The Ivory Bangle Lady: A reconstruction of the woman's funeral, created by Aaron Watson
Changing the way we interact with culture - REACT funding success for the College of Humanities
The University of Exeter’s College of Humanities has been awarded funding for a range of exciting new research projects by REACT (Research and Enterprise in Arts and Creative Technology), one of four UK Knowledge Exchange Hubs for the Creative Economy. These projects are designed to change the way we interact with culture and enhance our experience of artefacts, manuscripts and other cultural works.
Set up by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), REACT is a unique collaboration between the University of the West of England, Watershed, and the Universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter. It is designed to transform the economic and social impact of arts projects by linking businesses and the wider “creative economy” with academic research excellence.
The Heritage Sandbox award goes to ‘The Ivory Bangle Lady: Migration, Ethnicity & Identity in Roman York’ project run by Prof Christopher Knüsel, Archaeology, in collaboration with Imagemakers and Yorkshire Museum. The project aims to tackle the way human remains are displayed in museums and to create a technologically-enhanced installation that will reveal the story behind the mysterious Ivory Bangle Lady of York.
Four additional REACT projects will receive initial support by the Open Innovation Fund at the University of Exeter:
Touching the Past
Dr Linda Hurcombe, Archaeology, will work with the National Museum of Scotland to provide virtual 'tactile' experiences for archaeological artefacts, utilising the latest digital technologies.
The Exeter Book Project
Dr Emma Cayley, Modern Languages, will lead a project with Dr Eddie Jones, English, to build a prototype app to explore medieval culture, in partnership with Antenna International. Antenna will conduct market research on how such an app might work to explore manuscripts, medieval poetry and game culture, through the tenth century Exeter Book held at Exeter Cathedral and the Syon Abbey medieval manuscripts in Special Collections at the University of Exeter.
Moor Stories: Reimagining the Dartmoor Landscape
Prof Gabriella Giannachi, English, will work with the Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery of Exeter to research a new website that combines an archive of Dartmoor objects, a detective game and an interactive map. Using data and images from the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM)’s collections, objects will be digitally placed back in their ‘original’ location on Dartmoor.
The Lost History of Godolphin House
Dr Sarah Moss, English, will work with Creative Economy partner SATSYMPH to develop an innovative new way of bring the past of Godolphin House to life. The partners will build a demo version of a GPS-triggered literary app and, with the National Trust, will re-imagine a 200 year ‘lost history’ of the historical property through the development of a new fictional audio-literary work.
For more information on REACT including how to apply for funding contact Anka Djordjevic react@exeter.ac.uk.
Date: 23 April 2012
