International Research Collaborations
The Centre has recently formalised a series of collaborative exchanges with research-oriented art programmes in the United States, each developed through shared research interests, curatorial enquiry and long-term academic dialogue.
Virginia Commonwealth University
Collaboration with the Art & Design Research Network at Virginia Commonwealth University has emerged from a shared focus on practice-led research and the relationship between artistic production and critical theory. The exchange centres on methodologies of artistic research, with particular attention to how studio practice can function as a form of knowledge production within academic and cultural contexts.
This collaboration facilitates dialogue between artists and researchers working across visual culture, design and interdisciplinary practice, encouraging comparative approaches to research frameworks used in the UK and the US.
Art & Design Research Network
Arizona State University
Engagement with the Interdisciplinary Arts Research programme at Arizona State University has developed around questions of interdisciplinarity, experimental formats and the role of the arts within broader social and environmental research contexts. The collaboration supports exchanges focused on cross-disciplinary methodologies, where contemporary art intersects with science, technology and critical social inquiry.
Through this partnership, the Centre participates in discussions around expanded artistic practice and the evolving role of the artist-researcher within complex contemporary systems.
Interdisciplinary Arts Research Programme
Art + Research InitiativesUniversity of New Mexico
The collaboration with Art + Research initiatives at the University of New Mexico is grounded in shared interest in place-based research, cultural memory and the relationship between artistic practice and local social contexts. The exchange emphasises research-led artistic approaches that respond to geography, history and community, while maintaining a critical, international perspective.
This partnership supports reflective dialogue on how contemporary art can engage with cultural specificity without losing conceptual rigour or global relevance.
US University-Based InitiativesIndependent Curatorial Research Platforms
Alongside formal academic programmes, the Centre engages with independent, research-led curatorial platforms operating within US university art departments. These initiatives are typically faculty- or researcher-supported and function as experimental spaces for curatorial enquiry, peer-led research and alternative pedagogical models.
Examples of such platforms include PAST DUE (University of Houston), a curatorial project examining artistic labour and institutional time.
These platforms often operate at the intersection of academia and independent practice, enabling flexible, project-based exchange outside conventional exhibition frameworks.