Spring Test

A School of the Arts scratch event for Postgraduate Researchers to share their practice and thinking to an audience.

Tuesday 28th March, 5pm – 9pm

Starting in the Creative Centre Auditorium, York St John University at 5pm, moving onto smaller rooms.

An evening of: Practice in studios and short papers for discussion from PhD researchers, together with a guest artist as creative respondent, an artists talk, plus food and drink! This event is run with breaks and with the guest speaker closing for 9pm.

Guest Speaker, Dr Ella Finer.

Hosted by Professor Claire Hind & the Spring Test working group: Ewan East, Sian Highwood, Ginger Liu, Kerry Fox.

Spring Test is new School of the Arts led PGR event for researchers to test out artistic material and, or, critical thinking in development to an invited audience; an opportunity for Postgraduates to scratch a research methodology, an artistic research work in progress, or a developing written piece intended for publication. It is a space to open up dialogical exchange in the midst of critical thinking and creative processes.

In an ever-competitive culture, where the pressure of success, of winning or being the ‘best’ at something, is seemingly part of the everyday popular culture experience, making space for sharing the things that are not yet fully formed, might manifest as precious - “where you are where you don’t know where you are” (Crickmay &Tufnell), and shape, or even re-shape, philosophical perspective. Deep thinking occurs before the write up, before publication, from within a work in progress, and new ideas can be further contextualised, when we open up engagement with others, especially whilst a work, or a series of thoughts are feeling messy.

A test event offers the opportunity to scratch a new idea - witnessed before it is fully formed, or, to share, for the first time an idea, theory, praxis, that you have been working through, an opportunity to first synthesise critical concepts, braid thoughts across different disciplines - and this could be something in development toward a variety of different types of dissemination – for e.g. arts event, exhibition, or a conference, or a book chapter in the making, a chapter proposal, an artwork in development to pitch for a performance at a festival, etc. The chance for others to engage in your research; with your practice/thinking might offer some new perspective on your methodologies, or concepts, and enable a deeper, richer research culture across the PGRs within the School of the Arts who are working across a variety of disciplines.

Spring Test - YSJU School of Arts PGR Flagship event