Log in
The case study focuses on exhibitions and artistic collaborations undertaken by the Centre for the Study of Surrealism and its Legacies. It demonstrates an impact on cultural life arising from the presentation of cultural heritage, as well as influence on creative practice. The exhibitions, co-curated by David Lomas (Centre Director), drew upon the Centre's academic research to enrich public understanding of surrealist art and ideas. Both exhibitions exceeded their attendance targets and elicited a strongly positive public reaction; they have also had a lasting impact on the galleries' approach to exhibition making. Collaboration generated new ideas and directions for the artists concerned.
Professor Dawn Ades has dedicated much of her research to the history of Surrealism and in particular to the ethnographic interests of surrealist artists. In 2011 Ades used this research to inform her major exhibition of Surrealist art at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Through a consultation process involving local First Nations community representatives, Ades secured permission for the Gallery to use First Nations objects and established connections for the Gallery for future projects in this area. The popular and critical success of the exhibition resulted in over 100,000 visitors and greater reputation and credibility for the Gallery.
Afterall is a research and publishing organisation founded in 1998 by Research Fellow Charles Esche and Professor Mark Lewis at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London (UAL). Afterall focuses on contemporary art, and its relationship to wider theoretical, social and political fields. Researchers associated to Afterall undertake and commission research, which is disseminated to an international audience through publications and events. Afterall impacts on the cultural sector and an extended audience by providing a platform for critical and creative responses to art, curatorial and cultural practice and by shaping discourse in this area. The significance and wide reach of this impact is demonstrated through partnerships and high-profile cultural events, publication reach, and support from the cultural community.
Research at the University of Bristol on the international contexts of British art has made a distinctive contribution to a renaissance of British art studies that began in the late 1980s. Over the past five years, scholars at Bristol have worked with museums in London, the regions and overseas to engage the widest possible audience in fresh thinking about British art. Exhibitions and catalogue essays informed by their research have raised awareness of individual artists and changed public and critical perceptions of British art as a whole. They have also brought many benefits to the museum partners, attracting visitors, generating income and enhancing the museums' understanding of their own collections. Some exhibitions have inspired additional collaborations which have fed back into research and further extended audiences for British art.
The leading open submission exhibition `EASTinternational' is significant in establishing the reputations of prominent artists and curators who have become major forces in contemporary art in the UK and across the world. `EASTinternational' parallels the rise of the Young British Artists, and is not dependent on an established commercial network. Many influential curators and dealers have used the exhibition as a serious sounding board for new artists, who otherwise might not have been provided a platform through which to engage with high profile practitioners, curators and dealers, and to access new markets. In researching contemporary and emerging practice, identifying topical exhibition themes, commissioning new works, originating solo exhibitions and developing international networks `EASTinternational' has supported the professional, career and commercial development of over 700 artists, curators and dealers, and enhanced critical discourse in a variety of disciplines.
`The Artists' City' project at Liverpool School of Art and Design (LSAD) was designed to strengthen Liverpool's creative communities by supporting emerging and early career artists. The research, recognised and supported by Arts Council England, has benefitted established arts organisations in the city (Bluecoat and FACT) as well as newer organisations (Royal Standard and Metal) in their offer to artists by improving the opportunities for artists to access studio spaces, engage with other artists, discuss their practice, and exhibit their work.
The impact that will be described within the case study focuses on how the research — which centered upon the multifarious applications, conceptualisations and roles drawing has today within various professions and disciplines - was beneficial to a group of educators with respect to their planning and implementation of an art and design based curriculum. To this end the case study will detail how the research undertaken around drawing by Staff and Cureton directly affected how both drawing was conceived by these teachers and how this informed the development of their curricula.
York's British Art Research School, judged `world-leading' in RAE 2008, aims to change the way key cultural institutions represent British art. To advance this aim we have fostered partnerships with museums and galleries at local, national, and international levels. The partnerships have influenced curatorial practices through:
These initiatives have helped partners to display and promote a significantly wider range of British art and to generate new kinds of interpretation for larger and more diverse publics.
Research by Daniels for Picturing Britain, an exhibition about the life and works of the pre-eminent Nottingham-born landscape artist Paul Sandby (1731-1809), shaped the policy and practice of Nottingham Castle Museum and Art Gallery (NCMAG). While NCMAG previously imported exhibitions of international standing produced elsewhere, Picturing Britain reversed this relationship. This exhibition, conceived in Nottingham and based partly on works held at NCMAG, was exported to two internationally important venues, strengthening the city's national and international cultural reputation. Inspired by the success of Picturing Britain, NCMAG re-assessed its permanent collection with a view to securing Arts Council recognition and is currently investigating other `home-grown' touring exhibitions.
The primary impact of the research in the exhibition and the catalogue entitled The Bruce Lacey Experience is the Tate's commitment to acquiring additional pieces of Lacey's work (the gallery presently owns two works) and to purchase Lacey's archive. The exhibition that David Mellor curated at the Camden Arts Centre (CAC) jointly with Jeremy Deller also directly affected contemporary art curators and the public by influencing outputs on Lacey in film: both the film of the artist made by Deller, and Lacey's own films, released as a DVD set through the British Film Institute (BFI) in conjunction with the exhibition.