BEYOND Poster Exhibition & Meet the Researchers

Each year at BEYOND the Poster Exhibition features the work of Doctoral Candidates and Early Career Researchers, showcasing their innovative projects and ideas. In line with the main focus of this iteration of the conference, the research showcased by this year’s poster exhibition adopts the concept of place as a central theme, reflecting on the role and influence of the Creative Industries over the formation of creative and cultural economies in a place. 

At BEYOND, there is a unique opportunity to Meet the Researchers behind these projects, in order to hear in more depth about the thought processes behind their work – as well as providing an opportunity to engage with the researchers and ask questions.

We are delighted to introduce you to some of these projects in this article – be sure to check out the Poster Exhibition page on the website to view them all.

Overcoming Barriers to Social and Hierarchical Places Through the Design of Immersive Composition and Performance Software

Lewis Smith is a PhD candidate, composer, saxophonist, clarinettist and programmer currently developing a package of software with disabled musicians using immersive technology and participatory design methods. Lewis’ research describes an immersive performance and composition system designed with musicians from Derry/Londonderry who identify as being either physically or intellectually disabled. Using the resulting software these musicians compose using sound, space, 3D objects and materials. They experience their compositions in a networked virtual space of the composer’s choosing using multimodal interactions to conduct and perform.

Club XXY: Radical Practice in Virtual Environments

Tessa Ratuszynska is an artist, researcher and producer based between Glasgow and Bristol, making work at the intersection of Documentary, Virtual Reality, Installation and Performance. 
Club XXY is a practice based research project imagining the future of social spaces, both online and offline in the wake of 2020/1. Through interviews with architects, journalists, technologists and club promoters, Club XXY explores how systemic exclusion and oppression are imbued into the fabric of built and digital environments, and the critical resistance practices employed by space makers in order to centre and affirm the marginalised communities they serve.

Vocalic Bodies and Spaces – using animation to create Irish language representation in unionist East Belfast

Don Duncan is an academic, journalist and storyteller whose practice and research extends across both audiovisual and live, spoken word formats. Don’s research discusses how animation – in the current context in Northern Ireland, where the Irish language has been divisively politicised along sectarian lines – is uniquely capable of generating representation of the language and disseminating it in a way that minimises the risk of backlash.

Raising The Multitude – user-centred design in the making of an interactive artwork.

Jamie Gledhill is an East Anglia based Digital Artist and a Lecturer at Norwich University of the Arts where he tutors on the BSc Games Development and BSc User Experience Design courses, both of which he helped to launch. 
Jamie was originally commissioned by Cambridge-based art tech agency Collusion in July 2020 to produce an interactive artwork to be exhibited in a multiple-screen, surround sound environment. The final format is a 15-minute-long interactive narrative experience for two ‘players’ using whole body interaction, achieved through the Microsoft Kinect sensor, created using the Unity game engine.

Don’t Forget to Check Out the Meet the Researchers Sessions at BEYOND

Over the first day of BEYOND there are several ‘Meet the Researchers’ sessions, which provide an opportunity to dig into the details of the above projects and more! We have highlighted the times of these sessions below:

Wednesday 20 October:

11:30-12:30

13:30-14:30 

16:00-17:00