Creative methods for thinking about animal research
Creative methods for thinking about animal research
At the closing ‘Researching Animal Research’ conference, we were delighted to bring together a set of diverse speakers to discuss perspectives on using creative methods for thinking about animal research. Throughout the project we have worked to develop creative methods to both study and engage the professional, student, and lay audiences of animal research.
In this session we wanted to include speakers who could showcase how some of the creative outputs from AnNex were being taken up by professionals, and also showcase creatives who have produced artistic work on animal research, informed in some cases by AnNex research. It led to a very interesting conversation. To offer a sense of the richness of the discussion we are grateful to those panellists who have agreed to publicly share their presentation slides.
The session panellists included animal research professionals Dr Sarah Bailey (University of Bath, UK) and Dr Jordi Lopez-Tremoleda (Queen Mary University of London, UK). They explained why they were drawn to using the creative methods developed in the AnNex programme and shared the different types of conversations that the use of the Mouse Exchange and Care-full Stories resources respectively had facilitated within the sector.
The other three session panellists were creative practitioners: playwright/sociologist Maisie Tomlinson (Goldsmiths, UK), independent artist Louise MacKenzie and UK interactive theatre makers The Lab Collective. Each of them have produced art-forms that engage with animal research. The Lab Collective spoke about their partnership with the AnNex team in developing Vector – an interactive and immersive performance. Louise MacKenzie spoke of her artistic interests in performing openness around animal research. Maisie Tomlinson provided us with insights into her process of writing a stage play inspired by animal research, called What a Mouse Knows. You can find slides from most of these presentations if you click on the links above.