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The AHRC-funded project, `The Cult of the Duce' conducted the first multi-faceted analysis of the genesis, functioning and decline of the personality cult of the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, with an emphasis on the role of visual imagery in sustaining his authority. By staging an art exhibition in London, the research introduced little-known twentieth-century Italian anti-Fascist artwork to British audiences which illustrated the importance of manipulating visual imagery for political authority. 3 documentary films were made about the research which were shown publicly but have been primarily used as a teaching aid to enhance learning of Fascism and Italian culture and history in HEIs and FE colleges around the world. Lastly, the research has provided the historical context underpinning the conservation of built heritage and tourism in the province of Forli, Italy, where Mussolini was born.
Christopher Duggan's research at the University of Reading into Italian history since the French Revolution has tackled a number of themes relating to the development of the Italian nation-state, and has contributed, in ways that are exceptional for an academic historian, to debates about the country's `national identity'. These debates have become intense with the political and economic crisis that has engulfed the country in recent years. The arguments around Duggan's work have involved leading politicians, journalists and members of the general public, and have taken place in many different media and forums, including television, radio, newspapers, schools, and public meetings.
Dr Antonello's research on the Italian designer and artist Bruno Munari and his relation with Futurism was instrumental for the realization of an exhibition at the Estorick Collection in London, titled `Bruno Munari: My Futurist Past', held on 19 September - 23 December 2012. This was the first exhibition of Munari's work in the UK and the very first exhibition outside Italy since he passed away in 1998. It caught the attention of international media, and prompted the engagement of scholars, teachers, and schools at all levels (from primary to university), as well as discussions among practitioners and graphic designers. The exhibition was organized in collaboration with the Miroslava Hajek Archive, Novara, Luca Zaffarano at munart.org, and the Massimo and Sonia Cirulli Archive, New York.
The AHRC-funded research project `The Italian Academies 1525-1700' (phase 1 (2006-09): 'A Themed Collection Database', and phase 2 (2010-): `The First Intellectual Networks of Early Modern Europe') under the direction of principal investigator Professor Jane Everson (Royal Holloway) has established a significant public resource on the Italian Academies. The database forms one of the British Library (BL) series of Themed Collections, specialized catalogues developed to enhance public access to the BL's rich collections. The software model designed by the project team in conjunction with the BL's IT department (eIS) has subsequently influenced the revisions of other catalogues. In this way the project is having direct impact on both CULTURAL LIFE and PUBLIC SERVICES, and has materially improved the METHODS used by library and information professionals.
`The Sublime Object' was a major AHRC-funded project of the Tate Britain, which used a range of open access media, free public exhibitions and events to promote new understanding of the ways in which perceptions of the Sublime in the external landscape are shaped by cultural experiences, and which was substantially shaped by Professor Philip Shaw's work.
Shaw worked with Tate Education/Learning to develop initiatives that would engage Tate's gallery and online audiences closely in an exploration of the concept of the Sublime, a theoretical concept encompassing ideas of the great, the awe-inspiring, and the overpowering. Through the collaboration of the public, artists, and academics, this work articulates ways in which the Sublime is experienced today. Shaw's research conceptually underpinned the project, helping to shape the ideas of artists, Tate visitors (in person and online), and curators. His thinking for pieces commissioned by the project was, in turn, shaped by this dialogue, demonstrating the enrichment of research via its initial impact.
The Case Study illustrates how research into cult, fantasy and horror films has been used to engage organisers of film festivals — most notably the `Abertoir' festival based in Wales and the `Offscreen' festival in Brussels — contributing to enhanced educational content which provided new audience experiences at both festivals. The primary activity was the incorporation of the presentation of research findings to audiences within festival programmes. The impact derives from the resulting changes in the way that the festivals were organised, programmed and contextualized for audiences and consequent changes in the profile of the festivals concerned. The main benefit relates primarily to the organizers; in particular, the enhancement of the educational content of the Abertoir Festival has enabled it to bid for additional funding from the Film Agency for Wales during the census period.
The impact comes from Ekserdjian's authentication and attribution of Renaissance paintings and the curatorship of international exhibitions, both of which have had substantial financial impact on institutions and individuals involved in the art market, in particular the auction house sector, galleries and museums. This also includes cultural impacts on the art-loving public by introducing them to newly-discovered and attributed artworks which might previously have never been exhibited publicly and by offering innovative ways of exhibiting and understanding masterpieces gathered from around the globe.
Dr Alexandra Wilson's research on the reception of Puccini's operas was disseminated to a large non-specialist, international audience, principally via numerous opera house programme essays, but also via radio broadcasts, pre-performance talks, a podcast and a book for general readers. Accessible yet authoritative, her research on the historical contexts of Puccini's operas has transformed the way in which they are written about for a general audience, challenging outdated stereotypes. Her work has deepened audience understanding, particularly of Puccini's lesser- known works, encouraging audiences to explore other unfamiliar repertory. It has helped both operatic newcomers and seasoned audience members to engage more effectively with the art-form as a whole and influenced the way in which opera is written about in the media.
University of Glasgow research has delivered an online, searchable and fully annotated database providing unprecedented access to a comprehensive collection of etchings, drypoints and mezzotints by James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903). Access to over 5,000 images of 490 etchings and their copper plates accompanied by all documentary or published records has transformed understanding of Whistler's art and his techniques. This catalogue raisonné has received over 27,000 visits each month since it launched in October 2011 and is used by artists, curators, art critics and collectors, auctioneers and others in the UK and abroad. Consultations sparked by the catalogue's profile and authority have resulted in the authentication of key Whistler works for purchase at auction houses, including Sotheby's and Doyle's, and input to exhibitions in the UK and abroad.
Nowhereisland by artist Alex Hartley was a public artwork curated and produced by Claire Doherty as part of the Situations public art commissioning programme. This large-scale touring public artwork and accompanying online programme of activity enabled over 23,000 active participants (including over 10,000 young people) from 135 countries to reimagine civic responsibility and citizenship and to rethink the nature of place, belonging and nationhood within the context of the London 2012 Olympiad. As an internationally recognised example of progressive, time-based, participatory public art Nowhereisland helped change perceptions about the nature of public art.