Impact case study database

The impact and importance of enhancing transdisciplinarity through a practice-based approach is evidenced in the number of academic staff that have become members of IRIS from all Leeds Trinity University Schools, demonstrating a recognition of the impact this approach can have on the direction of their research work, in terms of dissemination, presentation and engagement. By having such a broad representation of the University’s research environment working together within IRIS, it greatly increases mutual awareness of different approaches to research and provides the opportunity to collaborate on projects and funding opportunities that would have not been possible previously. Furthermore, IRIS has influenced the design of the new 30 credit modules within MFC, adding interactive practices and concepts to a number of them. The modules impacted by this are: Transmedia Storytelling, Documentary Theory and Practice, Advanced Documentary Production, Core Production Skills and Researching Media, Film and Culture. As well as the modules at Leeds Trinity, the research conducted within the centre has influenced the design of modules in other institutions too, including the University of the West of England and the Swinburne University of Technology (Australia) (S1).

IRIS’ approach on storytelling enables connections and communication with diverse audiences across international boundaries and social contexts. This allowed Dr Ilaria Vecchi to document and mainly preserve the traditions and rituals of a now small group of female mediums operating in this Northeast area of Japan. These traditions are in danger due to a fast-changing Japanese society and Vecchi’s documentation of these customs, serves as a digital archive of their practices, safeguarding the traditions for the future and increasing their visibility internationally.

A result of collaboration with local artists, activists and worker associations, the research project From Proletariat to Precariat (2020) by Dr Amir Husak sought to keep the critical momentum of a social uprising alive and construct collective memory by assembling and preserving a complex record of political dissent. Husak believes the most concrete and visible impact of the project is that it helped assemble a community of action and reclaim some of the commons. For example, project participants and early collaborators became key players in a decisive action of saving the last remaining public gallery from being shut down and sold off to a large foreign credit institution. The action involved a massive petition drive and coordinated pressures from renowned figures in arts and culture to keep the gallery in public hands. The project also helped initiate conversations with the city government about the fate of one of the research sites, the abandoned workers’ club on the former grounds of the textile factory Kombiteks. City officials eventually agreed to allow Fondacija Revizor, a local art organization to manage the club and organize public programs. The club has since been renovated and now serves as a public center for contemporary art and culture (S4).

In relation to impact, Dr Stefano Odorico was recently invited to give a public talk, together with Dr. Judith Aston (UWE, Bristol) as part as the i-Docs 2020 conversations. Over 100 people engaged with the event and showed interest in creating a collaborative working group in the field. The group created by Odorico and Aston meets regularly and is composed of scholars, practitioners and members of the general public interested in the topic - currently 70 people (20% academics – 70% practitioners – 10% general public) signed up to be part of the workgroup that will generate a practice based research project on current socio-political issues (S5).

Odorico was also invited to deliver a Keynote talk at the 2016 MINA Conference and Film Festival in Melbourne, Australia (MINA is widely recognised as one of the main mobile film festival and network across the world) (S7).

In 2017 Odorico ran a workshop on interactive documentaries and VR held in a traditional spacer (Theatre) as part of the 22^nd international film conference Bremen and in collaboration with a local cinema: City 46. The event provoked an intense debate on the future of cinema among experts, practitioners, and cinema goers. The event had over 100 attendees and it was live streamed with more than 400 people watching (S2).

Prof Graham Robert’s events: MUSIC WITH THE MOVIE CAMERA (2017-19) - replicated 6 times in public venues in the centre of Leeds were widely attended (between 40 and 80 people each time - sample of feedback forms attached). A key component of the project was the audience's participation in the performances (audiences were asked to play along) and the general aim was to bring classic silent documentaries into a contemporary urban context stimulating awareness and engagement with the documentary form by general audiences. The project website includes documentation of the events and feedback from performers/audiences (as well as recordings) of six performances of improvised collaborative soundtracks for screenings of the film. Furthermore, the multi-platform project SOME SEVENS CLASH (2017) has currently almost 3000 views on Youtube and over 600 people are following its Facebook page (S3).

All projects involved in this case study have an impact on the general perception of issues linked to immigration, racism and BAME communities which results from wide-spread sharing across media, public organisations, film festivals and educational work

Dr Kostas Maronitis has been quoted in and given interviews in over 30 national and international media outlets, such as BBC Radio, LBC, The Yorkshire Post, the Daily Express, Huck Magazine, Radio Aire and the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita. In 2017 the political weekly magazine New Statesman published his article on the legacy of New Labour and Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party. Moreover, his article on automation and immigration has been disseminated to members of the RMT Union, the International Workers Union of Great Britain and the United Voices of the World Union through internal mailing lists and publications. In 2020 Maronitis was acknowledged as an expert contributor by the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology (POST) for submitting questions to the House of Commons and House of Lords around the themes of the future of work and the pandemic; immigrant workers and no recourse to public funds; welfare, public health and workers’ rights – the questions asked were two, on the 30^th of June 2020 and 8^th of October 2020 (S6).

Ricardo Barker’s film has been screened at two festivals, demonstrating impact nationally and internationally (reach) as well as with large audiences. Re:Tension was screened at the Queen Palm film festival 2020 (Social Awareness Shorts section) on streaming platforms and at the Festival International du Film PanAfrican de Cannes 2020. The latter has an audience of 300+ people and a Facebook page with 12k followers which gave large visibility to the film. Furthermore, in a teaching and learning context, it was shortlisted for the prestigious: Learning On-Screen Awards: Educational Film Award (University/Colleges category) (S4). According to the Learning on Screen official website: “Entries to this category can have been produced to educate either a general audience or those with a specific interest”, recognising the education quality of the film.

It played an important role in achieving the REC Bronze award for Leeds Trinity University (as referred to by the awarding Equality Challenge Unit’s feedback report) (S1).

The film is now complemented by a newly created Aftermath Toolkit which gives organisations a framework through which to discuss the issues raised in the film. The film premiere (at Leeds Trinity in 2019) received extensive media coverage regionally and nationally (S2, S3). Based on our experience at LTU, the screening of the film enables and provokes constructive discussions about racial micro-aggressions among students and between students and the institution. Due to the visibility gained by the film, a number of universities have already booked screenings within their institutions and are planning to use it as an educational tool. Universities include, Leeds Beckett University – intended January 2021 (both postponed due to Covid-19), University of London UCL, Falmouth University, Durham University, Kingston University of Art and Norwich University of the Arts. Furthermore, it was screened to the executive team of Salford University on the 2^nd of December 2020.

Re:Tension has also been used by the Fashion Academics Creating Equality (FACE) as part of their FACE N.S.S. campaign: https://www.weareface.uk/about\-us. The film was also presented at the EDI Conference – Advance HE, 19 March 2020, addressing issues of racial abuse in HE in the UK. Re:Tension is still at an early stage of dissemination (due to Covid) so we believe that its impact value will increase over the coming years.

In addition, the film has influenced the design and delivery of the new 30 credit programmes recently launched within MFC, focussing on equality and BAME student involvement. This was achieved through regular discussions with students and with the effort of the University’s BAME network in decolonialising the curriculum putting in place workshops bd events for academic staff.

The impact of our Trinity Vision production has been to work with a range of organisations to help them bring voices and issues to life through media artefacts, to support them in creative ways of bringing issues and concerns to realisation and providing them with a means of sharing ideas and generating discussion. All Trinity Vision productions are available in the public domain through Youtube. Such a platform allows a wider engagement with international audiences, easy access and large visibility. The short film ADIRA/SADACCA – Mental Health and Me (2019-20) is a collection of conversations that gives people voices that are often not heard. Sheffield based charity ADIRA and SADACCA members discuss their thoughts and experiences of mental health, cultural identity - breaking a cycle of misconceptions both within and towards BAME communities. This project was screened as key contribution at: “Mental Health and Me” conference organised by ADIRA in Sheffield on the 12^th of October 2019. ADIRA is an organisation that organises events to raise awareness of issues affecting the black community in Sheffield, in particular in relation to mental health. The video on the Youtube’s Trinity Vision channel has, currently, 200+ views (S5).