Hear from members of staff from the departments that have made the Faculty of Arts Building (FAB) their new professional home.

1. Hi David, tell us about your role as an Assistant Professor for SCAPVC

Until 31 March 2022 I was a Teaching Fellow in Theatre and Performance Studies and the Admissions Tutor for the BA course. I’m a nineteenth century theatre historian and enjoy bringing my research specialism into my teaching. But my teaching also includes a module that’s all about students having their fingers on the pulse of the theatre industry today, which is run in collaboration with Warwick Arts Centre. On 1 April 2022, I side-stepped to work on a 5-year project, funded by the European Research Council (ERC), titled 'Performing Citizenship: Social and Political Agency in Non-Professional Theatre Practice in Germany, France, Britain, Sweden and Switzerland (1780-1850)’. Since 2021 I’ve also had the pleasure of working as the Faculty of Arts Curator and led the organisation of the Faculty of Arts Building’s (FAB) official opening on 20 May 2022.

2. How did you feel before the move to the Faculty of Arts building and how do you feel now?

From the outset, I had been tremendously excited about the new building and what it might mean for us as a Faculty. Alongside the major redevelopment of Warwick Arts Centre, this new building sends a very clear message to prospective students, alumni and other key university stakeholders about the importance of arts and creativity to our institution. On 20 May we celebrated what we do by hosting the official opening of our building that included an opening ceremony inside the Agora at midday, followed by FAB Fest – a series of free workshops, performances and activities taking over the entire building and the surrounding green spaces.

3. In what ways has the re-location and the access to new spaces/facilities positively impacted the development/ teachings of the department?

The new building has some epic new spaces for us to teach in. The seminar spaces right across the building have stunning floor-to-ceiling windows, and the light in the rooms really energises me and my students. In Theatre and Performance Studies we have two brand new state-of-the-art black box studios, as well as two rehearsal rooms that can be joined together to make one larger space. We also have some rather exciting dressing rooms, with the fancy lights around the mirrors that you see in films. What more could we ask for?!

4. How has the move enhanced co-collaboration between different arts and humanities disciplines now that many departments are under one roof?

One of the BEST things about the new FAB is that the Faculty is now housed under the same roof. The home of Theatre and Performance Studies was previously in Millburn House, near to Westwood, where we rarely saw colleagues from other disciplines. The new building has brought us together and has enabled us to get to know one another far better than ever before. I can see many a co-taught module being created over coffee in Caffe Nero, and ideas for research projects aplenty being formulated on the Agora steps.

5. How do you feel Arts and Humanities at Warwick help us to recognise the importance of understanding human culture, as a foundation of creating a better world?

In Theatre and Performance Studies we share a belief that theatre – and the arts more broadly – can change things in the world. Theatre continues to have power and influence in societies across the globe and the stories that we tell on stage, and the voices that we allow to be heard there, can disrupt the status quo. The production of Animal Farm at the Belgrade Theatre that I saw only a few hours before writing this statement is testament to this fact. The adaptation asked us to question systems of power and to hold those in power to account. It asks us to consider what good leadership looks like and whether we can get any closer to a more equal world. By asking these questions and having these debates we can work together to create a better world.

6. What’s the best thing about the Faculty of Arts Building?

Besides the boiling water tap in the staff room, and having a café inside the building (which we didn’t have in Millburn House) - the best thing is the buzz and the well-used social learning spaces. The building was filled with students from the first day that it opened and long may it continue!