Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)

The UK has a fast fashion problem. Could empowering small businesses help?   Our latest film highlights the Robotics Living Laboratory (RoLL) at machester Metropolitan University.   RoLL is kitted out with a range of high-tech equipment for producing fashion, including ‘cobots’: robots designed to work alongside humans.   It will help the UK’s vibrant community of micro fashion designers and manufacturers to collaborate with fashion researchers and experiment with new techniques, helping them increase efficiency without compromising on the sustainability and quality of their products.   RoLL is funded by UKRI’s World Class Labs programme, which aims to give UK researchers and innovators access to the quality laboratories, equipment and digital resources they need to thrive.   Search Robotics Living Laboratory to find out more.   The Manchester Metropolitan University | Robotics Living Lab

It’s so brilliant to see one of our New Generation Thinkers (a scheme for early career researchers run in partnership between the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and BBC Radio 4), Dr Peter Mackay at the University of St Andrews, become Scotland’s new Makar – the National Poet for Scotland #poetry #research. You can read more via: https://lnkd.in/g_dsyRTW

NEW REPORT! Child trafficking: a synthesis of PEC-funded research. ☝ The synthesis of the research on child trafficking and exploitation funded so far by the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre (PEC) points to systemic challenges in preventing child trafficking and gaps in evidence underpinning prevention efforts. ✅ The report highlights the absence of children’s voices from debates and research on trafficking, which may reduce the relevance of existing policies and practices. ✅ Using the BETR prevention continuum, the study identified gaps in understanding of some prevention areas such as re-trafficking, children going missing, deterrence and disruption, and multi-agency collaboration. 👉 Recommendations for future research include enhancing child participation, leveraging longitudinal data, and refining ethical approaches. Read about the report on the PEC website: https://lnkd.in/eT6VcRxd The research was carried out by SPARK (Social Science Research Park) at Cardiff University / Prifysgol Caerdydd. It was commissioned by the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre, which is part of the University of Oxford. The PEC is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

Our latest film looks at how the heritage narrative of Sheffield, retold through the stories of its diverse communities, is transforming heritage policy.   Roots and Futures is a place-based cultural heritage project, funded by the AHRC, shining a spotlight on the fascinating communities that are under-represented in heritage policy.    To reflect the undiscovered voices of Sheffield and empower its residents, their archivists worked directly at the source – talking in-person to the communities in environments that held personal significance.    Sheffield is in an active period of transformation and there are new considerations around the approach to culture and heritage policy strategy. Roots and Futures played a significant role in bringing the city council on-board with the demonstrated importance of cultural representation to policy-making pipeline.   Alongside informing heritage strategy, the project team facilitated the creation of a Heritage Partnership Board, which is key to spreading the message to other institutions.    We spoke with the team on how their project template to valuing these voices is informing Sheffield’s heritage policy and strategy, with the potential to scale. Watch it here: https://lnkd.in/eAghhMqK The University of Sheffield | Lizzy Craig-Atkins [she her] | Ella Barrett

Reflections on Immersive Arts deadline - round one Earlier this month, Immersive Arts closed its first round of open calls for artists looking to engage with immersive technologies. We were offering three levels of grant funding: Explore - £5,000  Experiment - £20,000  Expand - £50,000 These funds have been designed to support artists at different stages of their development, aiming to meet them where they are, giving them access to the resources they may need to extend their practice, and to develop immersive artworks that use technology to actively engage an audience. Immersive Arts is made up of a consortium of ten partners and five funders who have been deeply embedded within the arts and culture, and the immersive tech sector for many years. We had a few ‘educated hunches’ about what might be useful and what the demand might be. However, until the application deadline, we had no real way of knowing what level of interest there would be from the UK creative community. The result out-paced almost all of our estimates. Overall, we received 2517 applications from artists around the UK, spread across the three levels of grant funding. What does this mean? We are now beginning the process of carefully reviewing each of the applications, working with assessors who bring a broad range of experiences and expertise to the process. We will share some of our key learnings at the conclusion of this process. In the meantime, the volume of applications tells us two important things: 1. There is a huge community of artists based in the UK who are keen to work with immersive technology as a creative toolset. This interest seems to exist within all four nations of the UK and across a wide range of artforms and experiences. 2. There is significantly more need than a programme at the scale of Immersive Arts can meet. This means that a lot of people will have put time, thought, care and effort into developing proposals that will not be funded in this round. We take this seriously and are working closely with others in the sector and with policymakers to think about how this level of unmet need might be addressed in the future. Thank you to all of you who have submitted proposals and trusted us with your ideas. Although we endeavour to make our systems as accessible as possible, we fully understand that the process of putting together a funding application can be rough. Whether you are successful in this round or not, we deeply appreciate that you engaged with this new programme, and we are delighted that you have come forward as part of a trail-blazing new generation of UK artists working in the immersive arts. Immersive Arts will be opening our second round of funding in Spring 2025, and artists will be eligible to apply, regardless of whether or not they applied in the first round. We also have a year-round programme of events, training and research activity. Join the mailing list to stay in touch. https://lnkd.in/ef5yxSmd

A nice way to end 2024 in the Victoria and Albert Museum Science Lab: I am investigating the paint layer structure on the intricate eighteenth-century Longford table, which you can go and see in gallery 54, in the V&A British Galleries. https://lnkd.in/eZkUzarU The cross sections were prepared in 2000, and Lucia Burgio and I are re-examining them with our new #CapCo equipment (purchased with a grant from the UK Research and Innovation Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) which enabled the refurbishment and upgrade of the V&A Science Lab in 2021). #heritagescience #conservation #pigments #paint #research #conservationscience

Design HOPES exhibition at V&A Dundee now open https://bit.ly/4iyW5qj