Institute for Social Impact Research in the Performing Arts

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During my time here, I organised an international conference based around my subject involving delegates from 4 continents

Emily Baines
DMus, ‘Mechanical Musical Instruments as a Source for Historical Performance’

The research community at Guildhall is a really interesting place to be

Stefania Donini
PhD

I found it very beneficial to take a break from a busy teaching career to think and reflect on my teaching value, principle and strategies

Yushan Li
PGCert Performance Teaching

Studying at Guildhall is really cool because you are in a setting where the arts are valued by an entire community

Natasha Mbwana
BA Performance & Creative Enterprise

The projects we work on are real - we are in effect constantly getting work experience

Laurie Lumley
BA Video Design for Live Performance

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Jonathan Ferrucci
Artist Diploma Piano

One minute you could be playing in the Guildhall Studio Orchestra with jazz musicians, the next you could be playing in the opera pit, then the next minute you'll be with actors doing the musical and then playing a symphony in the orchestra.

Millie Ashton
BMus Violin

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Na'ama Zisser
Doctoral Composer in Residence

I knew about the fantastic tutoring and resources, but the friendly and stimulating environment clinched it for me.

Eden Lonsdale
BMus Composition

I had the opportunity to play percussion with the Guildhall Studio Orchestra which gave me the chance to learn from, and play alongside, amazing senior players, as well as to perform with the incredible Liane Carroll.

Dave Adsett
BMus Jazz Drums

At Guildhall, they don't hold your hand, but they're going to push you to become the actor that you want to be.

Daniel Adeosun
BA Acting

It's the scale of productions that really makes Guildhall stand out. It gets to the point where you think, wow, this is massive. In other places, you just wouldn't have that opportunity to learn on the job.

Sian Clare
BA Technical Theatre Arts (Costume)

Institute for Social Impact Research in the Performing Arts

The aim of the Institute is to understand and communicate the ways in which performing artists achieve positive impact in society.

Performing arts can have a positive impact on a wide variety of social issues, including health and wellbeing, inclusion, empowerment, community building, and activism. Socially-impactful performing arts projects often benefit marginalised or excluded groups, such as those in poverty, conflict or social disruption, people in prison, or those who are homeless. Community participatory projects play a particularly important role in delivering these outcomes.

The Institute identifies Social Impact Research as a core part of Guildhall School’s future research output. Its inauguration in 2020 will also ensure that it is firmly established in time to become the School’s predominant contribution to the proposed new Centre for Music (a joint vision of the Barbican, London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), and Guildhall School).

Institute Objectives

To undertake rigorous peer-reviewed research studies and dissemination through open-access routes, freely available to all.

To support members from Guildhall School (and partner organisations the Barbican and LSO) to develop as independent researchers into social impact issues, through mentoring or formal supervision (e.g. Master’s and doctoral research).

To develop productive relationships with those undertaking or supporting research in the social impact of the arts, in the UK and internationally, potentially leading to collaborative activities.

To act as Higher Education Institution (HEI) host for research projects involving the artistic or social practice of Guildhall/Barbican practitioners.

As part of Guildhall School’s ‘ResearchWorks’ series, to curate regular public events where issues relating to social impact research, practice, and pedagogy may be examined and debated by a wide constituency of interested parties.

To host internal (non-public) seminars/consultations where members of the School and its partner organisations may forge new potential collaborative relationships, contribute ideas to the shaping of the Institute, and develop their own research ideas in a supportive multi-disciplinary forum.

To offer private developmental consultations to groups or projects operating within the Guildhall School, the Barbican, or the LSO, seeking evaluations of their work in order that appropriate methodologies, partnerships, and evaluation research projects may be developed.

To create routes and mechanisms for ensuring that socially-oriented practice and pedagogy within Guildhall School and its partners is informed by the best research available, so that over time the creative alliance between Guildhall School and Barbican is able to increasingly demonstrate itself as a leader in research-informed artistic practice and pedagogy.

Members

Full Members are members of the Guildhall School, Barbican, or LSO, active in a relevant area of research at postgraduate level or above. Associate members are members of these organisations who define themselves primarily as artistic practitioners and teachers, but who are involved in artistic activity with an explicit social focus, and who seek a mutually reinforcing engagement with research and researchers. External members are researchers or advisors collaborating with internal members.

Our founding members are :

Full

Associate

External

Samuel Araujo (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro)
Catherine Carr (Queen Mary University London)
Helena Gaunt (Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama)
Matt Griffiths (National Foundation for Youth Music)
Lukas Pairon (SIMM-platform.eu, Brussels)
Rineke Smilde (Hanze University, Germany)
Graham Welch (University College London)

The Institute has a management/advisory Board, chaired by Jonathan Vaughan (Vice-Principal & Director of Music).

All full members are conducting research in topic areas relevant to social impact. Current and recent funded projects include:

Careful: Uses of drama to explore themes of compassion, care and empathy through the perspective of nurses. Principal Investigator Alex Mermikides.

Creative approaches to learning for community cohesion: Teaching music and language through a new children’s opera Henny Penny. Principal Investigator Julian Philips.

Music for social impact: Practitioners’ work, contexts, beliefs. Principal Investigator John Sloboda.

Finding a voice: The art and science of unlocking the potential of adult non-singers. Principal Investigator Karen Wise.

Enquiries about the Institute should be made in the first instance to research@gsmd.ac.uk.