Arts and Creative Cultures Newsletter
May 2026
Welcome to ArCC Research Focus: a snapshot of the ideas, partnerships, and practices currently in motion, and a sense of where we’re heading next.
ArCC (the Centre for Arts, Research and Creative Cultures) brings together an interdisciplinary research community examining how culture is produced, mediated, spatialised, historicised, technologised, governed, and valued. Across diverse disciplinary backgrounds, our work is shaped by an art and design-based ethos of critical enquiry, supporting practice-led, historically informed, and publicly engaged research.
Drawing on creative practice alongside humanities and social science perspectives, research at ArCC moves between making, analysis, and intervention. We explore questions of media, space, history, technology, economy, and policy, working with communities, cultural organisations, audiences, users, and practitioners. Our research frequently looks beyond individual artworks or design outputs to engage with the systems, structures, and infrastructures that shape cultural life.
Grounded in collaboration, care, and social responsibility, ArCC’s work attends to the ethical, cultural, and political dimensions of art and design practice. By engaging with lived contexts and collective concerns, we bring creative practice, humanities perspectives, and social research into dialogue to explore how existing conditions might be critically and imaginatively reconfigured.
RECENT NEWS
Dr Petros Lameras appointed as External Expert for EACEA Capacity Building in VET
Dr Petros Lameras has been appointed as an External Expert for the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) within the Capacity Building in Vocational Education and Training (CB-VET) programme.
In this role, he will contribute to the evaluation of international project proposals focusing on innovation, digital transformation, skills development, and inclusive vocational education practices across Europe and beyond.
This appointment reflects continued engagement in supporting high-quality, impactful initiatives within vocational education and training.
Image: Malaysian Students and Academics Synergy Programme 2026
Building Bridges: Malaysian Academics and Students Connect in London
The Malaysian Students and Academics Synergy Programme 2026, held at the High Commission of Malaysia in London, brought together over 60 Malaysian students and academics across the UK to explore mentorship, leadership, and employability.
Prof. Sylvester Arnab, a founding member of the network alongside fellow Malaysian academics in the UK under the leadership of Dr Hanafi Damanhuri, Director of Education Malaysia London, spoke candidly about navigating academic identity, life in the UK, and building long-term research partnerships with communities in Borneo.
The initiative is also developing pro-bono mentoring opportunities for Malaysian students in the UK.
Dr Melissa Tanti publishes on digital storymaking as feminist listening in PDSE
In 2023 funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Dr Melissa Tanti co-led a project that collected stories from young women and mothers who were fleeing violence during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. A small group from the 30 women interviewed opted to take part in digital storymaking workshops to create short multimedia films about their experiences.
This month, Melissa published the article, 'Digital Storytelling as a Method of Feminist Listening in Research Practice and Activism' in the journal Postdigital Science and Education. Melissa's article is co-written with a group that includes a cross-section of lived experience and transdisciplinary expertise.
Image: Kingston Lacy, Dorset
The Future of Heritage Libraries at the National Trust
Dr Alice Leonard participated in a workshop on 'The Future of Heritage Libraries' at Kingston Lacy National Trust Property, Dorset.
The workshop featured conservationists, curators, property managers and staff, along with Alice as an academic expert, focusing on the accessibility of historic books.
Image: Workshop Attendees at Ryton Gardens
Agroecological Flower Growing
Dr David Bek facilitated a two day workshop focusing on the development of an assessment framework for agroecological flower growing.
Colleagues from the Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience and representatives from the British flower growing sector attended the workshop and discussed how a formal assessment could be designed and implemented across the sector.
Trials will be conducted as part of an ESRC-IAA project later this year with the objective of increasing the sustainability credentials of floral designs.
Understanding and Designing Family Experiences of Newborn Screening
Image: Heel‑prick blood sample collected for newborn screening
Extending her research informing the expansion of newborn screening through design, Prof. Louise Moody has co-authored two articles published in the International Journal of Neonatal Screening.
The articles explore parents’ experiences of newborn screening during an NHS England In-Service Evaluation of Screening for Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) in England.
SCID is a rare genetic immune disorder where babies appear healthy at birth but can develop life‑threatening infections within months. Without early diagnosis and treatment, it can be fatal in the first year.
The wider interdisciplinary research is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care and involving the University of Manchester, King’s College London, University of Sheffield, Coventry University, and City St George’s, University of London, and aims to inform the design of NHS screening programmes and the associated family experience.
PGR NEWS
Tjasa Savoric Shortlisted for Coventry University PGR of the Year 2026
Doctoral Researcher Tjasa Savoric has been shortlisted for the Coventry University PGR of the Year Award as part of the RCAD26 celebrations taking place on 20 May 2026 at Square One. The event will feature the PGR of the Year competition, Outstanding Research Supervision Team Award, and Three Minute Thesis presentations, culminating in an awards and celebration reception. Congratulations, Tjasa!
Tjasa’s interdisciplinary research explores how gamified, art-based virtual reality experiences can support stress and anxiety reduction for Intensive Care Unit patients and individuals in isolated environments. Working across Coventry University and Deakin University, her work combines healthcare innovation, immersive technologies, and human-centred design with strong translational impact.
Her achievements include publications in the Critical Care Medicine field, international conference presentations, industry collaboration with VRmadillo Ltd., and contributions to a funded pilot clinical trial investigating immersive VR interventions for cardiac ICU patients in Australia. Tjasa has also worked closely with ICU support organisations and patients with lived experience to ensure her research remains grounded in real-world clinical and community needs. Tjasa is supervised by Prof. Sylvester Arnab (Coventry) and Dr. Kaja Antlej (Deakin).
Exploring Virtual Reality for Stress and Anxiety in Intensive Care Settings
Tjasa Savoric has published an article on the potential of Virtual Reality (VR) interventions to reduce stress and anxiety in Intensive Care Units in Internal Medicine Journal.
Conducted as part of a collaborative PhD project between Deakin University and Coventry University, the study explores the design of gamified, art-based VR experiences to support psychological wellbeing in isolated environments.
The work involved collaboration with ICU professionals and clinical partners, including Epworth Healthcare, supporting future translation into healthcare settings.
