VIP CLEAR: Children’s lockdown experiences applied to recovery

About the project This project sought to gather and critically evaluate children’s worldviews, perceptions and experiences during COVID-19. Working with multicultural schools and nurseries in Bristol and a national partner, Action for Children, the research team employed child-focused, creative methodologies, interweaving socially engaged arts practice with social science to capture children’s voices and views. Principal Investigator […]

Libraries in lockdown: Scottish public libraries and their role in community cohesion and resilience

About the project This research examined Scottish Public Libraries and their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, it explored the ways in which they have, through their digital offerings, helped to support community resilience and cohesion. It also examined the challenges that faced libraries during lockdown. Methods used included social media analysis, alongside interviews […]

Digital footprints and search pathways: Working with National Collections in Scotland during COVID-19 lockdown to design future online provision

About the project The pandemic was particularly damaging for Scotland’s many museums and galleries since many had undeveloped online infrastructures. This research undertook a longitudinal study of the digital footprints of users in two national collections – National Museums Scotland and National Galleries of Scotland over a 12 month period. It examined how people engaged […]

At Home with Children: Learning from Lockdown

About the project This project analysed the lessons from lockdown for how they can help us to re-imagine, refurbish and re-design ‘liveable’ homes for contemporary needs of families with children. The research included a survey of 1246 families about the ways they used or adapted their homes in lockdown, and research interviews about how homes […]

Far Apart UK: Looking Beyond Lockdown – How UK Arts Organisations Can Continue To Support Young People’s Wellbeing During COVID-19

About the project We know that young people’s participation in the arts has a positive impact their mental health and wellbeing. COVID-19 forced arts organisations to move their activities online, radically changing the ways in which they support young people. Using mixed methods, this study examined the impact of this shift to the digital on […]

Making it FAIR: Understanding the Lockdown ‘Digital Divide’ and the Implications for the Development of UK Digital Infrastructures

About the project This project examined how small museums can address the challenges of engaging with audiences online in lockdown and beyond, in such a way that new digital content generated is sustainable and FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Resuable). Researchers conducted an action-based research study with a cohort of 8 small museums; they received training, […]

Outside the Box: Open-Air Performance as a Pandemic Response

Case Study Theatre and performance artists innovated in their open-air practices during the pandemic, addressing the impacts upon the cultural sector and social isolation caused by lockdowns, alongside the ongoing protracted crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. Spanning theatre and management studies, Outside the Box: Open Air Performance as a Pandemic Response worked with […]

Combatting Gendered, Sexual and Online Harms and Risks During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Developing Resources for Young People, Parents and Schools

Case Study Sexual and gender-based violence has emerged as a key issue during the pandemic – at home, in schools, on the streets, and online. While digital technologies have helped young people feel connected, they also opened them up to risks and harms such as grooming, harassment, and non-consensual image sharing. Our research responded to […]

Scenes of Shame and Stigma in COVID-19

Case Study The AHRC funded Scenes of Shame and Stigma in COVID-19 research project, part of the Shame and Medicine project, identifies and investigates the sites and circumstances of shame, shaming, stigma and discrimination during the first 12 months (January-December 2020) of the COVID-19 public health crisis in the UK. The research looks at how […]

COVID-19 CARE: Culture and the Arts, from Restriction to Enhancement: Protecting Mental Health in the Liverpool City Region

Case Study What was the cost to public mental health of restricted access to arts and culture during the Covid-19 pandemic? How successful were alternative (online or digital) modes of arts and cultural provision in reaching and communicating with established or new audiences? This interdisciplinary study collaborated with 15 arts and cultural organisations and 3 […]