Forthcoming AVPhD Events
Previous AVPhD Events
This was the first celebration of over a decades worth of UK audio-visual practice doctorates. The exhibits were multi/interdisciplinary single-screen works and installations that drew from cultural studies, fine art, anthropology, film and new media and were presented alongside bound copies of their written theses.
From the 8th until the 14th of December 08, twenty-one AV doctorates - that's over 100 years of knowledge - were contained within a former cement testing factory, three floors below the University of Westminster's Marylebone campus and their newest exhibition space P3. The opening night attracted nearly two hundred researchers, academics, students and industry professionals from Dundee to Exeter. The speakers were Tony Dowmunt, Ian Christie, Rosie Thomas and Zem Moffat from the AVPhD Steering group and entertainment was provided by AVPhD performance artist Anita Ponton and the VJs and Audio Artists Max Schleser, Jo Thomas and Simon Longo.
On the Saturday of the exhibition a student symposium was hosted by Max Schleser and Adnan Hadzi. They structured it using the 'unconference' theme including facilitated participant-driven discussions and face-to-face interaction around the practice of doing AVPhDs.
Represented Researchers: Joram ten Brink, Carlo A. Cubero, John Eacott, Steven Eastwood, Carlos Y Flores, Alexandrine Fournier, Stefan Garel, Rachel Garfield, Paul Phillip Green, Daejo Hyung, Adam Kossoff, Cahal McLaughlin, Zemirah Moffat, Clive Myer, Simon Payne, Anita Ponton, Rosie Read, Nina Simoes, Johannes Sjoberg, Libia Villazana, John Wynne, (due to the unfortunate timing of Lawrence Cassidi's viva voce his work was not exhibited).
If you would like a copy of the exhibition catalogue/poster, please contact either Tony Dowmunt or Joram ten Brink, who will be more than happy to send you one.
Downloads:
LARGE PRINT VIVA VIVA CATALOGUE
Blogs: Intellect Press, The 'C' Word, Patrick James
Credits: Many thanks are due to the following individuals, without which the exhibition would have been much the poorer: build designer and head carpenter Christian Newton, with his team Steve Colson, Shaun Doyle, Di Jenkins,Tim Robinson, Roddy Thompson, and Ed Wright; P3's venue manager Helen Ard, curator Michael Maziere and Gallery West's manager Aviva Leeman; Westminster's School of Architecture, particularly Katherine Heron, Murray Fraser, Mike Parry and Teo Cruz; photographer and Westminster technician Dave Freeman for loaning us lights, setting them up and photographing the exhibit; Westminster's AV angels Aaron Kay and John Bunyan for loaning and setting up all the projectors, TV monitors and computers; Westminster's drama department, particularly Peter Hort and John Vinney for loaning and driving back the staging for the opening night; Westminster's Centre for Excellence staff for willingly accommodating Saturday's student conference; Press officers Julie Taylor and Sarah Empey from Goldsmiths and Rob Watson from Westminster; Goldsmith's administrative staff Sarah Jackson and Jim Rowland, Westminster's administrative staff Diane Rynn and Erica Spindler; Nikki of Compass-Group Catering for the opening night drinks and nibbles; volunteers Simon Hipkins, Tianqi Yu and Rebecca Savage from the University of Westminster.
Thanks are also due to the following companies: Book Binders of London, Malcom Clarke of Studio MC, FX Rentals, CF Anderson Timber Products, Travis Perkins Trading Co, Russell and Chapple canvas specialists, Screwfix Direct Ltd, Acre Jean Drape Hire, and Patrick Hannan of Moves Around London.
Sunderland
Hosted by the University of Sunderland, 4th July 2008, this one day event emphasised the "Audio" in AVPhDs and acted as a forum for the engagement of North East based researchers, students undertaking practice led PhDs and supervisors with the AVPhD agendas.
Programme and Speaker Information
Newport
This workshop ran from the 16th-17th May 2008 and was hosted by the University of Wales, Newport. It focused on the particular and distinctive nature of media practice research, and ways to create a supportive academic environment for it. The question asked were: What kind of work can be addressed through AVPhD? Who is it for? And how can it be distinctive from work pursued in the industry or in other parts of the academy? AVPhD Newport considered a range of approaches to PhDs in the Audio-Visual media broadly understood to cover everything from fine art and sonics to social anthropology using sound, documentary and fiction video/film as a means of investigation.
Conference Report by Emily Flynn-Jones and Aparna Sharma
There is also a review of this event in the Journal of Media Practice 9:3
Fools
Held on the 1st April 2008, Birkbeck College, this one-day forum was open to experienced and potential examiners and supervisors to discuss existing models and standards for examining AVPhDs. It’s aim was to provide a safe space for supervisors and examiners to network and discuss, without the critical eyes of their students. Led by experienced supervisors and examiners drawn from the AVPhD steering group and network, the morning focused on Examination and the afternoon Supervision. The day ended with a plenary where motions were raised for steps that need to be taken to secure a critical and vibrant mass of successful audio-visual practice led PhDs.
The event was recorded and an approved transcription is available here.
Edinburgh
Hosted by the Edinburgh College of Art, 14th-15th March 2008 this event’s focus was research questions and first person film-making.
London
Hosted by The Slade, London, 15th Febrary 2008, this AVPhD sponsored event was titled “Theorie Cum Praxi - a one day workshop on the materiality of AV theory-practice in Fine Art PhD research.” Topics under consideration were: How is the practice-theory relation in Fine Art constituted? Is there a need to make a distinct category 'AVPhD'? And is the whole idea of art in the age of the cultural industry an anachronism?
Nancy Mauro-Flude (2008) “Theoria Cum Praxi: Some Thoughts About Practice-based PhDs”
Manchester
This two day workshop was hosted by Manchester Metropolitan University, 14th-15th September 2007. It focused upon digital media and new media arts and invited current (or recently completed) PhD students to present their work. Presenters were asked to foreground issues of methods and methodology.
Sussex
This one-day event was hosted by the Centre for Material Digital Culture, University of Sussex, 4th July 2007. Its aim was to explore approaches to beginning and developing doctoral work that uses the moving image as a major element of a research project at PhD level. It was also intend for the day to foster a network of practice-based researchers, both in the region and nationally, which cross disciplinary boundaries and encourage an exchange between people working in different contexts.
Dublin
Co-funded by the AVPhD Network and the Faculty of Applied Arts, Dublin Institute of Technology, the aim of the symposium was to facilitate critical exchange and comparative debate on lens-based research practice training. It was aimed at both research supervisors and postgraduates with the view to building cross-border partnerships with educational, media and research agencies.
Articles by Allen Feldman: On Cultural Anesthesia: From Desert Storm to Rodney King (1994); Strange Fruit: The South African Truth Commission and the Demonic Economies of Violence (2002); Memory Theaters, Virtual Witnessing, and the Trauma-Aesthetic (2004); On the Actuarial Gaze: From 9/11 to Abu Ghraib (2005)
AVPhD3
Returning to Birkbeck College AVPhD3 was the final 2 day workshop of our first year’s funding. The 27th and 28th October 2006 were packed with presentations that focused on interdisciplinarity and showcased the breadth of knowledge of our constituents.
AVPhD3 Schedule and Speaker Info
AVPhD2
AVPhD2 took place at Westminster University’s Marylebone campus, London 28th-29th April 2006. This two day workshop sought to tease out and explore some of the problematics in embarking on and completing audio visual PhDs by practice. Friday focused on negotiating guidelines, interdisciplinarity, the upgrade and the viva process, including workshops and film screenings. Saturday began with a keynote from the artist, filmmaker and Goldsmiths Research Fellow Isaac Julien. A double session was then devoted to Julian Henrique's and John Eacott's work in audio within their PhDs and research practices.
AVPhD2 Schedule and Speaker Information
Selection of Transfer/MPhil/Upgrade Guidelines
John Eacott ‘Contents May Vary: the behaviour and play of generative music artefacts’
AVPhD1
Held Friday 27th – 28th January 2006, at Birkbeck College London, AVPhD1 was the first in our series of three two day events in support of practice research in film, moving image and video. It focussed on criteria for the regulation, assessment and examination of practice research PhDs.
Carlo A. Cubero (2005) “Trans-insular Identities in the North-Eastern Caribbean”
Victor Burgin (2006) “Thoughts on research degrees in Visual Arts Departments"
Robin Nelson (2006) “Modes of PaR knowledge and their place in the Academy”