/or take an informational freebie home! The showcase proved to be a remarkable success, with hundreds of colleagues and visitors enjoying the opportunity to learn more about ArtsLab’s approach to research, get familiar with Labs and Themes’ respective goals and projects as well as contribute their ideas to the on-going research by participating in activities or simply talking to the research teams.
Featured in the Showcase were two 30-minute workshops free for anyone who was curious enough to wander down the hall to ARC’s studio 2. In the first 30 minutes, Katy Cooper from Spheres of Singing educated us about the connection between our bodies and breathing, different practices for warming up our vocal cords and even taught us how to perform a lovely song as a group. In the following 30 minutes, researchers from Games and Gaming Lab demonstrated the flexibility for education and creativity in games and game-development through a short presentation followed by an ideation workshop focused on building creative projects. It was a well-spent afternoon wherein we combined academic research with playful activities and discussed ideas for the future!
Thank you to everyone who came along, and we look forward to seeing you at future events!
First published: 30 June 2023
<< Food Blog