The University’s art centre The Edge joined with Arts Council England for a special event on Tuesday 31 October, looking at collaboration between art and research and its success stories. Darren Henley also visited the Centre for the Analysis of Motion, Entertainment Research and Applications, meeting Director Darren Cosker for a tour of our studio, to discover more about CAMERA’s work in the entertainment industry; in human performance enhancement; and assistive technologies for the rehabilitation for people with physical impairments.

The event was designed as an opportunity to reflect on the question of collaboration and how it can benefit researchers professionally, address themes and problems that are important to society and lead to cultural advances. It was attended by Bath researchers and creatives; alongside guest speakers from the Wellcome Trust; Arts Catalyst; the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement; and artists Mat Collishaw, Aowen Jin and Jean Baynham and our own Professor Cosker.

Darren Henley, Chief Executive of Arts Council England spoke of the importance of nurturing creativity in all to lead to a more just and prosperous society. He said: “When artists, arts organisations, museums and libraries work closely together with universities, exciting things happen. I’m impressed by the scale of creative ambition across the University of Bath and the commitment shown to helping students of all disciplines to unlock their creative potential. It’s this creativity that will be a determining factor in their future lives and careers.”