Art and Design
Art and Design is home to a thriving community of researchers who contribute to cultural and societal understanding, while at the same time benefitting local and global creative industries. Our researchers are frequently invited to organise and curate major global events and to speak to international audience, disseminating their work through publications, exhibitions and performances.
Research clusters and collaborations

Art Activisms
Challenging and extending the potential of contemporary art to change the world.
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Chinese Visual Arts (CCVA)
Fostering new understandings and perspectives of Chinese contemporary arts.
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Craft Cultures
Exploring the multidisciplinary characteristics of craft and its praxis.
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Dress in Context
Exploring dress in all its manifestations, and its relationship to the individual and society.
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Material Encounters
Interrogating and extending the boundaries of materiality within contemporary art.
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Printing History and Culture
Researching printing history, techniques and culture on a regional to international level.
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Birmingham Transmedia Hub
Investigating transmedia with an emphasis on the nexus between writing, image and sound.
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Critical Artistic Thinking in Design
Providing insight, strategy and design ideas for large-scale landscape and infrastructure.
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Projects

Enamel | Substrate
Uncovering the techniques used to make beautiful enamel objects from the past.
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Rearrangements
An interrogation of how narrative, form and structure and affects the interpretation of artistic practice.
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Staffordshire Hoard Helmet
Working with museums and heritage partners to recreate a piece of history.
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Everyday Legend
Understanding the decline in traditional Chinese arts amid the country's rapid economic growth.
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