King’s College London & Somerset House Studios announce a new partnership

Academics and artists work together to offer new perspectives on urgent contemporary issues?

Somerset House Studios and King’s College London announce a new partnership in the form of Arts in Society. The first year of the programme sees six Studio residents receive funding to collaborate with a researcher from King's in exploring new perspectives on urgent contemporary social issues. Studios recipients of the 2017 awards are: Burton Nitta; Deborah Pearson; Evan Ifekoya; Imran Perretta; Phoebe Davies and Makerversity member Anne Frobeen, researching subjects as diverse as consent, migration and the politics of black queer sound. A series of events will encourage audiences to engage with the research throughout the autumn, with findings of all projects presented at a showing in December. The first of these events - The Filibuster by Deborah Pearson and Professor Anna Snaith - takes place Sat Sept 2.

Food Fictions and Frictions: Burton Nitta with Dr Christine Barnes (Geography) – researching the stories told about food through the media and the impact on food culture and identity making

The Filibuster: Deborah Pearson with Professor Anna Snaith (English) – researching public discourse and women

Boom! The Politics of Black Sound: Evan Ifekoya with Dr Madison Moore (English) – researching the politics of black queer club spaces through the history of sound system culture in London in the 80s and 90s

Migrant Agency and the Moving Image: Imran Perretta with Leonie Ansems de Vries (War Studies) – project employing auto-ethnographic research methodologies to explore the ongoing “refugee crisis” from the perspective of refugees themselves.

What Does Consent Sound Like?: Phoebe Davies with Dorothee Boulanger & Dr Alana Harris (History) - researching issues of sexual desire and consent by bringing together academics, artists, students and activists

Rest in Public Space: Anne Frobeen (Makerversity) and Dr Luke Dickens (Geography) – researching new approaches to the function of public space in the context of contemporary urban life