Project to promote academic/practitioner links

Artists, creative small businesses and academic researchers will have more opportunities to share practice and expertise following the launch of a two-year pilot project, which aims to explore and nurture research collaborations between the arts sector and universities.

The projects will establish ‘The Exchange’, a national network through which artists, creatives and researchers can build relationships and break down barriers to collaboration. The aim is to give artists and makers the opportunity to gain better intelligence about their work, while giving academics direct access to industry partners that will strengthen their research practice.

Co-funded by Arts Council England (ACE) and the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), 30 grants of £5,000 are being made available for collaborative research projects through with academics and creatives will join forces to work on an idea or avenue of enquiry.

The initiative is being led by The Culture Capital Exchange (TCCE), a membership network of universities and conservatoires with a ten-year track record of developing collaborative models in London’s cultural and creative industries. Institutions of all sizes, including the National Portrait Gallery, English Touring Opera, Heart and Soul and IJAD Dance have been involved in the London network.

Suzie Leighton, Director of TCCE, explained: “With The Exchange we hope to develop a national network of higher education institutions to share best practice, lessons learned from individual initiatives and avoid duplication in this developing area. The Exchange will also provide a valuable peer-to-peer network and skills development opportunities for early career researchers.” Creative organisations, she says, will benefit from academics being able to help them articulate their business case to potential partners and funders.

Sixteen universities from Falmouth to Northumbria are taking part in the pilot project. A series of free introductory networking events for artists and micro businesses in the creative and cultural industries is taking place across England during January and February.