Intersections: Doctoral Praxis & the Art of Critical Inquiry

Image courtesy of David Copeland, installation shot, Festival of PhD Research, June 2026

I’ve had the pleasure of returning to the Doctoral College at Ulster University to work with a group of practice-based researchers on a series of exhibitions: the first, a pop-up during the PhD Festival of research in June 2026, and the second: a fuller iteration in the form of an exhibition at the Belfast School of Art Gallery from December 2026 – January 2027.

Practice research is an increasingly critical contributor to contemporary research and innovation. It produces forms of knowledge that are experiential, applied, collaborative, and often interdisciplinary, offering pathways to impact that traditional research alone cannot deliver.

Ulster University staff and researchers are leading on major contributions to this research culture, and the Festival of PhD Research is a vital showcase to share how practice can be applied.

To date, practice research has traditionally been centred within the creative, arts, performing arts and architectural disciplines, as it is here too, but this is a concerted direction in which research communities are moving. These presentations sit strategically alongside a two year, collaborative, Wellcome-funded Research Culture Northern Ireland (RCNI) project delivered by Ulster University and Queen’s University Belfast.

Artists: 

Marina Iodice

Jayne Harkness

Lauren Clarke

David Copeland

Rachel Fitzpatrick

Joan Alexander

Colin Woods

More information to follow…