| KE Theme: Performing Arts |
In the College of Arts we make the performing arts matter.
Our experts in theatre and music are world-leading practitioners, historians, critics and educators who are actively engaged with the performing arts locally, nationally and internationally.
We work with music and theatre makers of all kinds to support their creativity and raise the profile of their work. We work with agencies and organisations to develop new processes and to influence policy making. We with work with audiences of all kinds to enhance public engagement and understanding.
Be it supporting emerging artists on Glasgow’s vibrant live art scene or conducting amateur choirs in local music making, advising Scotland’s national performing companies on policies including archiving and internationalisation, curating or participating in music and theatre festivals of all kinds, researchers in the College of Arts are providing expertise, developing skills and adding value.
We have world-leading knowledge and expertise in the history, theory and practice of music making and theatre making, musicology, dramaturgy, preservation and archiving, interpretation and public engagement, not least for older audiences and for children and young people. We are expert across the full range of periods of musical genres and theatre and performance traditions, with a commitment to and track record of working with artists and audiences in Scotland.
Interconnecting with this multifaceted expertise is a critical understanding of creative working practices, artistic risk, ideas of collaboration, partnership and public accountability. Our researchers are themselves active in the performing arts as composers and musicians, performers and dramaturges, journalists, educators and organisational leaders. This puts the College of Arts in a unique position to study and contribute to the performing arts from industry-relevant perspectives.
Our interdisciplinary approach enriches our existing collaborative partnerships with Glasgow Life’s cultural infrastructure, Scotland’s national performing companies, other publicly-funded organisations including the repertory theatre sector, international music technology companies, artist-led micro businesses and other leading employers in the performing arts sector. It also helps to shape new partnerships that provide opportunities for innovative research and professional training through shared purpose and knowledge exchange between students, academics and industry professionals – for example, our work with jazz and pop musicians, the live art sector, playwrights and creative learning practitioners is supported by postgraduate Masters programmes as well as research initiatives and other bespoke training events.
Our undergraduate and postgraduate students benefit from vocational and industry-focused learning, with placement opportunities with local, national and international performing arts companies and agencies. Such experiences enhance our students’ essential skills and knowledge – and feeds into our ongoing programmes of research with industry partners of all kinds.
Our doctoral and postdoctoral research takes place in collaboration with performing arts partners, giving privileged access to leading practitioners and industry expertise and leads to research-informed contributions to organisational planning, local arts practices and high-level cultural policy. By attracting international high-calibre researchers to our excellent facilities at the University of Glasgow, all of our collaborative partners benefit from interdisciplinary knowledge exchange for cutting-edge professional advances and innovative research to answer real questions with real-world outcomes.