An AHRC-funded research project investigating the potential of participatory online art to foster social connectedness and wellbeing, with a focus on accessibility and the needs of vulnerable groups.
Project Title: p_ART_icipate!
Lead Researcher: Dr Oliver Gingrich (Principal Investigator, University of Greenwich)
Research Centre: Centre for Spatial and Digital Ecologies
Funder: Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
Project Duration: 2022-2024
External Project Website: www.participateresearch.co.uk
Project Overview
p_ART_icipate! is an AHRC-funded research project on the effect of participatory online art on social connectedness, led by the University of Greenwich in partnership with CNWL NHS Foundation Trust and Brunel University. The project responds to an urgent societal need — examining how innovative art and technology can encourage social connectedness online, through collaborative, multi-sensory art strategies, with immediate use cases for participatory arts in a public health context.
Objectives
The project addresses three core research questions:
- Can online-facilitated, participatory art contribute to perceived social connectedness?
- What are best practices in participatory art facilitation in online, collaborative conditions?
- What are the specific challenges experienced by vulnerable groups during online facilitation of participatory art, and how are they best addressed?
Key Activities / Outputs
The project has produced four participatory artworks as part of a user study: KIMA: Colour, which turns paintings into sound for the visually impaired; KIMA: Voice, an interactive artwork enabling people to sing together online developed with people with access needs; KIMA: Noise, a virtual soundwalk; and Zeitgeist, a project visualising creative flow states.
Research outputs include peer-reviewed publications in the International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media, ACM Siggraph, and EVA London Proceedings, covering topics including social connectedness and flow in participatory art, participatory presence through collaborative art practices, and the use of noise and voice as artistic media in online health contexts.
The project has also produced guidelines for good practice in digital participatory art facilitation, available via the project website.
Collaborators
p_ART_icipate! is led by the University of Greenwich in partnership with CNWL NHS Foundation Trust and Brunel University. The research team includes artists, postdoctoral researchers, and an advisory board drawn from arts, health, and digital media practice.
More Information
For artworks, research publications, guidelines, and resources, visit the p_ART_icipate! project website at www.participateresearch.co.uk