Summer Showcase Private View 2024
A World of Ideas
Join us for an exclusive preview of the 2024 Summer Showcase, the British Academy’s free annual festival of ideas, on Thursday 11 July (5-8pm).
Meet the eight exhibiting teams of researchers funded by the British Academy who will be bringing their work to life in research areas ranging from archaeology to international relations.
A range of exclusive 'in conversation' talks will include Hew Locke presenting his newly unveiled artwork; Professor Dame Mary Beard FBA in conversation with Professor Rana Mitter FBA about her latest book, Emperor of Rome; and The Rest is History podcast hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook reflecting on their success in inspiring a new generation of history enthusiasts with our President, Professor Julia Black PBA.
And 10 Minute Talks – presented by British Academy-funded researchers, Fellows and members of our Early Career Researcher Network – will open windows onto their wide-ranging expertise.
Please RSVP via the invitation in your inbox.
#ForCuriousMinds
READING ROOM
A Time-Traveller’s Odyssey: Exploring sacred journeys through archaeology and science
Commutes, pilgrimages, holidays and migrations are journeys that shape our lives. But what about people’s journeys in the past? Step back in time to the ancient world of mobility and religious practice through the captivating lens of archaeology and science. Discover how archaeologists employ scientific techniques to reconstruct these journeys; and use microscopes and geological maps to investigate the origins of the materials they used. Create your own gift for the ancient Greek gods with different clays, each representing a raw material used in antiquity; and embark on a journey to a symbolic sanctuary to display your creation.
Dr Tulsi Parikh and Dr Carlotta Gardner – The British School at Athens (a British International Research Institute)
Showcase assistants: Hannah Page and Cosima Carnegie
Research Award: AG Leventis Fellow in Hellenic Studies with funding from the Leventis Foundation
The Museum of Invented Pasts
In the early 20th century, excavations of prehistoric so-called “goddess statuettes” were taken as evidence that gender roles and social hierarchies were not eternal constants. Occasionally, the line between art and archaeology blurred, as forged artefacts entered museum collections. Alongside artworks and a film by contemporary artist Marisa Müsing, this exhibit features historical and contemporary invented archaeological artefacts and an art table, where you can produce your own ancient-inspired object while reflecting on the role of history for modern identities.
Dr Frederika Tevebring – King's College London (Classics) with Marisa Müsing – Royal College of Art (School of Architecture)
Research Award: British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship, with funding from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
RADHAKRISHNAN ROOM
Dance Practice in the Cultural Metaverse
This highly visual, immersive space invites you to try out Alexander Whitley Dance Company’s Otmo, a pioneering virtual dance studio that enables you to compose your own movements within 3D digital space. In this exhibit, you can use motion capture and VR to choreograph dance using a uniquely inclusive avatar system. You can change the position, number and orientation of dancers, and experiment with music, set, timing, dynamics and intervals in this playfully interactive, accessible choreographic experience.
Dr Daniel Strutt – Goldsmiths, University of London (Media, Communications and Cultural Studies) in collaboration with Alexander Whitley Dance Company
Research Award: Innovation Fellowship, with funding from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
COUNCIL ROOM
Another Day in Paradise?
Under the weight of rising living costs and the housing crisis, more people find themselves experiencing homelessness and looking for places to rest, eat, find work and spend time with those who understand their situations. Homeless people live in a world of uncertainty and unpredictability, and many are dealing with emotional cycles of sadness, shame, despair, regret and confusion. In this exhibit based on a research collaboration with Sutton Night Watch Homeless Charity, activities will offer insights into the experiences of homelessness.
Melissa Jogie (UKRI Policy Fellow, Centre for Homelessness Impact (CHI), University of Roehampton) with Zulfikar Putra (University College London, PhD Scholar)
Research Award: Innovation Fellowship, with funding from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
Sensing Sunscreen: The curious history of a familiar product
Today we take for granted that we can pick up some SPF on a sunny day, but when did we start using sunscreen and why? How did sunscreen come to look, feel and smell the way that it does? Through a series of interactive, multi-sensory activities, explore these questions and the medical, commercial, and cultural histories of sun protection from the 18th to 20th centuries: from attitudes towards suntanned and sunburnt skin; the creams, lotions and oils used to treat it; and the science of sunlight behind it all.
Dr Charlotte Mathieson – University of Surrey (School of Literature and Languages)
Research Award: Mid-Career Fellowship, with funding from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
MUSIC ROOM
Armed with Words: Interpreting the War in Afghanistan (2001-2021)
“The interpreter is a soldier without a gun on the ground. But our weapon was our language skills.”
The exhibit presents photographic portraits of Afghan interpreters and Afghanistan veterans, taken by award-winning photographer Andy Barnham (himself an Afghanistan veteran, trained military linguist and son of a refugee). Staged alongside visual quotes and audio clips from researcher and advocate Professor Sara de Jong's research interviews, their collective narrative shows two different, yet complementary views on the impact of war and the unequal relationships forged in sites of conflict from an everyday, personal perspective. Listen to audio clips of interpreters and veterans recounting their experiences first hand and meet and speak in person to a resettled Afghan interpreter.
The audio and video commentary in this exhibit contains descriptions of war which some visitors may find distressing – visitor discretion advised.
Professor Sara de Jong – University of York (Politics and International Relations) with photographer Andy Barnham and The Sulha Alliance CIO
Research Award: Mid-Career Fellowship, with funding from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, with additional funding from ESRC Impact Acceleration Accounts and the University of York
BARNARD ROOM
Autocompleted Images: Photography vs. Photorealism
Game engines are revolutionising visual culture. Like photography before it, this technology is overturning how images are made, what images are made of and, crucially, how images shape our understanding of the world around us. With this exhibit, you can see what goes into making photorealistic images, play around with assets built in the Unreal Engine and marvel at the surprising and absurd outcomes with your onscreen creations, while exploring the chasm that lies between photography and photorealism.
Dr Tom Livingstone – University of the West of England (College of Arts, Technology and Environment)
Research Award: Talent Development Award, with funding from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
Test Your Digital Sustain-ability
Digital technologies are an important tool in the move toward net zero. However, they have their own environmental impacts such as water depletion, greenhouse gas emissions, the use of scarce minerals and massive amounts of electronic waste – not to mention the associated social justice issues. Through a series of activities and games, explore questions about how net zero can be reached and reflect on whether moving to a more digital society necessarily means a ‘better’ society for our planet.
Dr Federica Lucivero – University of Oxford (Ethox Centre in the Nuffield Department of Population Health) and Dr Gabrielle Samuel – King's College London (Global Health and Social Medicine)
Research Award: Leverhulme Small Research Grants, with funding from The Leverhulme Trust and additional funding from Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
5.15pm
Hew Locke OBE RA unveils Raw Materials 27
Introduced by Dawn Ades FBA, chair of the British Academy’s Art Committee
Renowned British-Guyanese artist Hew Locke will discuss his new artwork, the newest piece in the British Academy’s art collection. Inspired by share certificates, Raw Materials 27 re-processes existing works by Locke, whereby paintings, photographs and sculptures are put into new juxtapositions and layering.
The British Academy’s newly acquired Hew Locke artwork can be viewed on the No. 11 Lobby stairs landing
6pm
Professor Dame Mary Beard FBA in Conversation with Professor Rana Mitter FBA
Historian, TV presenter, author and Cambridge Professor Dame Mary Beard FBA will introduce her latest book Emperor of Rome, shedding light on the leaders of the Roman Empire, from Julius Caesar to Alexander Severus.
7pm
President’s Medal Ceremony with The Rest is History Podcast
Professor Julia Black PBA will formally bestow the President’s Medal upon The Rest is History podcast hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook, in recognition of their work to promote and popularise history to a global audience. They will sit down to reflect on creating a new generation of history enthusiasts – with over 150 million podcast downloads to date – and reflect on the importance of independent, critical engagement with our collective histories.
5.10pm
From Manuscript to the Brain: Understanding language
Professor Aditi Lahiri FBA
This talk will explore how the brain processes running speech in the context of language change over time, and the role that native grammars play in governing language processing.
5.30pm
How is the History of the Oil Market Impacting Our Economy Today?
Martin Bruns (University of East Anglia, Economics)
Reflecting on the evolution of the global oil industry beginning in the 1970s, this talk will discuss how events in this financial market have historically impacted our day-to-day lives with outcomes such as the cost-of-living crisis.
5.50pm
Female Leadership in Environmental Peacebuilding: Converging climate, nature and peace
Dr Ievgeniia Kopytsia (University of Oxford, Law) with Dr Natalia Slobodian; members of the British Academy’s Early Career Researcher Network (ECRN), and Researchers at Risk programme
This talk will showcase the critical convening role that women play in interlinking sustainability, social equity and peacebuilding using inspirational examples of Ukrainian women leading green space protection and sustainable reconstruction amid the horrors of war.
6.10pm
Why Anti-Terrorism Law in the UK is Here to Stay
Professor Conor Gearty FBA
Learn how Britain's treatment of colonial resistance, often presented in terms of managing the 'terrorism' threat, made the post 9/11 war on terrorism much easier to accommodate within the UK's liberal democracy than it would otherwise have been, and much harder now to dislodge.
6.30pm
The Futures of Violence
Professor Sylvia Walby FBA (Royal Holloway, University of London, Sociology)
This talk will examine two divergent traditions in understanding how to reduce violence: a strong state; and peace by peaceful means.
6.50pm
East Meets West: A Eurocentric view of ancient Rome and its Eastern opponents
Dr Vesta Curtis (British Institute of Persian Studies, a British International Research Institute)
This talk will show how our understanding of the ancient Roman world and its opponents in the East is embedded in biased Western sources, and often ignores the power and influence of the Parthians and Sasanian dynasties of Iran in the 1st Century BCE to 3rd Century CE.
7.10pm
Decarbonising the UK Economy: The Role of Cities in Achieving Net Zero
Audrey-Frédérique Lavoie (Centre for Cities); a member of the British Academy’s Early Career Researcher Network (ECRN)
The UK has pledged to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. This talk will explore what both cities and local and national government can do to make this happen.
7.30pm
Talking About Time in Latin America
Professor Nicola Miller FBA (UCL, Latin American History)
This talk will look at ideas of time in relation to political legitimacy during the wars of independence (1808 – 1826), relating thinking back from the Age of Revolutions to how we see time in our own era.