Corpus Quod
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Birmingham
Department Name: Department of English Literature
Abstract
Corpus Quod will bring together researchers in sociology (Charles Leddy-Owen), digital technologies (Fred Charles) and theatre (Joanna Bucknall), as well as creative economy partners (Stand+Stare, DifferencEngine & The Lab Collective) and public-sector organisation ArtReach, to design a 3-part prototype immersive and interactive experience. This project responds to the call's focus on the challenges presented for Memory and Performance about uncovering and documenting heritages, by developing strategies to engage audiences in new ways. The project is also concerned with developing new approaches to immersive performance experience and ways of documenting and assessing its consumption. Using existing research of RAS experiences in the UK, the team will compile a dossier of case studies that explicate the common experience of RAS pre- and post-Brexit. The case studies will be 'brought to life' through integrating theatrical dramaturgical strategies and digital immersive technologies. The immersive prototype experience will present an opportunity for the RAS heritage to be encountered in an interactive manner. The immersive performance prototype will not only be designed to provide access to RAS experience in a (syn)aesthetic manner, it will also serve to capture the audience-participant's attitudes towards RAS and the UK-based asylum process. Through innovations in hybrid immersive performance dramaturgies, the research will generate an interactive archive of post-Brexit perceptions of RAS experience and processes. The digital technologies that will be integrated into the experience will have the capacity to trace any shifts in attitudes generated by participation in the immersive experience. Mapping those shifts in attitude will create an interactive archive that evidences the potential of immersive performance to affectively shift perception.
The project will develop innovations in the production of performance by combining AR digital technologies with theatrical immersive dramaturgical This will create innovation by integrating digital technologies into live performance to generate a more comprehensive (syn)aesthetic experience for the audience-participant than either approach can offer in isolation at present. The project will generate innovations by using hybrid immersive performance as a way of providing access to archival heritage documents in a corporeal manner. The project will devise a new approach to widening access to a currently hidden heritage-bringing it to new and potentially resistant audiences. The project will bring fresh approaches in reception theory and the documentation of audience experience. The prototype immersive performance will imbed interactive technological mechanisms for documenting the audience-participant's experience as a part of the experience itself. The development of a (syn)aesthetically informed approach to capturing audience's experience will have implications far beyond the scope of the research project. The Corpus Quod project team will design a 3-part prototype, hybrid immersive performance experience in order to capture audience-participants attitudes towards RAS in the UK, along with their perception of the UK Asylum process. Secondly, the immersive experience will give the audience-participant access to the common RAS experiences of that asylum-seeking process in an interactive, affective manner. The teams prototype will put the audience-participant inside the experience of that legal and bureaucratic procedure from the perspective of RAS. The prototype immersive experience will be able to re-capture the audience-participant's attitudes towards RAS and UK Asylum process, post-immersive experience. Integrated digital technologies will be employed to map any impact that the performance experience might have had on those attitudes. It will also integrate the collection of audience-participant feedback on their perception of experience itself as an affective form of performance.
The project will develop innovations in the production of performance by combining AR digital technologies with theatrical immersive dramaturgical This will create innovation by integrating digital technologies into live performance to generate a more comprehensive (syn)aesthetic experience for the audience-participant than either approach can offer in isolation at present. The project will generate innovations by using hybrid immersive performance as a way of providing access to archival heritage documents in a corporeal manner. The project will devise a new approach to widening access to a currently hidden heritage-bringing it to new and potentially resistant audiences. The project will bring fresh approaches in reception theory and the documentation of audience experience. The prototype immersive performance will imbed interactive technological mechanisms for documenting the audience-participant's experience as a part of the experience itself. The development of a (syn)aesthetically informed approach to capturing audience's experience will have implications far beyond the scope of the research project. The Corpus Quod project team will design a 3-part prototype, hybrid immersive performance experience in order to capture audience-participants attitudes towards RAS in the UK, along with their perception of the UK Asylum process. Secondly, the immersive experience will give the audience-participant access to the common RAS experiences of that asylum-seeking process in an interactive, affective manner. The teams prototype will put the audience-participant inside the experience of that legal and bureaucratic procedure from the perspective of RAS. The prototype immersive experience will be able to re-capture the audience-participant's attitudes towards RAS and UK Asylum process, post-immersive experience. Integrated digital technologies will be employed to map any impact that the performance experience might have had on those attitudes. It will also integrate the collection of audience-participant feedback on their perception of experience itself as an affective form of performance.
Planned Impact
Our research will build routes to social impact by (i) generating informed and evidenced representations of RAS experience (ii) designing empathetic access to that RAS heritage for public engagement (iii) generating an accessible, positive site for reflecting on attitudes towards the Asylum-Seeking processes in the UK. An important aspect of the project will be to identify possible routes to impact for the research outcomes and begin to establish the relationships with individuals and organisations that are able to support and facilitate those routes. We will work with three different user groups to ensure that those routes to impact are realised:
(1) ArtReach will be involved in the research project from its inception. They will attend the project meetings, review the prototype development process, beta-test the immersive experience prototype and work towards planning for the next phase of the research activity beyond the initial scope of this first phase of the project. They have an established a position in UK Cultural practice that already works to unite the academy, the creative industries and third-party sector work. Their involvement in the research project will be to ensure that those relational discursive channels remain open and dynamic; directly impacting upon the concerns that inform the design of the prototype. They will serve as a conduit for identifying and connecting the emergent research practices with potential non-academic beneficiaries. ArtReach's support of the research project in his way will help to consolidate third sector confidence in the integrity of the research which will be essential in preparing for the second phase of the research.
(2) Third party sector organisation, Friends without Borders will be invited to participate in the beta-testing event in both London. They will be presented with the opportunity to test and offer feedback on the potential of the immersive experience prototype as a future prototype user. An important part of the project will be to building relationships with the its non-academic beneficiaries. The London beta-testing event and reception will be a chance to invite possible third-party sector beneficiaries to experience the work and offer their feedback. It will provide the opportunity to establish confidence with understandably cautious potential third-party organisations collaborators. Charles Leddy-Owen has worked for over 20 years with FWB and in that capacity, has built up trust with other organisations such as the British Red Cross, who will be invited to the beta-testing and incentivised by the networking reception that will follow the beta-test.
(3) The immersive creative industry is London-centric and it is this factor that has influenced in part our decision to beta-test in London. Corpus Quod will pioneer new approaches to augmenting reality in live performance, which will contribute significantly to the contemporary performance landscape. If these new developments in performance practice are to be exploited for their creative and commercial application, then they need to be disseminated in an industry setting. The London beta-testing will not only serve to generate proof-of-concept data sets, they will also introduce the prototype experience to some key industry professionals. Theatre Deli is a leading organisation in the field of immersive theatre and carries weight in their support of projects. Hosting at Café Deli will invest the event with validation and confidence among the immersive community which will encourage industry participation in the testing of the work. We will invite producers, investors and theatre makers to the London beta-testing with the intention of securing collaborations for the second phase of the research. Joanna Bucknall has already made strong connections with the London immersive scene through her research activity over the last five years and podcast that the team can utilise.
(1) ArtReach will be involved in the research project from its inception. They will attend the project meetings, review the prototype development process, beta-test the immersive experience prototype and work towards planning for the next phase of the research activity beyond the initial scope of this first phase of the project. They have an established a position in UK Cultural practice that already works to unite the academy, the creative industries and third-party sector work. Their involvement in the research project will be to ensure that those relational discursive channels remain open and dynamic; directly impacting upon the concerns that inform the design of the prototype. They will serve as a conduit for identifying and connecting the emergent research practices with potential non-academic beneficiaries. ArtReach's support of the research project in his way will help to consolidate third sector confidence in the integrity of the research which will be essential in preparing for the second phase of the research.
(2) Third party sector organisation, Friends without Borders will be invited to participate in the beta-testing event in both London. They will be presented with the opportunity to test and offer feedback on the potential of the immersive experience prototype as a future prototype user. An important part of the project will be to building relationships with the its non-academic beneficiaries. The London beta-testing event and reception will be a chance to invite possible third-party sector beneficiaries to experience the work and offer their feedback. It will provide the opportunity to establish confidence with understandably cautious potential third-party organisations collaborators. Charles Leddy-Owen has worked for over 20 years with FWB and in that capacity, has built up trust with other organisations such as the British Red Cross, who will be invited to the beta-testing and incentivised by the networking reception that will follow the beta-test.
(3) The immersive creative industry is London-centric and it is this factor that has influenced in part our decision to beta-test in London. Corpus Quod will pioneer new approaches to augmenting reality in live performance, which will contribute significantly to the contemporary performance landscape. If these new developments in performance practice are to be exploited for their creative and commercial application, then they need to be disseminated in an industry setting. The London beta-testing will not only serve to generate proof-of-concept data sets, they will also introduce the prototype experience to some key industry professionals. Theatre Deli is a leading organisation in the field of immersive theatre and carries weight in their support of projects. Hosting at Café Deli will invest the event with validation and confidence among the immersive community which will encourage industry participation in the testing of the work. We will invite producers, investors and theatre makers to the London beta-testing with the intention of securing collaborations for the second phase of the research. Joanna Bucknall has already made strong connections with the London immersive scene through her research activity over the last five years and podcast that the team can utilise.
| Title | Burden of Proof |
| Description | Burden of Proof was a prototype immersive performance experience that employed live and digital elements to create an augmented reality experience that provided its audience participants with a journey through an interactive performance environment. The prototype affective dramaturgy brought to life RAS' case studies, experiences and the UK bureaucratic and legal procedures for applying for asylum. Burden of Proof was a hybrid playable experience for up to 12 audience participants. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Impact | Post-experience feedback suggest that the prototype had an immediate and evidencable impact on a significant number of the participants. When asked if they felt that the experience had impacted upon their understanding or perspective of the UK asylum seeking process, 76% of the London and 71% of the Birmingham participants felt that their experience altered their perception or understanding. Initial evaluations of the rich and complex qualitative data collected suggest that participant's, despite their pre-existing stakes in the arena of asylum process, had their understanding of the bureaucratic and legal processes changed. |
| Description | New knowledge was generated in three main areas: understanding of existing attitudes towards refugees and asylum seekers, (RAS) and those attitudes relationship to media representations of RAS; insight into the affective potential of immerisve and AR technologies as a tool for shifting audience participants perceptions; insight into the ways in which those affective dramaturgies generate the opportunity for a change in audiences understanding, attitudes and perception of RAS. The Case Studies Case studies were compiled to to furnish the research team with insight into two key areas: Contemporary British public attitudes towards RAS and the experiences of asylum seekers and refugees in relation to the UK immigration system since 2010. A complex relationship between Media portrayals of asylum seekers, racism & stereotyping, economics, contact with RAS, education and government & other institutions was found to inform the British public's perception of and attitudes towards RAS. The Case study undertook a thorough review of the academic, NGO and media research in this area. This provided insight into the application processing, delays and decision-making; the procedures associated with and experience of Asylum interviews; provision of documents and evidence required by the Home Office from RAS and the detention and removals process. The Development of an Affective Dramaturgy Utilising the insights provided by the case studies, the prototype experience, Burden of Proof was developed and designed to achieve two key objectives: • Capturing participants pre-existing attitude towards RAS and perception of the asylum process and any documenting shifts in their attitudes and perception that occurred as a result of their participation in the protype performance beta-test. • To put the participants inside the typical experience of the asylum-seeking process. Burden of Proof was designed to put audience participants inside the typical experience of applying for asylum in the UK. In addition, innovative approaches to tracking audience-participants shifts in perception/attitude/understanding that arose as a direct result of the experience, as part of the experience itself were developed. Innovations were designed, employing immersion and technology as a tool for social change, as well as new approaches to documenting audience experience. Beta-tests were conducted in London and Birmingham to an invited audience of stakeholders, industry professionals and academics. Audience Feedback The beta-tests produced qualitative and quantitative data collected in pre-engagement, during the prototype experience and post. The pre-experience and in-experience data were collected through innovative automated technologies that engaged participants in a series of activities. In addition to the pre-engagement collection of data and in-experience collection and tracking of perception shifts of the audience participants, qualitative data was collected through post-experience audience questionnaires. These were used to gain understanding and insight into participants immediate response to the experience of, as well as participant's perception of the wider impact and value of the prototype as a tool for social change and audience research. The post-experience questionnaires have collected a large, rich sample and initial data analysis suggests that the experience of participating in Burden of Proof provided audiences with a shifted attitude towards the UK immigration and asylum process. |
| Exploitation Route | Corpus Quod has been a multidisciplinary and cross-sector collaboration which means that our research outcomes have the potential for being taken forward and utilised in a variety of academic and non-academic contexts. The affective dramaturgical innovations that the team developed for capturing and tracking participant's shifts in attitudes and perceptions pre-experience, in-experience and post-experience that inform Burden of Proof and the rich qualitative and quantitative data sets that this has generated, have significant potential application In sociology the vast majority of current studies regarding immigration (and multiple other important social issues) rely on abstracted attitudinal surveys or qualitative interviews. In contrast, Corpus Quod's use of affective dramaturgies enables the analysis of research participants' engagement in situ, thereby producing highly revealing data with regard to social practice, emotions and expression. The innovations that Burden of Proof presents offers new methodological tools for capturing, tracking and generating shifts in participants attitudes and ultimately behaviours. The affective dramaturgy has implications for methodological approaches not just in sociology but also reception studies and audience documentation. The use of immersive technologies to expose research participants to highly realistic scenarios and interactive social situations is methodologically novel, with Burden of Proof demonstrating the potential to open up important new avenues for highly impactful social and political research. The creative partners of Corpus Quod are already working to explore these new approaches in their own professional practice, sharing those developments with the wider professional practice community and audience in the UK theatre and immerisve technologies sectors. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Creative Economy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Description | The outcome for Corpus Quod was to develop a prototype experience and beta-test it with stakeholders and beneficiaries to assess its impact and potential value as a tool for social change. Since the presentation of the prototype, Burden of Proof in beta-testing sessions in London and Birmingham in late 2018, we have been able to identify two areas of direct impact that the design and beta-testing has generated: • A contribution to creative output and practices in the creative cultural industries that contributes to fostering industry competitiveness through innovation. • A contribution to the cultural landscape by generating a greater understanding of UK bureaucratic and legal processes surrounding immigration and asylum. Corpus Quod has been a multidisciplinary and cross-sector collaboration between academics, creative practitioners and the third sector. Our creative partners have reported that since their involvement in the research project they have see new avenues and opportunities for working relationships and collaborations open to them because of their novel skillsets generated by the project. These new avenues of opportunity have generated creative and financial benefits for their businesses. The practices forged out of the development of the prototype design process have given out cultural partners unique and novel strategies that they are now employing in their creative practice. Involvement in the collaboration has changed the nature of their creative approach and the range of opportunities open to them. Burden of Proof was beta-tested in London on the 17/11/2018 at the Theatre Deli and The Selly Oak Visual Arts Centre on the 1/12/2018 with an invited audience of stakeholders, industry professionals and academics. Initial analysis of the post-experience feedback suggest that the prototype had an immediate and evidencable impact on a significant number of the participants. When asked if they felt that the experience had impacted upon their understanding or perspective of the UK asylum seeking process, 76% of the London and 71% of the Birmingham participants felt that their experience altered their perception or understanding. Initial evaluations of the rich and complex qualitative data collected suggest that participant's, despite their pre-existing stakes in the arena of asylum process, had their understanding of the bureaucratic and legal processes changed. The immediate impact of the affective dramaturgy is evidenced in the participant's feedback in various ways but these findings most starkly reveal its potential as a tool for educating and shifting perceptions. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2018 |
| Sector | Creative Economy,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal,Economic |