The Image Speaks:
Photography and research
Dr David Forrest (English) and Amy Ryall (Faculty of Arts and
Humanities)
What is this about?
The session is about The Image Speaks project, a project within
Arts and Humanities which pairs a PhD student with a photographer and a
designer to produce an exhibition of research. The key aim of the project is
supporting students in finding ways of imagining and communicating their
research in new contexts and to give them the opportunity to discuss their
research in a cross-disciplinary environment. Students take part in a series of
seminars where they learn about photography as a communication tool as well as an
art form. They work across departments to share and discuss their research,
analyse exhibition design and present their own photographs. The second part of
the project is working individually with the photographer to take the image or
images for the exhibition. This gives the students the experience of working
directly with an artist and of negotiating the space between academic and
external partner. They receive training in text-writing to enable them to
write an exhibition label for their image and also write a 500 word essay to
accompany their work. The project culminates in a launch event for the
exhibition which is displayed in Jessop West Foyer and an online catalogue
featuring their essays.
How will colleagues
benefit?
Colleagues will benefit from this session by becoming aware of a
concrete example of how engaging with an external partner can benefit research
development and enable students to discuss their research in a variety of ways,
skills that are transferable across other areas of the research process. They
will be introduced to an initiative, currently running in Arts and Humanities
that could be replicated in other Faculties, and to members of staff who could
support the development of similar projects if help is needed.
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