Falmouth University has secured funding for a new research project that will use technology to capture and archive performance practice.
The university in Cornwall will use the £850,000 of funding to explore new ways to widen access to performances and provide new income streams to support the creative industries across the Duchy.
GWITHA, from the Cornish word to guard, or to keep, will establish an open centre for immersive approaches to archival practice in the performance space, capturing and preserving performances that have previously been difficult or impossible to document because of their transient nature.
This £850,000 investment is through the Creative Research Capability (CResCa) fund from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). It is intended to provide increased investment to support the development of research and development capabilities, improve the visibility and resilience of practice-led research sectors within the arts and humanities, and support the UK’s creative and cultural economy through further funding for the sector’s critical infrastructure.
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Falmouth University vice chancellor, Emma Hunt said: “We are thrilled to have been successful in our bid to the CResCa fund. We are committed to being the leading university for the nexus of creativity and technology and I can’t think of a project that would encapsulate this better. Furthermore, we want to use our knowledge and expertise to generate positive opportunities, particularly in Cornwall.
"I am very excited to see how this project will develop the potential for capture of performance practice and to support the development of new strategies to improve audience access to culture and creativity.”
UKRI international champion and executive chair of the AHRC, Professor Christopher Smith added: “The investments, made across the UK, will provide UK researchers with advanced equipment, facilities and technology, and help maintain the UK’s position as a leader in research and innovation. This support will ensure the UK is an attractive place for scientists, researchers and entrepreneurs to live, work and innovate.”
Emma Hogg, director of Cornish theatre company Wildworks, said: “The GWITHA project offers real-world benefits to the creative economy of Cornwall and beyond. The project offers very real potential to change the manner in which performance practice can be recorded and shared with wider audiences."
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