Statement on societal relevance of research at ACPA

The question of the societal relevance of research at ACPA has as many answers as researchers. Some research forms a link between artistic practice and its audience, or has a tangible and/or potential impact in terms of public policy, health or education, while other research is primarily directed towards an audience within the academic and artistic community – which, it should perhaps be stressed, is also part of society, and a part which could be seen as increasingly marginalised.

All of these approaches should be viewed as complementary: research is both driven by a vision of its potential impact, and by the conviction that the relevance of arts and humanities research is expressed by their addressing fundamental questions of what it is to be human, and by their prioritising critical thought and understanding.

ACPA promotes this complementarity among the staff/student community in the way that we investigate, in and through artistic practice, who we are and how we relate to the world and to other people.