Community Collaborative Practices & Public Engagement

UCA creatives develop local and regional engagement activities, including projects focused on mobility between our creatives, external partners and end-user communities.

The University is currently involved in engagement projects with local authorities in Surrey and Kent and public art bodies.

Our staff, students and graduates are passionate about supporting local businesses, organisations and residents through creative approaches that aim to solve society’s big challenges.

We engage the public through participatory events, webinars, and podcasts.

Community and Sound Art Practice

Media and sound innovations at UCA is led by the Audio Research Cluster. The Cluster develops collaborations with the market, for instance, the Memory Tracks, Tuning in to Dementia project, which investigates how memorable songs can support people living with dementia. Memory Tracks is an app that connects specific daily tasks to selected memorable songs. Users can trigger the music by tapping on the relevant task or automatically scheduling a time of day.

Augmented Reality and Community Histories

In 2019, UCA photography researcher Steffi Klenz was commissioned to undertake the Camden Alive Project as part of the Mayor's London Borough of Culture, focusing on Maiden Lane Estate in Camden and in collaboration with the Maiden Lane Hip Hop artists Brownsilla and Boss B. Currently, the project is working with immersive technology specialists Arcade Ltd to present the album Tensed Muscles through a bespoke augmented reality app. The project will be installed in the Maiden Lane Estate in Camden, London, creating a 'museum without walls' that will enable people living on the estate to experience the work in an immersive way. Learn more about the project.

Photography & Social Change

Fast Forward, Women in Photography project progresses women's work as photographers, addressing the global under-representation and disadvantage of women in this field. The project has changed museums, galleries, collections, and festivals, including Tate, the National Portrait Gallery, LagosPhoto and the Hyman Collection. The network manages a highly influential network inspired by women in photography asserting their place in our art history narratives. An agenda advanced by the Manifesto For Increased Involvement Of Women In Photography.

Creative Place and Space

UCA’s School of Architecture & Design is home to several collaborative consultancies and collaborations with local communities and public organisations. Clients include Dover District Council and Dover Arts Development in the Arts Council England-funded "Art in the Park: Kearsney Interpreted" project. This delivered a First World War memorial trial funded by East Kent Railway Trust and worked at West Wing Battery at Fort Burgoyne in Dover to protect the historical artefacts while leaving them exposed to the public gaze. Read more about these collaborations.

King’s Hill public art project [Student engagement with KE]

Turner Contemporary and University for the Creative Arts are working as cultural partners to the King's Hill Garden Village. The project aims to connect art and education to involve and inspire creative futures for young residents, with a student atelier working alongside artist Yinka Ilori to create public art. Read more about the project.

Key contact

Hedley Roberts
Director of School of Fine Art, Crafts & Photography
[email protected]

Creative engagement and innovation

Our creatives conduct theory-based and applied research into art, design, and the built environment, pushing the impact of creative thinking and practice into new areas. It cuts across the areas of film, fine art, photography, crafts, fashion and architectural design.

UCA creative-based projects, submitted for REF2021, were exhibited in 89 different galleries, museums, and venues across 26 different countries, demonstrating UCA's international influence on research in culture and creativity.