This project, funded by a Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences Teaching Development Fund (TDF) grant, aims to enhance postgraduate student experience and develop a greater sense of belonging through arts-based activities. We hope this will enable students to share their experiences and perspectives in a creative way, and make new social connections.

Find out more about how to take part in this project and sign up

About this project

We will celebrate our diverse international and local student body by involving postgraduate students in co-creative and arts-based workshops.

During these workshops, they will collaborate to create large artworks that will be displayed in prominent positions in their departments’ buildings on campus. The artifacts will be created in collaboration with a professional artist, fellow students, academics, and professional services staff.

We hope the project will reshape departmental spaces and enhance our established culture of inclusivity and belonging, where diversity and multilingualism is valued and celebrated. The art may also improve our educational environment by stimulating curiosity, discussion and connectivity within and between students and members of different departments.

The co-creative approach will blend art and research, and could act as a catalyst for new forms of engagement among students through alternative research methodologies. These processes will allow for a creative exploration of students’ experiences and their voice, and offer different methodological insights and knowledge production outputs.

Project team

The project team is made up of academic staff, research students and professional services staff from across the Faculty of Humanities & Social Science's six departments.

• Clare Baxter, Department for Health
• Dr Joy Cranham, Department of Education
• Dr Oliver Walton and Rebecca Knight, Department of Social & Policy Sciences
• Nadia Van Kampen, Department for Health
  
• Dr Keren MacLennan, Department of Psychology
• Niamh Rutterford, Department of Economics
• Professor Brad Evans, Department of Politics, Languages and International Studies
• Katie Gilham-Terrell, Faculty Student Engagement Officer
• Dr Gail Forey (Associate Dean (Education)), Department of Education
• Dr Shona McIntosh, Department of Education
• Rebecca Knight, Department of Social & Policy Sciences
• Ella Sangmyr, Department for Health

Expected outputs

We expect the following outputs from the project:

• Co-produced artworks presented as an art trail that will reshape departmental space and celebrate diversity, inclusivity and community
• A celebration event that will showcase and promote the art and celebrate student participants
• Conference presentations
• Publications detailing methodological insights and findings from the project
• A campus arts trail to display the co-created art for the university community to enjoy

Routes to Roots exhibition

The Routes to Roots artwork exhibition will take place on 25 April 2025 (3pm to 4pm) in The Edge on our University of Bath campus.

Sign-up to attend