Welcome to RAAD
Welcome to the blog for RAAD - the Centre for Research in Art and Design at Birmingham City University. We are a community of artists, designers, makers, thinkers and writers. We believe that creative practice in art, architecture, and design matters and that it can make a difference - transforming individuals, communities, and society. In our research we collaborate, explore, and share knowledge in order to make a difference.
Global Surrealist Photography
I’ve been fortunate enough to receive joint funding from the Association of Art Historians and RAAD for a week-long trip to archives and libraries in Paris. In this project, I aim to combine unpublished elements of my PhD thesis with new research to form a monograph entitled Global Surrealist Photography: A Cosmopolitan Lens…
CFP Beyond Calligraphy
CCVA have launched the CFP for their 19th Annual CCVA Conference, to be held at the University of Bologna, Italy in October 2026 in collaboration with the ERC “WRITE” project. The conference will explore “Beyond Calligraphy: New Approaches in Contemporary Times”.
Surrealism and the PRC
Dr. Lauren Walden's latest book Surrealism and the People's Republic of China: From Mao to Now has just been published as part of the Routledge Research in Art History series.
Living the CITY: Reflections
On Thursday, February 20th, 2025, the Parkside Galleries hosted the opening and wine reception for the photographic exhibition, Living the City: Contemporary Everyday in China.
Under the Cyber Eyes
This curatorial project is based on RAAD researcher Dr Shiyu Gao’s Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship research project about the intersection of surveillance and expanded media art in contemporary China. Shiyu reflects on the project here.
Opening: Living the City
We are excited to announce the exhibition opening and reception for the exhibition Living the City: contemporary everyday in China on 20 February 202 at BCU’s Parkside Gallery in central Birmingham.
The Conformed Body
Prof. Jiehong Jiang’s latest monograph The Conformed Body: Contemporary Art in China has recently been published.