Cultural and Creative Industries

Arts and Humanities research during the pandemic has shown how the crisis is galvanising practitioners and stakeholders in the cultural sector to find new models for producing work and for reaching audiences. However, it has also exposed structural inequalities and exclusions for audiences and for the sector’s workforce.   Technological innovations, including hybrid modes of digital and […]

Arts & Health and Wellbeing

Arts and humanities research during the COVID-19 pandemic has addressed issues of direct relevance for the support of individual, social and community health, mental health and wellbeing.  Findings show that during the pandemic, the social care sector and the NHS have been able to access, benefit and learn from community assets and resources, including those […]

Digital Theatre Transformation: A Case Study and Digital Toolkit for Small to Mid-Scale Theatres in England

About the project This project provided a roadmap for local and regional theatre companies to enable them to develop new, more flexible ways of working to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on live theatre. It investigated, and drew lessons from, the success of Creation Theatre (Oxford) and Big Telly (Northern Ireland), both of which […]

Re-inventing the Live Event

About the project This project interrogated how artists can re-invent the live event in response to the new conditions of production and altered spacial dynamics of performance created by the pandemic. It involved quantitative and qualitative investigation of artist practice and audience engagement during a live events arts festival, organised and pursued followed Covid-19 restrictions, […]

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

About the project This project investigated the potential role of live outdoor performance events in sustainably “building back better”. It used a practice based approach, commissioning environmentally attuned outdoor performance events in the city of Exeter, held in accordance with pandemic regulations, and employed interview and survey research with artists and local authority events officers […]

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 […]

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 […]

Policy

These pages bring together policy implications and recommendations emerging from studies within the Pandemic and Beyond portfolio. Follow themed links below for more information about individual studies and to download short policy briefing papers and other resources. Where possible, this information will be updated as findings emerge. The projects appearing on these pages are those […]