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BJPsych - Kai Syng Tan

Art and Performance
Research Hub

Embracing, interrogating and responding to contemporary and historical issues through art and performance research.

The Art and Performance Research Hub brings practice- and text-based research together. We work locally and internationally through exhibitions, seminars, conferences, screenings, events, performances and publishing. Our models for creative and critical practice include everything from performer training to curating.

We also investigate art and performance through theoretical and historical writing about performance, painting, photography, printing, drawing, dramaturgy, screen art (including performance), sculpture and time-based arts.

Our work takes place in the public realm, locally and internationally, through exhibitions, seminars, conferences, screenings, events, performances and publishing. We contribute to the overall research culture and expertise at Manchester School of Art through the local and international profiles of our staff.

How we work

We develop and share internationally acclaimed digital media and performance. We recognise and embrace the importance of individual practice, as well as collaborative and inter- and trans-disciplinary work.

Our historical and contemporary research alike is relevant to socially engaged art practices. Challenging the boundaries of real and virtual sites allows us to examine both digital and analogue art and performance across platforms and realities.

We welcome new technologies and methodologies as well as cross-disciplinary collaborations with academic and non-academic partners worldwide. We also provide specific expertise and knowledge in digital materials and processes, as well as analogue media such as micro-fiches, slides, vinyl and film.

We’ve embraced new ways of making and disseminating our work online. The rich and innovative approaches to our research we’ve developed recently have led to rich and innovative pedagogy.

We lead and contribute to the postgraduate research student environment through seminars, lectures, roundtables, research training and research supervision. We also work collectively and across disciplines within the wider University ecology.

Research Focus

The Art and Performance Research Hub explores contemporary issues through rigorous intellectual research themes, including:

  • — archives, museums, cultural heritage and domestic histories
  • — power, politics, protest, site and communities
  • — arts and health, social practice, policy and law
  • — simulation, materiality, identity, fiction of the image
  • — composition, dramaturgy, laboratory training
  • — embodiment, gender and histories of practice

Selected Projects

British Ritual Innovation under COVID-19 (BRIC-19)
Josh Edelman

Understanding how Britains religious communities adapted during — and responded to — the COVID-19 pandemic.

SAFEDI
Amanda Ravetz

Improving equality, diversity and inclusion in partnership with social artists, audiences and policy makers.

Asia Triennial Manchester
Alnoor Mitha

Exploring and celebrating Asian cultures in Manchester and beyond through a community of international artists and events.

Bunker Talks
Michael Pinchbeck

A space for critical encounters, presentations, provocation and dialogue.

Members and Associate Members


Exhibitions & Publications

Exhibitions

Hunt, A., Casser, A., Balgiu, A., 2023. Ilse Garnier: a e i o u / Concrete Experience, Badischer Kunstverein, 10/2/2023 - 16/4/2023.

Hunt, A., 2023. Louise Giovanelli 'Always Different, Always the Same', Moon Grove, 23/2/2023 - 16/4/2023.

Ali, L., 2023. Tampered Surface Six Artists from Pakistan : an Exhibition of Sculpture, Painting, Printmaking, Photography and Mixed Media.

Hunt, A., 2022. Behrang Karimi Rotpeter: 'Bild eines zur Dressur gezwungenen', Moon Grove, 20/5/2022 - 15/7/2022.

Hunt, A., Osbaldeston, D., 2022. David Osbaldeston 'A Pastiche of Different Techniques', Moon Grove, 24/11/2022 - 25/1/2023.

Biswas-Rodgers, S., 2022. Mixed Bathing World 2015 Triennial.

Warstat, A., Mock, J., 2022. S'attarder et regarder, ensemble et séparément - la photographie de Gavin Parry (Lingering and looking, together and apart - the photography of Gavin Parry), Maison Louis-Jardin du Mesnil-sur-Oger, Médiathèques Simone-Veil et Daniel-Rondeau d'Epernay, 17/9/2022 - 2/10/2022.

Brennan, T., Brennan, T., 2022. Waking ????????, Athens Digital Arts Festival and Primarolia Arts Festival, 22/3/2022 - 11/9/2022.

Mitha, A., 2022. Where is Home, Whitworth art gallery, 12/8/2022 - 26/2/2023.

Mitha, A., 2021. EART - A MANIFESTO OF POSSIBILITIES - CURATED BY ALNOOR MITHA, Manchester International festival various public sites, 1/7/2021 - 18/7/2021.

Hunt, A., Semeiko, A., 2021. Emotionarama, PEER, 20/8/2021 - 28/8/2021.

Loveless, N., Caulfield, S., Koski, K., Fisher, C., Mahon, P., Alvaer, J., Hou, A., Hoffman, S., Holst, J., Humphrey, A., Tonoyan, M., Kwon, VS-Y., 2021. Immune Nations, McMaster Museum of Art, Canada, 14/9/2021 - 10/12/2021.

Biswas, S., Biswas-Rodgers, S., 2021. Lumen: Sutapa Biswas, Kettle's Yard, 16/10/2021 - 30/1/2022.

Biswas-Rodgers, S., 2021. Lumen: Sutapa Biswas, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, UK, 26/6/2021 - 20/3/2022.

Tan, KS., 2021. Running Artfully Network: curatorial intervention and creative research, Online, 26/2/2021 - 26/2/2021.

Artefacts

Copsey, R., 2022. 'Erosion 3', UK.

Atkinson, L-J., 2022. 'Lino LAB'.

Copsey, R., 2022. 'Paintscape 20', Russia.

Copsey, R., 2022. 'Paintscape20', UK.

Copsey, R., 2022. 'Untitled 2014', Moldova.

Copsey, R., 2022. 'Untitled2014', Moldova.

Tan, KS., 2021. 'A Neuro-Futuristic 2050', Attenborough Arts Centre.

Performances

Tan, KS., 2023. 'A 'Tentacular Pedagogy' to Lead 2050', European League of Institutes of the Arts' Teachers Academy (ELIA) Academy bootcamp, 24/11/2021 - 4/2/2022.

Pinchbeck, M., 2023. 'Sit with us for a moment and remember', Nottingham Lakeside Arts, 1/7/2021.

Pinchbeck, M., 2023. 'Talking Trees / ??/??', University of Nottingham Botanical Garden, 1/6/2021.

Lo, L., Pinchbeck, M., 2023. 'Talking Trees / ??/??', University of Nottingham Botanical Garden, 1/7/2022.

Spiers, A., Oshodi, M., 2022. 'Flatland', Dilston Grove, Southwark Park, 4/5/2015.

Stinton, C., Jetzer, C., McGarrigle, C., Muir, H., 2022. 'Liturgie', The Place, London as part of Tete a Tete Opera Festival, 25/7/2017.

Tan, KS., 2021. 'Exceptional talent, the state of fun & islands of after death: one artist/curator/woman's tale of how art & mobilities collide through 100 slides', Peter Scott Gallery, 3/7/2018 - 3/7/2018.

Books

Pinchbeck, M., Babbage, F., 2026. 'Ways of Staging: The Berger and Mohr Trilogy', Intellect.

Pinchbeck, M., Smith, O., 2024. 'Following the Score: The Ravel Trilogy', Intellect.

Hunt, A., Chilver, J., 2023. 'Journal of Contemporary Painting Volume 8 Numbers 1 & 2. Special Issue 'Minor Painting: Outsiders and Outliers'', Intellect Journals.

Jurack, B., 2023. 'Pull Clay', Bluecoat Centre for Contemporary Art, Liverpool.

Campbell, P., 2022. '...Ship of fools', Informa UK Limited, London.

Hunt, A., Lebahn, D., Römer, S., 2022. 'All Go Rhythm - This is a Free Concert', Slimvolume.

Hunt, A., Fry, J., Stanley, B., Haines, L., 2022. 'James Fry 'A Licence to Rock and Pop: An Inventory of Attitude'', Slimvolume.

Reason, M., Conner, L., Johanson, K., Walmsley, B., 2022. 'Routledge Companion to Audiences and the Performing Arts', Routledge.

Hunt, A., Evans, C., Potter, CR., 2022. 'Sudden Wealth with Roy Claire Potter', Slimvolume.

Turner, J., Campbell, P., 2021. 'A Poetics of Third Theatre Performer Training, Dramaturgy, Cultural Action', Perspectives on Performer Training, London.

Hunt, A., Holden, A., Woolcott, T., 2021. 'Andy Holden, Collected Free Labour: Blog Interviews 2010-2021', Slimvolume.

Hunt, A., Lewisohn, C., 2021. 'Cedar Lewisohn The Seven Plagues of Seven Angels', Slimvolume.

Kennedy-Schtyk, B., 2021. 'Imaging Migration in Post-War Britain', Routledge.

Gladston, P., Kennedy-Schtyk, B., Turner, M., 2021. 'Introduction', Springer Singapore.

Hunt, A., Dag Holmboe, R., Allan, S., 2021. 'Nicol Allan: Collages', Slimvolume.

Ridinghouse, 2021. 'Sutapa Biswas Lumen'.

Gladston, P., Kennedy-Schtyk, B., Turner, M., 2021. 'Visual Culture Wars at the Borders of Contemporary China Art, Design, Film, New Media and the Prospects of "Post-West" Contemporaneity', Palgrave Macmillan.

Jurack, B., 2021. 'What's left behind', Williamson Art Gallery and Museum.

Book Chapters

Lineham, M., 2023. '(TBC) Atmospheres at the British Seaside Amusement Arcade through a focus on Light and Dark'. In Steadman, C., Coffin, J. (eds.) Consuming Atmospheres: Designing, Experiencing, and Researching Atmospheres in Consumption Spaces, Routledge, London.

Tan, KS., 2023. 'An exploration of running as metaphor, methodology, material through the RUN! RUN! RUN! Biennale #r3fest 2016'. In Long, J., Sandle, D. (eds.) Interrelationships Between Sport and the Arts, Routledge.

Barber, F., 2023. 'Women in Long Kesh/Maze prison: We Were There (2014), memory and visuality'. In McAtackney, L., Ó Catháin, M. (eds.) Routledge Handbook on the Northern Ireland Troubles and the Peace Process, Routledge.

Pinchbeck, M., Baynton, R., 2022. 'Co-creation'. In Reason, M., Conner, L., Johanson, K., Walmsley, B. (eds.) Routledge Companion to Audiences and the Performing Arts (2020), Routledge.

Baynton, R., Pinchbeck, M., 2022. 'Co-creation'. In Routledge Companion to Audiences and the Performing Arts, pp. 409-417, Routledge.

Hunt, A., 2022. 'Elizabeth MaGill'. In Elizabeth Magill: Flag Iris, Miles McEnery Gallery.

Child, D., 2021. ''Invisble Hands': Perceiving Labour in Contemporary Art'. In Sonsbeek20->24 Force Times Distance Reader #1:On Labour, Archive Books.

Ravetz, A., 2021. 'From documenting culture to experimenting with cultural phenomena: Using fine art pedagogies with visual anthropology students'. In Creativity and Cultural Improvisation, pp. 247-265.

Gladston, P., Kennedy-Schtyk, B., 2021. 'Rendering Frontiers: From China's Historical Dynastic-Imperial to Modern Republican Borders and the Changing Significances of Chinese Art'. In Visual Culture Wars at the Borders of Contemporary China, pp. 105-130, Springer Singapore.

Media

Tan, KS., 2021. 'How to Thrive in 2050'.

Reports

Maples, H., Edelman, J., FitzGibbon, A., Harris, L., Klich, R., Tartoff, K., Young, A., 2022. 'Freelancers in the Dark: the economic, cultural, and social impacts of Covid-19 on theatre freelancers', University of Essex.

Edelman, J., Vincent, A., O'Keeffe, E., Kolata, P., Minott, MA., Steurzenhofecker, K., Bailey, J., Roding Pemberton, C., Lowe, D., 2021. 'British Ritual Innovation under COVID-19', Manchester Metropolitan University.

Child, D., 2021. 'Culture in Crisis: Impacts of Covid-19 on the UK Cultural Sector and Where We Go From Here'.

Internet Publications

Child, D., Gray, K., Weeks, H., Wright, J., 2021. 'Why Digital Isn't Enough', https://www.artsprofessional.co.uk/magazine/article/why-digital-isnt-enough.

Journal Articles

Babbage, F., Pinchbeck, M., 2023. 'Acts of Unsettling: An Immersive Adaptation of Berger and Mohr's A Seventh Man', Arts, 12 (2), pp. 50-50.

Hunt, A., 2023. 'Hannah Starkey', Artforum International, April 2023.

Singleton, H., 2023. 'On the Hill: Representations and retellings of the Pendle Witches' history within the rural landscape of Lancashire, England', Revenant, TBC (Forthcoming).

Barber, F., Gilson, J., 2023. 'Stormy Weather: textile art, water and climate emergency', Textile: the journal of cloth and culture.

Jurack, B., 2023. 'You Look at Me Looking at You Looking at Me', Arts, 12 (2), pp. 73-73.

Turner, J., 2022. '...Ship of fools', Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, 13 (1), pp. 154-154.

Hunt, A., 2022. 'Allison Katz', Artforum International, May 2022.

Tan, KS., 2022. 'Art and psychiatry in the 21st century: here's to more messy - and magical - entanglements', BJPsych Bulletin, 46 (2), pp. 105-108.

Ledger, AJ., Kuhlmann, A., Christoffersen, EE., Turner, J., Campbell, P., Chemi, T., 2022. 'From the centre to the periphery', Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, 13 (1), pp. 156-158.

Hunt, A., 2022. 'Minor painting: Outsiders and outliers', Journal of Contemporary Painting, 8 (1), pp. 3-29.

Genc, EA., Kennedy-Schtyk, B., Miles, S., 2022. 'Reimagining the cultural impact of neoliberalism: an analysis of Istanbul and Liverpool biennials', International Journal of Cultural Policy, pp. 1-16.

Pinchbeck, MD., Egan, K., 2022. 'Staging Scores: Devising Contemporary Performances from Classical Music', Volume 8, 8 (1), 30.

Campbell, P., Turner, J., 2022. 'The Clinch and the Crack: Rupture and Resolution in Third Theatre's Laboratory Practices', Arts, 11 (6), pp. 118-118.

Child, D., 2022. 'The Great Escape: The Visibility of Class in Tracey Emin's Margate', Oxford Art Journal, 45 (2), pp. 253-268.

Oliver, E., Whitehall, J., 2022. 'The Past Dreams the Future Present': Dream as Political Visual Historiography in the work of Artist and Film Maker Derek Jarman (Aug 22) IDEA Journal: Interdisciplinary Discourses, Education and Analysis www.lcir.co.uk/publications', IDEA - Interdisciplinary Discourses, Education and Analysis, 2, pp. 72-88.

Hunt, A., 2021. ''Curator Conversations'', Source Magazine.

Hunt, A., 2021. 'Across the Universe: Andrew Hunt on the Liverpool Biennial', Artforum International.

Gallo, LMH., Giampietro, V., Zunszain, PA., Tan, KS., 2021. 'Covid-19 and Mental Health: Could Visual Art Exposure Help?', Frontiers in Psychology, 12.

Selva, AL., Campbell, P., Nie, M., Maciel, A., 2021. 'Cross Pollination's Nomadic Laboratory: a praxis in-between practices', Revista Brasileira de Estudos da Presença, 11 (4), pp. e113814-e113814.

Hunt, A., 2021. 'Curator as Zelig', Art Monthly, 444, pp. 14-16.

Grimshaw, A., Ravetz, A., 2021. 'Desenhar com uma câmera? Filme etnográfico e antropologia transformadora', GIS - Gesto, Imagem e Som - Revista de Antropologia, 6 (1).

Campbell, PGW., Linden, J., 2021. 'Expanded Practice and Curation as Creative Process: An Introductory Assemblage', REPERTÓRIO: Teatro & Dança, 19 (27), pp. 11-20.

Hunt, A., 2021. 'Jamie Crewe', Artforum International.

Tan, KS., 2021. 'The artful agile atypical octopussy', Performance Research: a journal of the performing arts, 26 (4), pp. 128-129.

Tidmarsh, A., 2021. 'To Instruct', Text: for the Study of the History, Art and Design of Textiles, 48, pp. 64-70.

Tan, KS., 2021. 'Towards an anti-racist Fine Art Ph.D.: 'Anti-racism productive antagonisms' (ARPA) for the supervisor, student and examiner', Art, Design & Communication in Higher Education, 20 (1), pp. 49-63.

Non-Peer Reviewed Articles

Child, D., 2021. 'Why We Need to Rethink Access to the Arts', Elephant Magazine, 45, pp. 153-154.

Conference Papers

Child, D., 2023. ''Considering Art's "Building Site" for Production Studies: The Case of Art Fabrication'', Simpósio Internacional de Estudos da Produção: Aquitetura, Projecto s Canteiro, Centro Mariantonia da USP, São Paulo, Brazi, 4/4/2023 - 5/4/2023.

Warstat, A., 2022. 'Exhausting metaphor - Andrea Fisher and the infinitely deferred image', Times of Metaphor : A Symposium on the Temporal, Metaphorical, and the Still and Moving Image, Royal College of Art, 8/7/2022 - 8/7/2022.

Pinchbeck, M., 2022. 'Immersive archives: making "Sit with us for a moment and remember"', Telling Stories: An International Conference on Music Archives and Heritage Narratives,, Manchester Metropolitan University, 17/11/2022 - 19/11/2022.

Pinchbeck, M., Lo, L., 2022. 'Talking Trees/??/??: a virtual journey to the East in the time of the Covid-19 pandemic', The Migration Conference 2022, Rabat, Morocco, 7/9/2022 - 10/9/2022, in The Migration Conference 2022: selected papers, pp. 59-64.

Other Outputs

Simpson, ES., White, B., 2023. 'Auditory Learning'.

White, B., Simpson, E., 2023. 'Toward Usership: Collaborative data mining in an orchestra's record collection.'.

Tan, KS., 2022. 'An exploration of running as metaphor, methodology, material through the RUN! RUN! RUN! Biennale #r3fest 2016'.

Biswas-Rodgers, S., 2022. 'Flights of Passage by Sutapa Biswas. Part of RadioCity2014/15, Tate Britain'.

Cornejo Alvarez, J., 2022. 'Puno Museum of Contemporary Art'.

Tan, KS., 2022. 'Using Tentacular Pedagogy to change the HE culture'.

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