2024 Creative Practice Colloquium
A summary of the second annual Creative Practice Colloquium, organised by a team of postgraduate researchers in the Department of Film & Creative Writing.
Attendees at the 2024 Creative Practice Colloquium
The second annual Creative Practice Colloquium was held at the University of Birmingham from 12-13 June, supported with funding from the BAFTSS Practice Research SIG, B-Film: the Birmingham Centre for Film and Television Studies, and the Department of Film and Creative Writing.
Co-organised by Nina Jones, Jemma Saunders, Xanthe Pajarillo and Ella Wright, this year’s theme was ‘Industries and Institutions: Synergies and Struggles’. The keynote lecture from Dr Agata Lulkowska (Staffordshire University) unpacked some of the ways in which creative practice researchers navigate the intersections of academia and external organisations, often drawing on an array of professional experiences that inform their study and vice versa.
Building on last year’s event, the colloquium expanded to two days and included a range of activities, including a walking tour of campus, a focusing exercise (Eugene Gendlin), and time dedicated to making and reflecting, based on open discussions and a series of provocations linked to the theme.
The 17 attendees hailed from 10 academic institutions, including Universidad Iberoamericana, Ciudad de México. Patricia Gaytàn Ontiveros, who is undertaking her PhD while continuing to work as an audio-visual producer in Mexico, travelled to the UK via Barcelona for the Colloquium.
I decided to participate in the colloquium due to the lack of similar opportunities in my home country, which I believe are crucial for broadening research perspectives. Additionally, my goal was to enhance my role as a researcher by engaging in discussions with PhD candidates from a country like England, a nation often considered influential in shaping global knowledge. As a Latin American woman, my aim was to gain a more comprehensive understanding of creative research methodologies as a means to defend our rights in Mexico through research. The event was enriching; the experience of being there and learning about each participant's work expanded my mind towards new possibilities for generating knowledge. I am deeply grateful to the event organizers and the University of Birmingham for their support in making this opportunity possible.
Discussions are now underway to design a co-authored piece about the event for submission to the International Journal of Creative Media Research, while planning begins for next year’s Colloquium, to be led by Xanthe Pajarillo and Rich Matthews.