We value exchange of knowledge and we continually evaluate the impacts of our research contributions.
Art and Design has a strong record of successful Australian Research Council Linkage Projects, which focus on solving real- world problems for industry partner end users. Explore some of our exciting, ARC funded current projects on our Research Projects page.
We also have strong engagement, impact and partnership links to the cultural sector through the Sydney Culture Network , which implements collective strategies to connect Sydney’s cultural offer, grow audience participation, and encourage greater engagement across the cultural life of the city.
Art and Design contributed strongly to the Australian Research Council’s inaugural Engagement and Impact Assessment in 2018 (EI 2018). EI 2018 assess how well researchers are engaging with end-users of research and shows how universities are translating their research into economic, social, environmental, cultural and other impacts. Research engagement is the interaction between researchers and research end-users outside of academia, for the mutually beneficial transfer of knowledge, technologies, methods or resources. Research impact is the contribution that research makes to the economy, society, environment or culture, beyond the contribution to academic research. A research end-user is an individual, community or organisation external to academia that will directly use or directly benefit from the output, outcome or result of the research.
E1 2018 awarded peer reviewed ratings of Low, Medium or High. Art and Design contributed strongly to the High ratings received for Engagement and Impact in Creative Arts, and in Design. Example case studies are: Engagement- Creative Arts & Writing and for Impact iCinema: Immersive interactivity in contemporary art and its creative and industrial applications.
Further examples of engagement and impact include:
iCasts is a full-body immersive 3D mine training simulation application commissioned by Mines Rescue Pty Ltd in collaboration with the NSW Ministry for Primary Industries, Unions NSW and China Coal Technology & Engineering Group, Fushun, adapted from an art installation prototype. It addresses the problem of providing trainees with more effective understandings of the multi-faceted nature of underground hazard scenarios without exposing them to danger. Prior to iCASTS, mine training relied on a mostly text-based approach, with trainees studying a 1,000-page manual. Utilising a range of custom VR platforms, it presents a highly realistic 3D model of an underground mine environment capable of being navigated by a unique interface, allowing trainees to interactively explore hazard and technology scenarios. Impact is evidenced by its $8.3M commercialisation by the Australian and Chinese mining industry. It was winner of the prestigious IDEA Gold Medal for Design (USA, 2009), and three-time finalist for the Australian Museum’s Eureka Prize for Excellence in Interdisciplinary Scientific Research.
Retrospect is an art, online, radio and television project exploring Australia’s involvement in the Afghanistan war from the perspective of veterans and their families. It was developed in collaboration with the ABC, Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Australia Council for the Arts and Museums Victoria. Its impact is demonstrated by its presentation across ABC Online, Radio and TV platforms and as an interactive cinematic installation at Melbourne Museum. It has transformed memorial exhibition and broadcast conventions to suit an era of Internet communication where traditional forms of communication, such as letters, are largely replaced by digital interactions. It deploys a new form for capturing and exploring military experiences by means of user interaction with a digital database. Its format allows veterans, their families and the wider community to digitally curate personalised narratives of conflict.
The Big Anxiety Festival brings together artists, scientists and communities to question and re-imagine the state of mental health in the 21st century.
A radically new kind of international arts festival, in which every project is an open conversation, designed to promote curiosity, awareness and action, The Big Anxiety presents events across Sydney, tackling the major anxieties of our times, as well as the stresses and strains of everyday life. Whether through hi-tech interactive environments or one-on-one dialogues, our goal is to create the rich engagements we need for our collective mental health.