Developing techniques for evolutionary music. Traditional compositional conventions do not meet the needs of contemporary composers who are increasingly working in non-linear media, such as DVDs, the Internet, video games, and mobile phones. This research will create a new class of algorithmic music techniques inspired by evolutionary processes to meet these challenges. While exploring new musical techniques, this research will provide new insights into the applicability of theoretical principle ....Developing techniques for evolutionary music. Traditional compositional conventions do not meet the needs of contemporary composers who are increasingly working in non-linear media, such as DVDs, the Internet, video games, and mobile phones. This research will create a new class of algorithmic music techniques inspired by evolutionary processes to meet these challenges. While exploring new musical techniques, this research will provide new insights into the applicability of theoretical principles from biological evolution and artificial life to support human creativity.Read moreRead less
Smart Music: Combining music perception and algorithmic composition. Music is an important aspect of Australian culture and a key driver of the creative industries. A better understanding of music will provide the basis for enhanced computer music techniques that support creative musicians, result in more efficient music production, and lead to the creation of interesting new music. This project connects Australian and International researchers in a world-leading team to produce "smart" compute ....Smart Music: Combining music perception and algorithmic composition. Music is an important aspect of Australian culture and a key driver of the creative industries. A better understanding of music will provide the basis for enhanced computer music techniques that support creative musicians, result in more efficient music production, and lead to the creation of interesting new music. This project connects Australian and International researchers in a world-leading team to produce "smart" computer software that can make music using many of the same techniques as the human mind. Tools based on this research could be applied to assist with music education or be used by professional musicians to improve their music enterprises.Read moreRead less
Star actors and management in Australia 1880s-1920s. The project studies early twentieth-century star actors who worked for Australian commercial managements, in order to locate how the cultural impact of theatrical performers was mediated by their immediate industrial situations and their artistic profiles. It selects four significant male and female touring stars who performed in spectacular costume drama, in association with JC Williamson's Ltd and other entrepreneurial organisations. The in ....Star actors and management in Australia 1880s-1920s. The project studies early twentieth-century star actors who worked for Australian commercial managements, in order to locate how the cultural impact of theatrical performers was mediated by their immediate industrial situations and their artistic profiles. It selects four significant male and female touring stars who performed in spectacular costume drama, in association with JC Williamson's Ltd and other entrepreneurial organisations. The investigation relates the negotiations between both managerial and labour structures involving actors to their artistic opportunities and repertoire. It will produce a materially-informed account of the social presence and cultural meanings embodied by the glamourous theatrical star in Australia.Read moreRead less
The Local Spaces of Contemporary Brisbane Theatre: A Strategy for Analysing and Interpreting Theatre. This study of three Brisbane theatres benefits Brisbane's theatre community, as well as national and international communities: the project uses innovative theoretical approaches and virtual reality technology to analyse theatre productions. Its merging of different perspectives on how theatre is produced and how it may be better researched is relevant to theatre analysis everywhere. The project ....The Local Spaces of Contemporary Brisbane Theatre: A Strategy for Analysing and Interpreting Theatre. This study of three Brisbane theatres benefits Brisbane's theatre community, as well as national and international communities: the project uses innovative theoretical approaches and virtual reality technology to analyse theatre productions. Its merging of different perspectives on how theatre is produced and how it may be better researched is relevant to theatre analysis everywhere. The project also connects theatre with its broader cultural context by concentrating on Brisbane's notable staging of 'local' matters. While the local is often overshadowed by the 'national,' in Brisbane, the local provides the main link between aesthetics and the cultural contextualising of theatre. Read moreRead less
Australian Stage Comedians 1915-1930: Configuring a Comic National Identity. This project aims to make a major contribution to Australian cultural history by examining the origins of what has often been described as the distinctive Australian sense of humour.
While elements of this national characteristic emerged in colonial times, including an emphasis on stoicism, self-deprecation and the contradictions of existence (e.g. in Steele Rudd's and Henry Lawson's stories), this project will incre ....Australian Stage Comedians 1915-1930: Configuring a Comic National Identity. This project aims to make a major contribution to Australian cultural history by examining the origins of what has often been described as the distinctive Australian sense of humour.
While elements of this national characteristic emerged in colonial times, including an emphasis on stoicism, self-deprecation and the contradictions of existence (e.g. in Steele Rudd's and Henry Lawson's stories), this project will increase community awareness of how stage comedians during and after the First World War focused these tendencies into a distinctive emphasis on the comedy of everyday experience, and on maintaining a tough-minded optimism in adversity. Read moreRead less
Future stories: creating virtual worlds with young people in hospital. The project will address the ways in which participation in the arts impacts on the wellbeing of young people in hospital. It acknowledges the circumstances of the young people and the conditions of the location, and examines the potential of supporting young people during their stay in hospital through creativity and new technologies. It will explore the affordances of combining arts approaches with virtual reality (VR) tech ....Future stories: creating virtual worlds with young people in hospital. The project will address the ways in which participation in the arts impacts on the wellbeing of young people in hospital. It acknowledges the circumstances of the young people and the conditions of the location, and examines the potential of supporting young people during their stay in hospital through creativity and new technologies. It will explore the affordances of combining arts approaches with virtual reality (VR) technology to provide a positive experience for young people in hospital. The project aims to develop opportunities for creativity in hospital and pioneer the use of secure cloud-based peer-to-peer virtual reality interaction that facilitate communication and interaction across hospital and home environments.Read moreRead less
The difficult return: arts-based approaches to mental health literacy and building resilience with returned military personnel and their families. The research seeks to understand how the arts can respond to acute mental health issues confronting recently returned veterans and their families. The research will develop an innovative online mental health literacy project and engage veterans and their families in arts-based resilience work in order to produce positive mental health outcomes.
Singing the Dreaming: exploring the relationship between language and music in Arandic song-poetry. Positive interactions between non-Indigenous and Indigenous Australians are essential for our nation to grow. By assisting Arandic people maintain and promote their song-poetry, this project is a practical step towards reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Furthermore, performances of Arandic song-poetry play a major role in Promoting and Maintaining Good Health. These ....Singing the Dreaming: exploring the relationship between language and music in Arandic song-poetry. Positive interactions between non-Indigenous and Indigenous Australians are essential for our nation to grow. By assisting Arandic people maintain and promote their song-poetry, this project is a practical step towards reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Furthermore, performances of Arandic song-poetry play a major role in Promoting and Maintaining Good Health. These health-giving practices not only benefit Indigenous people, but may also reduce national health expenditure. Wider appreciation of Arandic song-poetry may lead to more performance opportunities, resulting in increased economic independence for Indigenous people, and assist in forging a national musical culture of international significance.Read moreRead less
The impact of immigrant theatre artists on Australian culture 1919-1949. Using an innovative mixed-methods research design, this project aims to investigate the lives and impact of immigrant theatre artists working in Australia from 1919 to 1949, focusing on the influential Latvian "power couple" Dolia and Rosa Ribush. After 1918, increased migration flows led numbers of foreign artists to come to Australia. These have been studied individually but never as a network, so their contribution to Au ....The impact of immigrant theatre artists on Australian culture 1919-1949. Using an innovative mixed-methods research design, this project aims to investigate the lives and impact of immigrant theatre artists working in Australia from 1919 to 1949, focusing on the influential Latvian "power couple" Dolia and Rosa Ribush. After 1918, increased migration flows led numbers of foreign artists to come to Australia. These have been studied individually but never as a network, so their contribution to Australian culture has been greatly undervalued. Benefits of the project include better understanding of the way Australian theatre has been creatively shaped by diverse patterns of immigration. Expected outcomes include new knowledge of a major period of development in the place, operation and value of Australian culture.Read moreRead less
A cultural atlas of Australia: mediated spaces in theatre, film, and literature. A cultural atlas of Australia: mediated spaces in theatre, film, and literature is an interdisciplinary research project that investigates the cultural and historical significance of location and landscape in Australian cinema, plays and novels. Outcomes include a co-authored research monograph and an interactive online map.