In the 2022-23 funding round, The UCA Innovation Hub facilitated a transformation across several key thematic areas, with an investment of £129,000 supporting 20 diverse projects that epitomize our dedication to academic excellence and societal impact.
Cultural Engagement and Heritage:
Projects like the ‘Manifesto for Increased Involvement of Women in Photography,’ ‘Mapping Enclosures,’ and ‘Exploring Folkestone’ exemplify our efforts to connect with and preserve our rich cultural heritage. These initiatives use creative media, exhibitions, and community participation to illuminate and engage with historical and contemporary issues.
Sustainability and Environmental Stewardship:
Initiatives such as the ‘Domestic Projects Embodied Carbon Calculator’ and ‘PASIC’ foreground UCA’s commitment to environmental sustainability. These projects aim to reduce the carbon footprint within the architecture and sports industries, demonstrating our drive toward more sustainable practices.
Innovation in Digital and Creative Technologies:
UCA projects harnessing the potential of digital technologies include interactive archive experiences and virtual creativity partnerships. These collaborations leverage augmented reality, animation, and digital motion to enrich cultural experiences and expand the frontiers of creative expression.
Educational Enhancement and Access to Knowledge:
Through symposia, podcasts, and specialized events like ‘Navigating Luxury,’ UCA strives to broaden educational opportunities and share knowledge. These endeavours create new platforms for learning and discussion, connecting industry experts with global audiences.
These themes represent the breadth of UCA’s innovation landscape, reflecting our ethos of collaborative exploration and the pursuit of knowledge that resonates both locally and globally. As you navigate through our projects, we invite you to witness the synergy of creativity and research in action.
For UCA staff, find out more about the KE Funding Scheme (incl. guidance, application template and budget).
Funded Projects
2022-23
A group of sector leaders including the Fast Forward research group are working together to affect change for women photographers and audiences in all aspects of our society.
The Hyman Foundation hosted and sponsored the Fast Forward Women in Photography Research Workshop.
Partner: The Hyman Foundation
UCA Contact: Anna Fox
The project aims a novel moving image artefact about the 17th century history of enclosures as changes in the social relationships of agriculture that have shaped the rural landscapes around Farnham. The objective is to enhance the collection and interpretation that informs and intrigues visitors to the Farnham Museum. The project also involves students in a small production on location dramatizing the making of a mapping survey using an Alidade – a 16th century surveying instrument.
Partner: Farnham Museum
UCA Contact: Stephen Connolly
“Archive discoveries and the power of symbols” project is a collaboration with Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum New York, based on Henry Dreyfuss’ work with symbols to formally launch The Symbol Group at the inaugural symposium “Symbol ’22: Dreyfuss at 50” (7 & 8 October 2022) celebrating 50 years since the publishing of Dreyfuss’ Symbol Sourcebook in 1972.
The project will engage the wider public and the research community by establishing an interactive archive experience and developing further online projects.
Partner: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York
UCA Contact: Sue Perks
The main objective of this project is to design, install, merchandise, and run a successful pop-up shop and creative workshops in the currently vacant Café space at the Beaney. This opportunity will increase footfall and engagement with the museum itself, increase employability in the students, increase public awareness of both institutions and create extra revenue for both partners.
This pop-up shop proposal is the first of several future initiatives that will further knowledge exchange between two of the major cultural institutions in Canterbury.
Partner: The Beaney House of Art & Knowledge, Canterbury
UCA Contact: Anna Baranowska
The issue of embodied carbon (or, the measure of C02 released in the production and assembly of building materials) in UK construction is a pressing one for Architects to address. The UK built environment is responsible for at least 25% of UK total greenhouse gas emissions, of which between 20 and 30% are attributable to the embodied carbon of construction materials and methods.
Larger UK Architectural practices are beginning to innovate with tools for low carbon accounting and embodied carbon assessment yet a similar tool encompassing the different challenges of smaller scale domestic projects has yet to be developed. Our project will provide a ‘first-ever’ structured empirical means to aid the decision making process with a domestic client. As such it has the potential for significant impact within what has been established to be a large proportion of the UK architectural industry.
Partner: Poroban
UCA Contact: Sam McElhinney
As part of the Extended Senses: Embodying Technology Symposium 2022, this project supports a partnership with Rokoko and IJAD/OOT and creative industry professionals working on extended human sensing, through engagement with emerging modalities and technologies.
Partners:
Rokoko is driving a paradigm shift in how creators work with animation and digital motion.
The Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain is the leading subject and professional organisation for architectural history and architectural historians in all their professional contexts, including higher education, heritage and practice in the UK. The Society is also the leading forum for lifelong learning for all with an interest in history of the built environment. Amongst the work the Society does there is a gap in their output: namely that if you want to access the expertise and knowledge of architectural historians, you have to attend symposia and seminars, or read the journal. There is clearly a gap here for the society to communicate the collective body of knowledge of the membership to a broader audience who might not read the journal, or attend academic events. The podcast series fills this gap and also seeks to solidify the relationship between the membership and the society by producing new forms of content for the membership
Partner: The Society of Architectural Historians of Great-Britain
UCA Contact: Jessica Kelly
This project aims to develop a new collections policy for institutions in Scotland and increased accessibility for current archives with a particular reference to the archive of the project Migrant Stories.
Fast Forward and NGS will host a workshop with participants invited from across Scottish institutions (those that collect and exhibit photography) and members of the communities that have been and maybe represented in photographs in these institutions, As well members of the Fast Forward team will be a part of the workshop and representatives from the National Gallery of Wales and the Centre for British Photography will also be invited with a view to creating new networks and impact further afield.
Partner: National Galleries of Scotland
UCA Contact: Anna Fox
With support & guidance from UCA Galleries Curator, Last Friday’s Folkestone Producer, Ash McNaughton and a host of leading industry creative producer's students will develop and deliver a 6 month exhibition program (January – June, Last Fridays 2023). This will connect with key sessions from Lucy Chick in Careers and will be supported at key moments by Fine Art Course Team tutors to develop student awareness of wider curatorial contexts and histories.
Partner: Brewery Tap UCA Project Space Folkestone
UCA Contact: Moyra Derby
PASIC is an independent forum that aims to catalyse and accelerate discussions related to sustainability and cricket equipment and clothing. PASIC will complete this through initiating discussions online and face to face, organisation of innovation processes and facilitating connections.
Partner: The British Association for Sustainable Sport: BASIS
UCA Contact: Martin Charter