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

About the project While digital technologies have helped young people feel connected during the pandemic, they also opened them up to risks and harms, such as grooming, harassment, and non-consensual image sharing. For this research project, academics working alongside a sexual education charity gathered evidence through surveys, focus groups and interviews with students, parents, and […]

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

About the project This study assessed the impact for mental health of restricted access to arts and culture in the Liverpool city region during the pandemic. It aims to provide both the evidence for, and the tools to assess, the cost to public mental health of the loss of arts and cultural provision as well […]

Creative Doodle Book: Developing Inclusive Community Arts Engagement During Physical Distancing

About the project This project investigated the value and potential of inclusive online community arts for learning disabled people during COVID-19 lockdowns. In collaboration with Mind the Gap Theatre and Totally Inclusive People, a model for online practice (‘the Creative Doodle Book’) was developed and trialed, primarily with people with learning disabilities, but also in […]

Nature’s Way: Co-Creating Methods for Innovating Nature-based Solutions for Public Health and Green Recovery in a Post-COVID World

About the project COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of nature and natural environments, and these are also an emerging priority in post-COVID ‘building back greener’ urban agendas. Nature’s Way was an 18-month design research project on Nature based Solutions (NbS). It has explored how to empower communities to set up projects that can help connect […]

Grassroots Visual Storytelling About Community Food Growing

About the project In this project, participants in community food-growing initiatives made short films about their experiences during COVID-19. They learned methods for visual storytelling, filming and editing. Their films show that the pandemic created difficulties for food initiatives but stimulated co-operative efforts to sustain or expand them. Activities had helped provide benefits for health […]

Combating Social Isolation through Creative and Community Engagement: COVID and beyond (Community COVID)

About the project The focus of this project has been on people experiencing lockdown, self-isolation, and shielding. It has assessed the effects for health and wellbeing of arts and creative activities during this time. In particular, research has explored the impact of engagement on those who are vulnerable as a result of economic, physical, psychological […]

Collaborative Solutions for the Performing Arts: A Telepresence Stage

About the project This project has aimed to identify new and creative ways for actors, dancers and other performing arts professionals to rehearse and interact together in shared online spaces, and to produce collaborative live performances from remote sites. Through a series of residencies, and breaking from the paradigm of the web conference, the Telepresence […]

Widening Access to Arts and Culture Through Video Streaming

About the project The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted a culture change across many arts organisations, from a rigid focus on venue-based programmes to a more agile combination of indoor, outdoor, and online activities. This shift has resulted in unanticipated and previously unimaginable accessibility and inclusion benefits. This project sought to identify these benefits, investigating how […]

Responding to and Modelling the Impact of COVID-19 for Sheffield’s Cultural Ecology: A Case Study of Impact and Recovery

About the project This project gathered research data about the impact of COVID-19 on arts and cultural venues and organisations, audiences and freelancers in the Sheffield region. It comprised four studies, incorporating online quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews. The study revealed the economic impact of the pandemic on the sector in the region. Its findings […]

HEartS Professional: The Health, Economic, and Social Impact of COVID-19 on Professionals in the Arts

About the project This project has investigated the experience of arts professionals across the creative industries in response to COVID-19. Through longitudinal sector-wide surveys, audience questionnaires and qualitative follow-up studies, the research also sheds light on key challenges artists will face in a post-pandemic cultural environment. Findings explore financial and mental health challenges experienced by […]