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Co-Remembering Covid in Teams: Revisiting Art School Lockdown through Creative Co-production, the latest Art Activisms public event takes place this week. Lisa Metherell and Cathy Wade discuss their ongoing collaboration to creatively unpack experiences of Covid lockdown as carers and lecturers in Higher Education in order to help understand where we are today.

What are the odds? Ikon Creative Health is an off-site exhibition by Ikon at the Library of Birmingham, which explores the role of art in supporting health and care systems. It presents creative health not only as an intervention, but as a way of questioning, shaping and understanding the conditions we live in.

RAAD’s very own Jaskirt Dhaliwal-Boora has been announced as the recipient of the Royal Photographic Society (RPS) Award for Social Impact 2025. For 147 years, the RPS Awards have recognised individuals working across still and moving images, as well as those using photography in innovative ways. The awards celebrate significant achievements, showcase new and emerging talent, and highlight notable contributions. The 2025 recipients’ work reflects the power of photography to inspire, uplift, incite change and bring about personal, social and cultural wellbeing.

Stuart Whipps reflects on his current exhibition ‘This is a Phantom’ with Grampian Hospital Arts Trust at The Suttie Arts Space in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary which runs from 6 Sept – 7 Dec 2025.

SLIDEFEST Palestine was an evening of powerful and evocative images and presentations from artists and photographers based in Palestine and/or the diaspora.  The public event was run in partnership by Gulf Photo Plus, GRAIN Projects, our Art Activisms research cluster and the British Journal of Photography, and was held in Birmingham in our School of Art building on 3 June 2025.

The Art Activisms cluster held an evening of public discussion Beyond Success and Failure: Reflecting on Socially engaged art practice on social practice with artists Becky Shaw, Liz Wewiora and Regan McDonald as we question where we place the value and success of socially engaged work.

RAAD artist and research Jack Lewdjaw gave presented his paper “Understood the Assignment: Day School an Alternative Art School” at the National Association for Fine Art Education conference 2025 held in conjunction with Feral School of Art in Hull on 25 April.

The Art Activisms research cluster invite you to join a book launch, with artist Roo Dhissou in conversation with Stuart Whipps on Thursday 3 April 2025.

Focusing on the role of arts and culture in the development of collaborative partnerships for the promotion of inclusive disability-led education, throughout the duration of the Disability Under Siege project Professor Anthony Downey has been supporting cultural and other institutions in Palestine, Lebanon, and Jordan to expand educational provisions for young people with disabilities. Here he describes this important and innovative collaborative project for RAAD’s new blog.