We are pleased to showcase three films that the Pandemic and Beyond have made in partnership with our resident filmmaker, Benedict Morrison. Each focuses on a key way that Arts and Humanities research has contributed to Covid-19 response and recovery.
Coping Creatively
This film reveals how five AHRC projects have explored the invaluable contribution that the arts and humanities have made to helping individuals and groups to cope during the pandemic. The research teams have worked with vulnerable people and communities of all ages to create connections and support through creative activities that range from doodling to theatre and walking. Despite the variety of focuses represented by these projects, all of them reveal how important the arts and humanities have been in helping people to cope and prosper creatively.
Getting the Message Across
This film shows how five AHRC projects have explored the invaluable contribution that the arts and humanities have made to supporting understanding communication during the pandemic. Public Health messaging has been a fundamental element of the UK’s social and political response to Covid-19. The arts and humanities have played a central role in understanding how this messaging has both succeeded and failed, and which cultural groups have not been reached effectively.
Coming Together
This film reveals how four AHRC projects have explored ways in which the arts and humanities have adapted to maintain audiences and communities of performers during the pandemic. Coming together as audiences and performers became almost impossible during lockdown. The projects investigated how people were able to come together through outdoor performances, virtual dance technologies, telepresence and poetry. Despite the variety of focuses represented by these projects, all of them reveal how important the arts and humanities have been in helping people continue to come together in order to share experiences.
AHRC video: Research driving the recovery of the creative and cultural sector
This video, created by AHRC, takes a look at research tackling the impact that COVID-19 has had on the creative and cultural sector. You can read more about the projects in this video, and others researching the sector, on our project pages.
‘The COVID-19 pandemic has caused devastation in many areas of society and our lives. For the creative and cultural sector the restrictions have presented many challenges, forcing the industry to evolve at pace. From virtual theatre performances to motion capture bringing dancers together across long-distances, Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded research and innovation has been vital in rethinking approaches and driving recovery. Research in the arts and humanities is essential in supporting individuals and communities to tackle the challenges they face, enabling society to move forward with greater resilience for the future’
