CAKE 15

Digital Archives

Creative Fuse North East’s 15th CAKE event will be delivered in partnership with Newcastle University’s Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), generously funded through the ESRC’s Impact Acceleration Account. The event will explore the relationship between digital and print editions, considering different ways of understanding and experiencing text. Our speakers will draw on the work being done by Animating Text at Newcastle University (ATNU), a project that explores the story of text, using digital editing techniques to fuse humanities and social sciences research and computer science. Similarly, we will examine the archive as a collaborative space, looking at the Digital Women’s Archive North’s work around disrupting digital society and creating spaces where traditionally marginalised groups can have their voices heard. Finally, we will consider written and artistic responses to the digital archive, exploring ways in which the digital can complement rather than replace the print edition.

Speakers:

Jennifer Richards, Joseph Cowen Professor of English Literature & Co-Lead for Animating Text at Newcastle University (ATNU)

Jennifer Richards is the Joseph Cowen Chair of English Literature in the School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics. Her area of expertise is English Literature in the Age of Shakespeare, the history of rhetoric, the human voice and scholarly editing. She is the co-lead of the cross-faculty digital collaboration, Animating Text at Newcastle University (ATNU). She will be joined by her colleagues on this project, Dr James Cummings, a leading expert on Text-encoding, Dr Tiago Sousa Garcia and Professor Michael Rossington.

Jenna Ashton, Creative Director, Digital Women's Archive North

Dr Jenna Ashton is Creative Director of Digital Women’s Archive North [DWAN], and a researcher, writer, curator and artist working in the areas of heritage, archives, visual culture and the arts. She specializes in women's cultural heritage, spatial agency and activism, and participatory practices – intersecting with disciplines of art history, sociology, health, and geography. Her work is concerned with developing and evidencing methodologies of inclusive representation and heritage participation that support policy advocacy and social change for women and girls.

Stevie Ronnie, Freelance Writer and Artist

Stevie Ronnie is an interdisciplinary artist with a background in computer science. His work, often collaborative and participatory in nature, encompasses literature, visual art, installation, photography, film, artist’s books, digital art and/or performance. Stevie has received two prestigious MacDowell fellowships for his interdisciplinary works and a Northern Promise Award for his poetry. Reading is a recurring theme in many of his works including: Brass Book (2011 - 2012) in which he re-imagined the reading experience through the enhancement of traditional books using digital technology; Dear Angel (2013) that explored digital and physical forms of communication through an open call for letters addressed to the Angel of the North; and I Dream of Canute (& the Sea is Rising) (2016), an online literary artwork on the subject of climate change that will disintegrate over the next century at a rate linked to projected global sea level rise.

Sue Bradley, Research Associate in Oral History, Newcastle University Centre for Rural Economy

Sue Bradley is an interdisciplinary qualitative researcher working across the social sciences and humanities, and an experienced oral history interviewer with particular interest in using audio testimony to illuminate current conditions and concerns. Sue joined Newcastle University in 2007 as Research Associate on the ground-breaking 3-year Rural Economy and Land Use project, Understanding Knowledge Controversies in Environmental Science. Since then she has continued to work as a Research Associate on projects within CRE and in Newcastle University’s School of English, while leading a veterinary oral history collaboration between CRE and RCVS Knowledge (Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons).

Getting There

On foot: The Mining Institute is located in Newcastle city centre, adjoining the Lit & Phil on Westgate Road.

By train: Newcastle Central station is a two-minute walk away from the Mining Institute: exit the station and turn right along Neville Street, and then take the second street on the right, Westgate Road. The Mining Institute is at the top of this street on the right just past the Lit & Phil.

By Metro: The nearest Metro stop to the Mining Institute is Central - the Mining Institute is a two-minute walk away, following the instructions above.

By bus: Several bus routes pass by Newcastle Central train station, please visit https://www.nexus.org.uk/bus to plan your journey.

By car: Car parking is available in the following locations:

• Central Station car park NE1 5DL at a flat rate of £7.50 for long stay parking, 2 minute walk to the Mining Institute
• Stephenson Quarter car park NE1 3PH at £1.30/hour, 7 minute walk to the Mining Institute
• Grainger Town multi-storey NE1 4DN at £0.90/hour, 10 minute walk to the Mining Institute

About CAKE:

CAKE (Collaboration and Knowledge Exchange) is Creative Fuse North East's monthly networking event, bringing together businesses, freelancers, academics, charities and creative practitioners from across the Creative, Digital and IT sectors. Each themed CAKE event has expert speakers delivering short presentations that explore opportunities and innovation challenges. The events generate debate, explorative discussion and stimulate new innovative ideas by looking at each event’s theme from a variety of different perspectives – in keeping with the event name, attendees enjoy a slice of delicious cake while they network.

Is this event for you?

Whatever your professional background, this event is designed to support this potential by inspiring new conversations and allowing introductions to take place that will enable collaboration.