Arts Faculty News

Come and visit the beautiful University of Warwick campus and find out about our Arts departments and courses at our 2021 Open Days

There are 3 autumn 2021 in person Open Days for prospective students to come and visit the University of Warwick campus: 9 October, 23 October and 6 November. The 6 November is particularly focused on the Arts and Humanities, but if you cannot make the 6th you are very welcome to come on the other dates. Our new Arts building (FAB) is reaching completion and we hope to be able to offer tours on the 6th November.

We will have staff and students from our Arts departments available to answer questions at the Information Fairs on the 9th and 23rd October. On the 6th November we are planning a mixture of subject-based drop-ins, workshops and presentations.

Virtual Open Days with academic presentations about the courses are being held in the week 25-29 October 2021.

Booking has opened and we look forward to seeing you either in person or virtually.

Click on the link to see the winning entries for this year's Digital Arts Lab Showcase competition on the theme of "storytelling". Congratulations to all of our entrants who produced a wonderful and very diverse set of digital submissions and reflective pieces that truly demonstrate the creative and technical talent and in-depth knowledge and expertise of our Arts undergraduates.

Speaking on the topic of Freedom as part of the Resonate Festival, the University of Warwick’s year-long programme of events for City of Culture, Professor Kate Astbury discusses her research into the experiences of the Napoleonic Prisoners of War who were held at Portchester Castle, and the performances that they staged while they were there.

Students from the Warwick Writing Programme in SCAPVC provide their own very personal reflections in poetry on the construction and significance of this landmark building for the Arts at Warwick.

Tying in with the Resonate Festival, the University of Warwick’s year-long programme of events for City of Culture, and its focus on Sanctuary throughout the month of June, Professor Alison Ribeiro de Menezes (Hispanic Studies, School of Modern Languages and Cultures) brings us the film ‘Chilean Exiles in the UK: Capturing Historical Experiences of Sanctuary’. Alison’s film explores her work on the history of Chilean exiles who were brought over to the UK through assistance from World University Service. Her research has traced the impact of the grants which helped 900+ Chilean scholars escape the brutal regime of Augusto Pinochet in the 1970s. We also hear here from one of these scholars, Professor Eleuterio Toro, about his experiences of the scheme and its impact on his life and work.

Tying in with the launch of the Resonate Festival, the University of Warwick’s year-long programme of events for City of Culture, and its focus on the idea of Invention throughout the month of May, Dr Richard Wallace (Film and Television Studies) brings us the film ‘Digitalisation and Cinema Projection in the UK’. Rick’s film explores his work on the AHRC funded ‘Projection Project’ and the history of film projection practices, reaching from the earliest days of cinema to the current digital revolution in film exhibition.

Congratulations to Professor Paul Smith from History of Art who has been awarded a Major Research Fellowship by the Leverhulme Trust for his interdisciplinary project entitled, Unfolding vision: Cezanne’s personal way of seeing.

Dr James Hodkinson (German Studies, School of Modern Languages and Cultures) delivers a conversation with one of his key collaborators, the artist Mohammed Ali MBE (https://www.soulcityarts.com), explores the relationship between his research into Islam in Germany in the 19th Century and his public engagement projects including the Art of Empathy (2019) and Congregate (2020-), a collaborative livestream of visual art, film, music and conversation. James explores the concepts of kinship and empathy, and the power of art to allow us to view the world from alternate cultural perspectives.

The Faculty of Arts is very pleased to welcome Dr Robert O'Toole as its new Director of Student Experience and Progression - Digital Arts and Humanities from 1 April 2021

Dr Fabienne Viala (Director of the Yesu Persaud Centre for Caribbean Studies) explains the concept of ‘artivism’ to us, in its Caribbean context, as a fusion of art forms and practices through which artists confront and engage with a range of publics. Fabienne argues that artivism activates the empathetic imagination, and looks at how environmental and racial justice are brought into dialogue through her work with Caribbean artivists.