New media dramaturgy: how new media transform the composition and reception of live performance. New media dramaturgy will formulate a new framework for analysing and creating contemporary new media performance including multimedia theatre and dance, video performance and installation. The project will also explore how the synthesis of new dramaturgy and new media has changed the experience of live arts for the spectator.
Power and Performance: Revaluing Theatre in the 21st century. This project aims to examine the changing function of the theatre in Western culture. For millennia, theatre has been valued as a way to bridge questions of a personal and political nature. As the Western cultural sphere is now organised around generating consensus rather than debate, so this foundational function of theatre is being challenged and must be re-assessed. Accordingly, the role of the artist, audience or scholar of theatr ....Power and Performance: Revaluing Theatre in the 21st century. This project aims to examine the changing function of the theatre in Western culture. For millennia, theatre has been valued as a way to bridge questions of a personal and political nature. As the Western cultural sphere is now organised around generating consensus rather than debate, so this foundational function of theatre is being challenged and must be re-assessed. Accordingly, the role of the artist, audience or scholar of theatre is also changing in fundamental ways. There is now a need to re-examine the social value of theatrical performance in contemporary Western culture. This project plans to consider case studies in different global sites to develop a comparative and critical framework for establishing the new cultural politics of theatre and the re-evaluation of the arts.Read moreRead less
Ethics and aesthetics as criteria for innovation: A design research study of biological art and digital architecture. The project will contribute to the goal of promoting innovation in three areas. First, the project will amplify Australia's individual strengths in biological art and digital architecture by creating a network of artists and designers in which each discipline is stimulated by the concerns and practices of the other. Second, the project will explain innovation in such networks, by ....Ethics and aesthetics as criteria for innovation: A design research study of biological art and digital architecture. The project will contribute to the goal of promoting innovation in three areas. First, the project will amplify Australia's individual strengths in biological art and digital architecture by creating a network of artists and designers in which each discipline is stimulated by the concerns and practices of the other. Second, the project will explain innovation in such networks, by identifying activities that lead to innovation. Such an explanation will improve the nation's capacity to promote innovation in targeted fields. Third, the project will test and develop collaboration tools designed to support the activities identified as leading to innovation, as information technology is a primary enabler for operating across such networks.
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Musical investment: assessing and enabling musical participation for well being impact across the lifespan. This project tests a growing belief that by investing in opportunity for musical participation we may develop the capacity to improve individual, family and community well being. The work advances the knowledge base by generating theories and evidence about why we should invest in music-making in order to promote well being across the lifespan. It undertakes systematic investigations to id ....Musical investment: assessing and enabling musical participation for well being impact across the lifespan. This project tests a growing belief that by investing in opportunity for musical participation we may develop the capacity to improve individual, family and community well being. The work advances the knowledge base by generating theories and evidence about why we should invest in music-making in order to promote well being across the lifespan. It undertakes systematic investigations to identify specific variables that promote well being in music activities. It develops best practice guidelines for music practitioners across a range of disciplines using a variety of modalities and offers potential to inform policy development.Read moreRead less
Mobilising remote Aboriginal art centre records for art history. This project will use the archives of remote Aboriginal art centres to promote Aboriginal artists. For a long time their work has been thought of overseas as primitive, or of ethnographic interest. By examining the innovations of the work of Aboriginal artists, this project will demonstrate that these are contemporary artists of global quality.
Communicative human musicality: A cross-cultural comparative study of dance, singing and musical instrument skills in 12-15 year olds. The project aims to investigate musicality as a positive bodily, mental, social educational experience, and so fits with National Research Priority 2. It will develop international links and offer potential for understanding ethnic groups, and contribute also to areas of social policy by suggesting recommendations specific to children. By stimulating a theorisati ....Communicative human musicality: A cross-cultural comparative study of dance, singing and musical instrument skills in 12-15 year olds. The project aims to investigate musicality as a positive bodily, mental, social educational experience, and so fits with National Research Priority 2. It will develop international links and offer potential for understanding ethnic groups, and contribute also to areas of social policy by suggesting recommendations specific to children. By stimulating a theorisation of music as a social science, it will generate new research, and bring important unpublished materials to the academic community. Forging international collaborations and stimulating postgraduate study, the project will place UWA at the cutting edge of international scholarship.
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Representations of the Backs of Paintings: Analysis and History. Australia's regional status within the Western tradition of painting makes it a highly significant test case within the geographical criteria of the study. The paradoxical effects of closeness and distance in representations of the backs of paintings made its use here surprisingly frequent and strikingly ambivalent. Some painters obsessively repeat the motif as if to overcome remoteness from the tradition of Velásquez. Others emplo ....Representations of the Backs of Paintings: Analysis and History. Australia's regional status within the Western tradition of painting makes it a highly significant test case within the geographical criteria of the study. The paradoxical effects of closeness and distance in representations of the backs of paintings made its use here surprisingly frequent and strikingly ambivalent. Some painters obsessively repeat the motif as if to overcome remoteness from the tradition of Velásquez. Others employ it in fundamental questioning the institution of Western painting. Study of this dichotomy will improve understanding of Australian concepts of remoteness in space and time relative to other cultures. Interpretations will also enhance visual and verbal communication between art communities here and overseas. Read moreRead less
Colonial Publishing and Literary Democracy in Australia: an analysis of the influences on Australian literature of British and Australian publishing. Colonial Publishing and Literary Democracy is concerned with the complex relationship between colonialism and nationalism within the context of Australia as a settler society and involves an exploration of the powerful but complicated interplay between literature, law and commerce as expressed through the production of the Australian novel. The pr ....Colonial Publishing and Literary Democracy in Australia: an analysis of the influences on Australian literature of British and Australian publishing. Colonial Publishing and Literary Democracy is concerned with the complex relationship between colonialism and nationalism within the context of Australia as a settler society and involves an exploration of the powerful but complicated interplay between literature, law and commerce as expressed through the production of the Australian novel. The project proceeds from an assumption that for much of the twentieth century literature was the flagship of national creativity in an industry worth around $1 billion pa at century's end. From that perspective, it engages directly with the cultural capital and heritage of the nation.Read moreRead less
The impact of Aboriginal art on contemporary urban Australian art. With art people picture and shape their sense of self and national identity. In a time of increasing fragmentation of these identities it is imperative to better understand the shifting politics of representation in today's world. Australia's relationship with its indigenous populations has been the source of major divisions in the Australian community. By showing the positive impact of Aboriginal art on contemporary art, this pr ....The impact of Aboriginal art on contemporary urban Australian art. With art people picture and shape their sense of self and national identity. In a time of increasing fragmentation of these identities it is imperative to better understand the shifting politics of representation in today's world. Australia's relationship with its indigenous populations has been the source of major divisions in the Australian community. By showing the positive impact of Aboriginal art on contemporary art, this project will contribute to a more cohesive national identity. The publication of three books, a national touring exhibition and a web-based database will contribute significantly to the intellectual life of the country and bring this important achievement of Australian cultural life to the wider public.Read moreRead less
Hearing histories of the western Pilbara. This project aims to investigate Indigenous song traditions of the western Pilbara through current practice and legacy recordings. It aims to show how public song traditions were used through the twentieth century as tools to manage environmental change. By recording and documenting songs and histories, and curating and developing an online collection of song-based digital heritage items with a virtual landscape interface, the project is expected to prod ....Hearing histories of the western Pilbara. This project aims to investigate Indigenous song traditions of the western Pilbara through current practice and legacy recordings. It aims to show how public song traditions were used through the twentieth century as tools to manage environmental change. By recording and documenting songs and histories, and curating and developing an online collection of song-based digital heritage items with a virtual landscape interface, the project is expected to produce knowledge about the role of digital collections and cultural mapping in supporting the sustainment of endangered song traditions. It also aims to develop tools for use by communities and researchers to secure legacy, crowd-sourced and newly created records of intangible cultural heritages for the future.Read moreRead less