Impact case study database

The Report, State of Poetry and Poetry Criticism in the UK and Ireland 2011-18, notes that the British poetry world is ‘failing to meet even the most basic measurements of inclusivity’. Since 2014 Stirling’s collaborative research has enabled new ways to engage with poetry by Black and Asian writers, helping create new and diversified audiences for poetry and opera. This has led to increased opportunities for audiences to reassess their understanding of poetry, place, and identity, learn about Guyanese cultural history, and engage directly with the creative practices of Black and Asian poets and musicians. The Artistic Director of the Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation, Commonword, identified the significance of Out of Bounds (R2, G4):

‘The Out of Bounds project has played a leading role in the UK in querying binaries of the type: white = country, black = urban. In breaking this false dichotomy, it has played its part in liberating black writers and communities from stereotypes that have bound them, and provided necessary new perspectives on the deep presences of black people in areas outside the urban South. In drawing together and enabling these disruptive energies, Out of Bounds began something whose ripple effects are being seen today in such diverse structures as Black Lives Matter, the National Trust and Green/Environmental movements.’ (S1)

Impact 1: Diversifying, decolonising, and enhancing school curriculum delivery through teacher/student engagement with new resources on poetry by Black and Asian writers

Over 5000 students/teachers and 250 schools across the UK and India have used Out of Bounds Poetry Project teaching resources, including the Activity Pack. The Teaching Migration, Belonging and Empire in Secondary Schools report (2019) notes that 78% of UK teachers surveyed wanted training on migration teaching. Out of Bounds resources answer this need through mobilising the power of poetry to imagine place and identity, specifically by decolonising regional geographies.

Dedicated Out of Bounds workshops and the project’s ‘In my country…’ Young Poets Competition directly benefited over 1000 students and teachers. Of 128 participants surveyed at two 2016 workshops – six schools at Pathfoot Gallery (Stirling) and Great North Museum (Newcastle) – 91% of students and 100% of teachers said that the events made them ‘think differently about poetry, place and identity’: ‘Previously, I had never particularly considered my heritage. This helped me be more proud of my identity’ (Student, Newcastle workshop, S2a). ‘We have made films, tweeted images, translated poems into Scots [and] will continue to do more!’ (Teacher, Stirling workshop, S2a). 44 schools across Britain entered the young poets competition (2020, partnered with Commonword and Scottish Poetry Library). Students and staff reported improved understanding of and approaches to creativity, regionality, national identity and racism. A Walthamstow teacher noted: ‘in diverse schools like ours, [the competition enabled us] to explore students’ personal perspectives and to give them the chance to voice their unique perspectives’ (S2a).

Representing Out of Bounds, Chingonyi worked with the Great Exhibition in the North (June 2018) to produce ‘new poetic word maps of the region’, reaching 400 students. The Director of Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums confirmed:

‘Out of Bounds’ innovative work with place-based poetry has been of particular value to GNM [Great North Museum] and TWAM [Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums] in helping us to articulate a more inclusive, diverse and outward-looking vision of the North East to local, national and international audiences.’ (S3)

The New Writing North writing agency (NWN) commissioned Out of Bounds workshops for 50 young people led by poet, Malika Booker, the success of which led to a further NWN commission for an 8-week teaching block of weekly onsite schools workshops on the theme of ‘From Here…’ (Feb-April 2020; ran until March; stopped due to Covid-19 restrictions).

Two former University of Stirling Charles Wallace Creative Writing Fellows, Mihir Vatsa and Snehal Vadher, ran Out of Bounds schools workshops in India (Hazaribagh and Dharamshala, 2018, Bangalore 2019) using the Out of Bounds Activity Pack. This is part of Stirling’s strategy to create collaborative educational legacy work through the Charles Wallace Fellowship. 90 people participated. The Hazaribagh workshop was featured in local Hindi press, and 100% surveyed said the event made them ‘think differently about poetry, place and identity’ (S2b).

167 teachers from 144 schools across England, Scotland, and Wales requested the Out of Bounds Activity Pack for training and to transform curriculum delivery. For example, one school in Whitley Bay used the pack with 370 students, commenting that it enabled them to ‘see the effects of this project in both the students’ appreciation of poetry, and in their development of a broader and more inclusive understanding of their regional and national literary heritage. Based on the enthusiastic response of our students, we are planning to use these materials again with future Year 9 cohorts’ (Head Librarian, S4). Another school in Islington reached 500 students, commenting that the Activity Pack ‘has delivered tangible benefits to our students who are not only demonstrating a new confidence with poetry itself but with the range of vocabularies and dialects available for expressing their own sense of place in British society’ (English Teacher, S4).

The British Library programmed Out of Bounds in one of its three annual flagship continuing professional development (CPD) events for secondary-level teachers (2019, 45 attendees). Commenting on Chingonyi and Robinson’s contribution, the Head of Learning Programmes said:

‘100% of the attendees rated the event as excellent or good overall. [The British Library Schools Programme] particularly benefits from working with partners, such as Out of Bounds, who can have an immediate impact on the classroom. We are delighted by the success of the Out of Bounds CPD activities in raising teacher confidence about including Black British Literature in their school curricula, and giving teachers practical tools for developing their curricula in new and creative ways.’ (S5)

The University of Worcester used the Out of Bounds Activity Pack (R6) in its Education programmes as best practice for ‘creative, rich, safe techniques to explore identity and sense of place in the 21^st Century’ (74 Geography trainees 2018-20) (S2a). Continuing impact is secured through the AQA Exam Board’s ongoing work to decolonise its curriculum: following stakeholder consultation in 2019-20, the Out of Bounds anthology and Activity Pack will be recommended in its free online GCSE course for teachers, ‘Building skills and confidence for unseen poetry’.

Impact 2: Diversifying and enriching the sound archives and curatorial practice of the British Library

The 2016 poetry 'tours' of Britain curated by Out of Bounds research associates, Capildeo and Chingonyi (S6), directly enabled the British Library to increase its engagement with Black and Asian artists in a UK setting: the British Library partnered with Out of Bounds to receive its 58 poetry events/films in a permanent archive, securing them for future audiences.

The Out of Bounds Poetry Collection is the British Library’s first sound collection with a regional British focus on Black and Asian Poets. The Lead Curator of Literary & Creative Recordings said:

‘Without leading research and practice collaborators, such as the Out of Bounds Poetry Project, we would not have a sound archive. [The collection] fills an important gap in our archive and supports the British Library’s core values. The collection is significant in helping us fulfil our aim to represent the regionality of Britain and to avoid a London-centric approach to curation.’ (S5)

The Out of Bounds team were also commissioned to produce 7 film-poems for the Windrush: Songs in a Strange Land exhibition (July-Oct 2018, 154,813 visitors and 2444 school visitors (S5)). The film-poems helped achieve the Library’s curatorial goal to create multi-media, multi-disciplinary explorations of Caribbean migration to Britain and its legacies. The film-poems were subsequently chosen by the British Library Learning Team for its open access ‘legacy online exhibition’, Windrush Stories and also included in its Primary Level teaching materials (accessed by 6630 ‘unique users’). The Content Manager of Digital Learning described the films as:

‘a brilliant addition to our Windrush Stories website, providing students, teachers and the public with unique access to readings by poets of Caribbean heritage in the landscapes that inspired their poems. Our statistics indicate that the poetry films have seen an increase in visits over 2020, when students and teachers have increasingly turned to digital resources to support and enrich remote learning during the Covid-19 pandemic.’ (S5)

Impact 3: Production of a new opera, The Knife of Dawn by Hannah Kendall (Roundhouse 2016) and a second production of The Knife of Dawn (Royal Opera House 2020)

Robinson was the Academic Consultant for The Knife of Dawn (2016), a chamber opera based on the imprisonment of Martin Carter during the anticolonial period in Guyana. Hannah Kendall (composer), Tessa McWatt (librettist), John Walton (director) and Eric Greene (baritone) drew on Robinson’s research on the life and career of Guyana’s leading poet to create a new opera based on his work and activism; the team met Robinson regularly through 2014-16. Kendall reflected on her relationship with Robinson: ‘Speaking with Robinson more [. . .] helped me realise it would be possible to think about writing a piece of music theatre and that became The Knife of Dawn’ (S7a).

In 2020, as part of Black History Month, a second production was commissioned by the Royal Opera House with Robinson as Academic Consultant. The production was part of the Royal Opera House’s Covid-19 reprogramming (825 people attended the socially-distanced live performance; with international iplayer access for 30 days). Commenting on the new production at the Royal Opera House, Kendall said: ‘Robinson’s scholarship and involvement in the project was intrinsic not only to the development of the project, but my own compositional practice’ (S7b). The CEO of the Royal Opera House stated in summer 2020: ‘We must redouble our efforts, building on current initiatives that are addressing barriers to inclusion and progression within ballet and opera’ (S8). In October 2020 Kendall became the first person of colour to have an opera performed on the Main Stage and the third woman in the opera house’s history (S9a). The Production and Direction team commented that Robinson’s research was ‘essential to the Royal Opera House production and it informed the whole creative process, directly guiding the introductory documentary, the performance of Peter Brathwaite, and the decisions that were made in the staging’ (S8). The Spectator wrote: ‘the whole thing came across as something born of the moment - a single cast member, minimal staging, a small orchestra - that could hardly have been done better pre-Covid’

and the Wall Street Journal described Brathwaite’s performance as ‘forceful, passionate’ (S9c).

Impact 4: Creating and diversifying audiences for new opera through positive action-led performances and school activities

The Audience Agency shows only 7% of classical music audiences are under 31 and less than 1% Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) (Audience Agency Report 2017). In 2016 The Knife of Dawn opera was watched live by 200 people in a sell-out performance and free schools performance at The Roundhouse, London. It attracted a 45% BAME audience through employing positive action, promoting inclusion with content and casting (S9b). The Arts Marketing Association (UK) used the 2016 production as a case study for how ‘positive action attracts a diverse audience’ for classical music (S9b). The opera was recorded and broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s Hear and Now (Saturday evening listenership of 49,000) as part of the station’s focus on composers from the UK's Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities. A preview performance, introduced by Robinson, attended by 50 sponsors and music professionals, was hosted by the Chair of the Royal Opera House. For the 2020 production, the Royal Opera House appointed a team of Black creative practitioners - Peter Brathwaite (baritone), Ola Ince (director) and Jonathon Heywood (conductor) - as part of its commitment to addressing barriers to inclusion. The 2016 and 2020 productions were reviewed positively by The Times, The Financial Times, The Guardian, The Spectator, The Stage, and The Wall Street Journal, with The Guardian featuring it in the five best Classical events of the week in 2016 (S10). In 2016 and 2020 the opera was recognised as widening diversity in terms of both creative practice and audiences in UK cultural life (S9a, S9b).

The student Q&A at the Roundhouse (100 students, age 14-16) led by Kendall and Robinson answered student questions about marginalisation, race and, diversity in classical music and poetry. BAME students were the majority at the schools performance and Q&A, and in the 6 follow-on composition workshops (by Trinity Laban Conservatoire with 120 students) on Carter’s poetry and The Knife of Dawn. The free performance and workshops enabled music teachers in Lambeth, Lewisham, and Southwark schools to engage in diverse curriculum design and delivery (S9b).

Through collaboration with partners in Scotland and the United States, our research has: 1. demonstrably informed and engaged new audiences in Scotland and beyond who were previously unaware of Hogg’s writings; 2. inspired new creative and reflective work by high-school pupils; and 3. given rise to new cultural artefacts.

1. New audience engagement

From June-August 2017, a free-to-enter public exhibition ( S1), ‘James Hogg in the World’, was staged in Stirling University’s Art Collection Pathfoot exhibition space. Utilising Hunter's research and organised to coincide with the Scottish Government’s ‘Year of History, Heritage, and Archaeology’, the exhibition explored the spread of Hogg’s work worldwide, and his complex entanglement in contemporary debates over the abolition of slavery, his relationships with editors and publishers overseas, the composition of his international readerships, and the circumstances that gave rise to reprintings of his work in British colonial territories such as Bermuda and Grenada. New recordings ( S2) of some of Hogg’s most widely-travelled and reproduced songs were commissioned, made available on a Listening Post in the exhibition, and subsequently published on the James Hogg: Research website (hosted at Stirling to facilitate public access to the research, as evidenced in Greenfield's testimonial ( S10)). On 15 August 2017, a free-to-attend printing workshop ( S3) and reading by author James Robertson was held in the exhibition space and Pathfoot Press. 27 members of the public attended for a guided tour and talk by Hunter, a lecture by Robertson on Hogg’s influence on his own work, and the opportunity to learn about the global dissemination of Hogg's song ‘The Skylark’ by printing a personal copy of the poem on a Columbian printing press. Hunter gave a well-attended public talk in Melrose on Hogg and America on 4 Feb 2020. A webcast public symposium exploring Hogg's connections to American song collectors and folk artists, featuring an address by Hunter, was co-sponsored by Stirling and the American Folklife Center, and staged at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., 21 Feb 2020.

Evidence of impact:

The above engagement activities have promoted the legacy of Hogg through creating new audiences and bringing the research findings to these audiences. More than a dozen guided tours of the exhibition were provided on request to members of the public. The Visitor’s Book ( S4) records 37 signed comments by visitors to the exhibition and attendees at the printing workshop from throughout the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, and the USA. Comments indicating the impact the exhibition had on visitors include: ‘Beautiful, well-organised and compelling exhibition that both informs and entertains’; ‘Creative, fun and informative’; ‘Wonderful exhibition—informative and enlightening’. The Melrose public talk was reported in the local press and attracted 34 attendees, several of whom 'came especially for this talk', according to the event organiser, who relates how the talk was successful in bringing the insights of the research findings to a new audience: 'What came as new to much of the audience was Hogg’s international reputation, especially in publications in the USA revealed by Adrian [ Hunter]’s detailed research. We also learned a lot about publishers in Edinburgh at this period, enhancing our understanding of his publications' ( S5). The public symposium in Washington D.C. resulted in a permanent archived webpage and webcast which has been viewed more than 1,000 times ( **S6 (a)**). The value of this to the attendees is testified by feedback that they wanted to 'learn [Hogg's] music and read some of his works' and of feeling 'inspired to do a deeper dive' into Hogg's writing as a result of the event ( **S6 (a)**). The symposium was the subject of a feature article in The Times highlighting Hunter's research ( **S6 (b)**).

2. Creative and reflective work by high-school pupils:

Working in consultation with the Scottish Government’s Curriculum for Excellence: Literacy and English document, which seeks to ‘develop an appreciation of Scotland’s vibrant literary and linguistic heritage and its indigenous languages and dialects’, an exhibition tour and educational workshop was staged for sixth-form English and media pupils from Larbert High School (9 June 2017). The pupils were supplied in advance with an early musical setting of Hogg’s song ‘The Skylark’ (or ‘Bird of the Wilderness’) together with free copies of a story by Hogg, which they read alongside one by Alice Munro. Drawing on Hunter’s published research on the relationship between Hogg and Munro, the workshop explored the presence of Hogg’s work in Canada, and how his representation of Scottish religious life and identity has been reworked by Munro.

Evidence of impact:

Educational impacts were achieved when the pupils wrote their own scripts responding to the stories, and the music group produced a new musical setting and recording of ‘The Skylark’. The scripts and recordings, along with a documentary film produced by the pupils, were made available on the Scottish Government’s online resource-bank for teachers, Glow Scotland, and on YouTube ( S7). The pupil voiceover in the documentary describes the impact of the workshop thus: ‘Until this project, we knew little of Hogg’s life or work … This has inspired us to create our own work, in poetry and prose … perhaps our words will travel as far as Hogg’s’. One of the participants created a poem in response to the section of the exhibition on Hogg’s work appearing in Bermuda and Grenada, centres of Scottish involvement in the Atlantic slave economy. They comment: 'This poem was inspired by the objects in the exhibition at Pathfoot. Particularly the brass peck and the book about Mary Prince. I was surprised to find out about Scotland’s links with slavery and its role in the development of the country.' To date, the blog has been viewed more than 200 times. The teacher in attendance comments: ‘Before the commencement of this project the pupils who participated in the Hogg inspired creative writing event had very little knowledge of James Hogg. The exhibition tour with University staff was extremely informative and helped to give context to an artist largely unknown to most of us. It was also an extremely interesting insight into life in Scotland (and further afield) during that time period. I was definitely encouraged to read more Hogg and Hogg inspired works after the visit' ( S7).

3. New cultural artefacts:

For the 'James Hogg in the World' exhibition we engaged local artist Calum Stirling to design and create a centrepiece visual representation of the worldwide reach of Hogg work. In order to promote awareness of Hogg's work in his native Borders during the 250th anniversary, we liaised with photographer and Creative Learning Officer for Scottish Borders Council Kevin Greenfield.

Evidence of impact:

Calum Stirling designed and manufactured a 5m x 3m timber map of the world, with a hemp radial feature illustrating the distribution of Hogg's work around the world ( S8). The map is now housed on permanent display in University of Stirling’s Pathfoot Building. The map was selected as one of the ‘50 objects’ chosen to mark the 50^th anniversary of the University, and included in a commemorative 5,000-copy book alongside a piece by Hunter on the contribution of Hogg studies to the University's ‘internationalisation’ ( S9). Inspired and enabled by our research, Greenfield collaborated with Borders artist Inge Panneels to create an exhibition piece utilising a poem of Hogg's, shown as part of the 'Convergence' exhibition, Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, 28 Aug - 28 Sept 2019, and subsequently developed and published as a photobook project. This work was further showcased at the Selkirk-based Scottish Borders Walking Festival in Sept 2019, bringing the work of Hogg to an organization dedicated to preserving and celebrating Borders heritage ( S10). Greenfield further testifies that our research on Hogg empowered him to include content on Hogg in planning for local authority engagement with schools on their heritage ( S10).

The British Library (BL) benefited from the cultural and financial impact of the largest and most comprehensive Gothic exhibition, ‘Terror and Wonder: The Gothic Imagination’, to take place in a public institution worldwide. This impact on visitor experience at the BL was based on University of Stirling research that was funded by two AHRC grants that ran during two periods (2008-09 and 2014-15).

The link between the research and the BL had two aims: to apply cultural research to inform an exciting new interpretation of Gothic history through a major exhibit at the BL, and to strengthen the connections and consensus between public understanding of the history of Gothic aesthetics and the academic community. In achieving these aims, the collaboration offered a pioneering model for the application of humanities research – literary, historical and cultural – to an exhibit that improved the BL’s financial position and its engagement with the public. ‘Terror and Wonder’ included visual and textual media, displayed many rare manuscripts and editions, presented unique film and video footage, exhibited original visual art, photographs and clothing, so that visitors engaged with and understood the many aspects of the history of Gothic aesthetics from the 18^th century to the present (see BL description and promotional video: https://www.bl.uk/events/terror-and-wonder--the-gothic-imagination).

Figure 1. 'Terror and Wonder' BL Exhibit Promotional Image

This new visitor experience immersed members of the public in the many facets of Gothic aesthetics (literary, cinematic, artistic, photographic, architectural) drawn directly from the models explored in Byron’s work and furthered by Townshend’s and Edwards’s research.

In the course of this project, Edwards contributed as a consultant, while Townshend wrote text for various media, advised on the design and layout of the exhibition, selected works for inclusion, and briefed staff on research findings. Townshend conducted original cultural research to inform the new aesthetic history of Gothic, and also translated his research into text for exhibition placards, the exhibit’s website and promotional material, as well as editing the exhibition catalogue Terror and Wonder: The Gothic Imagination ( R4). His findings about the history of Gothic aesthetics enabled the first large-scale presentation of Gothic production across a range of media and periods that immersed visitors in various forms of representation and key debates. He also delivered historical briefings for exhibition guides and promoted the exhibit through the opening reception and radio appearances ( S1).

The launch of the ‘Terror and Wonder’ exhibit in October 2014 and the accompanying media and promotional activities helped the BL to achieve its goal of stabilising income streams for its exhibition space through increased visitors. The BL exceeded target ticket sales by 18.3% and decided to add 24 extra slots in the final two weeks of the exhibition to satisfy visitor demand. During the period of the exhibition (3 Oct 2014 to 20 Jan 2015), the target number of visitors and tickets sales was 50,036; the actual number of visitors and tickets taken was 59,198 ( S2).

In addition to attracting new audiences, the unique exhibit enhanced public awareness of the history of Gothic and informed public opinion about the meanings of Gothic aesthetics. Time Out named ‘Terror and Wonder’ as one of its top 10 things to do for Halloween 2014 and, according to The Guardian, it ‘teems with arresting exhibits’, offering an original perspective that conveys an ‘epic journey through a literary genre and its endless cultural transformations’ ( **S3(a) & (b)**). A visitor commented that it ‘transformed my understanding of gothic’, while another said ‘I saw stuff I didn’t know existed in the history of gothic’ ( S4). The level of awareness in approaching Gothic from this new perspective was increased by the daily Learning Workshops for pre-HE students. Over 8,000 post-secondary students participated in workshops led by exhibition staff who were informed and advised by the research underpinning the exhibit ( S2). The high number of visitors translated into other new public exhibitions and public lectures involving researchers at Stirling on Gothic, specifically at Strawberry Hill House and The Old Operating Theatre (see below). This public response indicates the importance of quality, research-based interpretation for increasing visitor numbers in public exhibition spaces, and it is evidence that academic research into Gothic can enhance and transform public understanding of the history of Gothic cultural production.

The second aim of the collaboration with the BL was achieved by ensuring provision was made so that groups of museum and exhibition curators could attend the exhibition in special groups and learn about how academic research can inform a large-scale public exhibit. Over 200 curators participated in these small-group sessions, which was part of implementing a strategy to build links between academic research and public exhibitions. This has engendered a cultural change wherein Stirling researchers have advised other Gothic exhibits and integrated public lectures into the exhibitions ( S2).

Among the events that have taken place as a result of this new positioning of Gothic research and public exhibitions are the highly successful ‘Medical Horrors’ exhibit at The Old Operating Theatre, London (Oct-Nov 2015; coordinated and delivered by Edwards) and ‘Writing Britain’s Ruins, 1700-1850’ at Strawberry Hill House (May-June 2016; a public lecture series coordinated and partly delivered by Townshend and Lindfield). In the former, Edwards advised The Old Operating Theatre curators on the history of dissections and terrifying medical procedures in Gothic literary and cultural history. He also presented a public lecture, ‘Gothic Dissections: Medical Dissections in Literature and Popular Culture’, to launch the exhibit on Halloween 2015 (attended by 65). In the latter, Townshend and Linfield advised Strawberry Hill House curators on the history of Gothic design for exhibitions on Gothic furniture and architecture. They also coordinated and participated in a series of six public lectures by leading scholars in the field about, among other things, Horace Walpole’s Gothic architecture, the ruins of Tintern Abbey and Gothic-inspired interiors (attended by 35 per lecture) ( S5).

In a retrospective looking at the success of ‘Terror and Wonder’ exhibition, Greg Buzwell, Curator of Contemporary Literary and Creative Archives at BL, highlighted its strong legacy in inspiring interest in the Gothic, including a range of books, learning courses, and the depositing of further Gothic material in the BL itself. ‘Terror and Wonder’ also firmly placed Gothic on the agenda of the BL, as it has ‘become something of a tradition to hold a Gothic-themed event around the time of Halloween’ ( S6).