The School, which includes Music, Digital Media, Fine Art and Museum and Gallery Studies, promotes the development of a dynamic and cohesive research environment and supports a rich diversity of postgraduate and doctoral research activities, both in the areas of practice-based and theoretical and historical research. Subject specific lectures and an evolving interdisciplinary programme of seminars and round-table discussions inform and contextualise research. These also offer the opportunity to doctoral researchers to exchange ideas and engage in conversation across disciplines with staff, fellow students and visiting artists, scholars, curators and critics.
The Fine Art Postgraduate Research Student Training Programme includes seminars on practice, and writing in relation to studio-based research and practice, preparing papers for specialist journals and conference presentation. The nature, purpose and possible forms of a Fine Art PhD are a specific topic of debate and these seminars also provide a forum for peer-review on research issues and progress. Students are required to periodically present their research to staff and their peers. All staff contribute and appropriate external specialists and researchers are invited to present and to discuss projects. All staff are research-active professionals, artists, researchers and academics, and thus provide up-to-date practice-led teaching, supervision and professional experience and knowledge. Where appropriate, MFA students take part in these seminars.
Opportunities for cross-disciplinary debate and research also exists beyond the School. For example, CultureLab is a unique research infrastructure providing an environment for academics and practitioners working beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries. It promotes socially and economically valuable synergies with artists, creative industries, and cultural and scientific institutions, and the development of innovative research with digital tools.To find out about Culture Lab projects, click here.
In addition, Connecting Principles is an art-centred international multi-disciplinary research forum at Newcastle University instigating a dialogue between art and other disciplines. The aim of the forum is to increase opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration within and beyond academia. Connecting Principle is therefore the basis of an international network of artists, theorists and researchers. Our current activities feature a series of presentations, round table discussions and an annual two-day event that showcases the recent projects and collaborations of our members. For more information click here.