Centre for Applied Research in the Arts

The Centre for Applied Research in the Arts (CARA) is based in the School of the Arts at the University of Hull. It features researchers in Drama, Music and Screen often working in collaboration with colleagues across the University and beyond. CARA recognises the growing number of projects in the School that involve research about or with the arts that have a direct “real-world” application. For example, projects may involve arts-based practice in education, health or community settings, or engage with issues, such as the environment.

There is a strong emphasis in CARA on pursuing research that has impact, that is, which has an effect on, change or benefit beyond academia, such as to the economy, society, culture, public policy or services, or quality of life. University colleagues in CARA are keen to collaborate with external practitioners and organisations, exchange knowledge with partners and build projects with impact.

CARA Steering Group

Jason Hayhurst, screen

Dr Elaine King, music

Dr Helen Prior, music

Dr Amy Skinner, drama

Email CARA@hull.ac.uk

Current projects

Connect Resound

Connect Resound is an action research project that was initially funded by a 110k grant from the Nesta Digital Research and Design Fund. The scheme of work was a collaboration between The University of Hull (Research), North Yorkshire Music Action Zone (charitable), and UCan Play (technology) to investigate how digital technology can enhance access to expertise and widen participation in music education. The project team, led by Principal Investigator Dr Andrew King, focussed upon the technological framework and the teaching behaviours as part of the evaluation.  A Remote Music Network was then established between national music hubs in England supported by a 60k grant from Arts Council England. The project was further enhanced by a 273k grant in 2017 from Paul Hamlyn to roll-out the project nationally. 

Transitions in Music Education

Transitions in Music Education is a project working in partnership with Hull City Council, Hull Music Service, and East Riding Music Service. It aims to explore the perspectives of pupils, parents, and music teachers on musical engagement, particularly regarding learning an instrument. The project aims to focus on two key transitional points in the UK education system: the move to secondary school (Year 6 to Year 7) and the move to GCSE Level (typically Year 9 to Year 10). According to reports from the Hull and East Riding Music Services, there are significant declines in pupil continuation of instrumental lessons and involvement in musical activities across these transition points. The research team is led by Dr Mark Slater, and includes Dr Elaine King, Dr Helen Prior, Professor Andrew King, and Ellie Dabell (PhD student).

Risky Cities: Living with Water in an Uncertain Future Climate

The Risky Cities project will use innovative arts and humanities approaches to build climate awareness and help communities become more flood resilient, today and for the future. Funded as part of the AHRC UK Climate Resilience Programme, the project will develop learning histories for one flood-prone city (Hull, UK) and use them in community-based arts and heritage interventions as well as large-scale cultural productions developed in collaboration with project partners, Absolutely Cultured and the National Youth Theatre. An inter-disciplinary collaboration between History, Geography and Environment, Drama, English and Education Studies, the project seeks to understand how Hull communities have experienced, responded to and learned to live with water over the last 800 years. It explores the fictions of flooding – as recorded in poetry, prose, drama and newspapers – that have arisen alongside, and in response to, the experience of living with water in Hull. Finally, the project team will explore the opportunities for using meaningful, place-based stories about the past, as a means of working with present day communities to build climate change awareness and flood resilience. We will evaluate the effectiveness of our arts and heritage community interventions and will seek to establish best practice guidelines to be used in future projects in other risky cities. Dr Amy Skinner of the Drama department at the university is a co-investigator for this project.

Chinese Whispers™

The Chinese Whispers™ Project embraces culture and creativity. Its intercultural agenda focuses on developing awareness, competence and citizenship in local members of the community (children and adults) and facilitating respectful interaction between people from different cultural backgrounds. Its creative agenda promotes the learning of language and culture through creative practice, such as through choir singing.

The Chinese Whispers™ Project celebrates its activities in annual public concerts that are hosted by the Confucius Institute at the University of Hull. The concert involves students and staff from the School of the Arts in the University as well as children and adults who have participated in the Chinese Whispers™ Project.

A team of researchers is currently pursuing three strands of enquiry about the ChineseWhispers™ Project:

1. Educational: To engage native English speakers in learning Mandarin Chinese through song. A “singing curriculum” will be produced to facilitate the learning of language through song for primary and secondary school children as well as adult community members.
2. Psychological: To investigate cultural, emotional and experiential aspects of learning Chinese in the context of music-making, especially choir singing. The results of a survey will be published about people’s emotional and experiential perspectives on learning a foreign language through singing. The results of a comparative study will be published to explain whether or not learning a language through singing significantly improves the scores of school children in language tests.
3. Creative: To explore issues of translation and cultural fusion through music composition.

Find out more about the Chinese Whispers™ project