Output details
35 - Music, Drama, Dance and Performing Arts
University of Manchester : B - Drama
Portfolio title: Theatre, performance and economic precarity: collaborative research projects in Manchester.
This portfolio documents an evolving enquiry into the processes and possibilities for applied theatre research and evaluation in contexts of socio-economic precarity. The work represented is driven by two sets of related research questions. Firstly, how can researchers work with socially-engaged arts organisations in ways that extend beyond the short-termism of much commissioned evaluation, and what potential do these collaborations have for enhancing research, teaching and knowledge exchange? Secondly, how can artists engage with communities experiencing economic precarity, and what aesthetic and political questions arise from those engagements? The research aims to develop diverse and useful outputs for a wide range of users both academic and non-academic.
The portfolio contents reflect Hughes’ ongoing research collaborations with two Manchester-based arts organisations: TiPP (Theatre in Prisons and Probation) and The Men’s Room (an arts and social care agency working with young men with experiences of homelessness, the criminal justice system and sex work). The “Enviz toolkit” (items 1-2) evaluates a three-month participatory arts project facilitated by TiPP, but was developed by Hughes and the collaborating team into a resource for other artists and housing agencies interested in using the arts to tackle ‘worklessness’. Funded by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, the toolkit has been distributed nationally to housing providers. Items 3-5 arose from an 18-month period working as a researcher/volunteer with The Men’s Room, taking part in ongoing creative projects and supporting staff to reflect on project delivery via structured research activities. Funded by Arts Council England, “Surviving Manchester” was a 12-week collaborative theatre project culminating in a devised performance [4] and booklet [5] showcasing the creative work of participants and providing insights useful to professionals working with vulnerable urban populations. Item 3 is a journal article in which Hughes reflects critically on her research with The Men’s Room.
