A new research centre has been established at Brock University to facilitate co-operative projects in the creative arts.

The Research Centre in Interdisciplinary Arts and Creative Culture (RCIACC) establishes a network of researchers and creators across Faculties at Brock and beyond the University. The research centre is part of the Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture (STAC).

“STAC has an established reputation as an interdisciplinary academic centre and it was therefore logical to home an interdisciplinary research centre in the unit,” says Associate Professor Catherine Parayre, who led the initiative with Associate Professor Derek Knight and is the Centre’s new director.

The Centre will engage with a broad range of creative expression, including visual arts, dramatic arts, music, creative writing and translation, book and graphic design, cultural heritage, and photography.

The Centre includes faculty from Arts and Culture, Visual Arts, Dramatic Arts, Music, Curatorial Studies, French Studies, English Literature, Digital Humanities, and Education.

“We are all deeply committed to working in a collegial, participatory spirit,” says Parayre.

The centre will be doing outreach at Rodman Hall Art Centre through exhibitions and talks and in collaboration with the Willow Arts Community.

The Research Centre’s first exhibition, Industrial Niagara, curated by Knight, will be held at Rodman Hall from March 7 to 22. The exhibition brings together members of the Centre to respond to Niagara’s natural environment and the presence, loss and history of industry. Artists include Knight, Franc Petric, Shawn Serfas, Donna Szőke, Candace Couse and Parayre.

In conjunction with the exhibition, Parayre is organizing a cultural event on Saturday, March 14 featuring Associate Professors Natalee Caple, Adam Dickinson, Knight and David Vivian, as well as Niagara residents reflecting on their experiences of the Welland Canal.

The Centre will also be home to the Small Walker Press, launched last year, which will maintain editorial independence. The SWP will be publishing a book on lacrosse in the lead-up to the 2021 Canada Games written in Cayuga, French and English and featuring photography by a Mohawk artist and Aboriginal-Studies alumnus.

Details for upcoming events can be found on the Centre’s website.