Atelier:

Much contemporary artistic practice is resolutely 'post-media'; ever in pursuit of more diverse modes of artistic production, distribution and consumption. The great expansion of the artistic field dovetails with anthropology's development of "a critical awareness of human cultural and/or biological diversity". (QAA, QAA Subject Benchmark Statement: Anthropology, 1.5; 2015, p8).

Might the legacies of post-media artistic practice help to ensuring that anthropology engages with in a diverse range human, biological, material, temporal and spatial dynamics?

A growing range of research and teaching activity across the University of Edinburgh sees an overlap between the arts, social sciences and other disciplines within the humanities. The Atelier Network is the central point for promoting and facilitating existing and new linkages across the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and beyond.

The Atelier Network brings together researchers, practitioners, teachers and learners in Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) and the School of Social and Political Science (SSPS) at The University of Edinburgh. In doing so, it also brings us closer to external partners, including museums, galleries and collectives across the city.

Objectives

Atelier’s primary objectives are:

• To coordinate teaching and research in the arts and social science subject areas within ECA, SPS and other Schools in University of Edinburgh;
• To create a stronger sense of collective identity in order to drive forward interdisciplinary approaches to research and teaching;
• To strengthen relationships with practitioners and other institutions to further enhance the impact of our research.

Coordinators

Atelier’s coordinators, based in The University of Edinburgh, are:

• Professor Richard Baxstrom, Professor of Social Anthropology, Deputy Head of the School of Social and Political Science
• Dr Angela McClanahan-Simmons, Lecturer in Visual Culture, Edinburgh College of Art
• Professor Neil Mulholland, Professor of Contemporary Art Practice & Theory, Edinburgh College of Art
• Dr Jessica Cooper, Lecturer in Social Anthropology, School of Social and Political Science