Research
Art and Its Locations:
The research area Art and its Locations builds on a identified core area of excellence in research activities in the School of Art and Design. The area’s research remit and territory is framed by the terms of ‘situatedness’, place, temporality and location of practice. It aims to engender a creative engagement with the politics of place in the broader sense under the influence of advances in digital communication and information technologies and the increased mediation of experience and exchange. Two core themes have directed the development of initiatives and innovative partnerships in Art and its Locations: panerai replica
(a) Art in Contested Spaces
(b) Art and Documentation
The thematic orientation on art in contested spaces has been motivated by the specific ‘post-conflict’ situation of Northern Ireland. Belfast, for instance, is a city in which material traces, representations and creative practices of competing historical formations are strikingly evident in everyday life. At a global level, contestation defines the present situation in which manifold interests, intentions and investments clash and grapple in the space of omnipresent mediation based on the rapidly advancing digital communication technologies and channels.
Fabric Forward:
The Fabric Forward research area builds upon a record of excellence in textile research which spans the textile continuum from fine art to textile technology. The projects are set in a context of initiating new collaborations, methodologies, processes and practices within the textile design and textile art field. Interface is a forum for exploring and developing the diversity and synergies that exist within and between textile practice, technology, design practice and visual art. Crossdisciplinary collaborations utilize new materials and new product outcomes and applications. The The research in this area has two clusters of related research activity:
(a) Hybrid Textile Configurations
(b) Customisation and Construction
The two Fabric Forward research clusters tackle the overarching issues of multidisciplinarity and technology in different ways. In terms of multi-disciplinarity, the Hybrid Textile Configurations cluster focuses on method and process. In contrast, Customisation and Construction relies on the dynamic integration of diverse design disciplines working together. Both clusters use CAD and digital technology; indeed, the provision of leading edge resources in studio and workshop facilities dedicated to research in art and design has been a fundamental characteristic of Interface.