Dr Miranda Lawry

I have maintained a high research output ( including grant funding) considering my extensive administrative positions that I have held at the university since the mid 1990's including Deputy Head (1999-01), Acting Head of School (2001-02) Head of School (2003-04) and Assistant Dean International (2006-08).I am a founding member of the Arts/Health and Practice Research Centre and held an executive position in the Australian Council of University Art and Design Schools (ACUADS) the arts sectors peak body from 2002-04 (3 year position). Technically I am an early career researcher and my doctoral thesis is in the final semester of production.

My research focus is primarily directed to advantaging an understanding of collaborative engagement with a central focus of determining a multi level framework for the arts that sees creative arts as having an intrinsic value beyond the boundaries of the art gallery. As a visual artist I primarily work with photo and digital media. Installation practice and new media constructs have directly influenced my work that finds contexts in many disparate environments .In 2005 I was Chief investigator on a Collaborative Grant with Hunter New England Health as the funding partner.

The primary outcome was a commissioned art work Moving the Royal-Framing the Windows installed permanently in the foyer of The Royal Newcastle Centre Hospital in Newcastle. This facility in it's first year of operation has seen 1 million people access the hospital, all of whom can be considered potential viewers of this artwork.This involved a unique collaboration between hospital staff and academics and those in the community who were dramatically affected by the closure of the hospital. The results were reported in an invited paper presented at the inaugural 2006 Australian Medical Humanities Conference in Byron Bay. Another permanent installation (Sky Windows)2003 installed in The John Hunter Hospital was undertaken in collaboration with Professor Anne Graham (my supervisor) and funded through an internal grant.

I have built a long-term relationship with the hospitals in the region and have been instrumental in working to provide an understanding of the value of art in the health sector. In recent years in collaboration with Prof Allyson Holbrook (SORTI)I have also taken a principal role in research that focuses on doctoral supervision and examination in Fine Art resulting in four refereed publications. From 2000 to 2009 I supervised 10 post graduate students to successful completion and currently supervise 8 MPhil Fine Art candidates. I have supervised in excess of 40 Honours students with the majority being awarded Honours (Class 1) and six being awarded University Medals and APA scholarships to the University of Newcastle, University of NSW and Melbourne University (VCA). Two MPhil graduates where awarded PhD scholarships in Britain in 2009. I have been proactive in highlighting the achievements of the creative arts at a regional, national and international level by nominating successful graduates for Alumni Awards and Hon Doctorates including (Margaret Olley,Nancy Borlaise,) at the University of Newcastle.

Research Expertise
My research focus is primarily directed to advantaging an understanding of collaborative engagement with a central focus of determining a multi level framework for the arts that sees creative arts as having an intrinsic value beyond the boundaries of the art gallery. As a visual artist I primarily work with photo and digital media. Installation practice and new media constructs have directly influenced my work that finds contexts in many disparate environments .In 2005 I was Chief investigator on a Collaborative Grant with Hunter New England Health as the funding partner. The primary outcome was a commissioned art work Moving the Royal-Framing the Windows installed permanently in The Royal Newcastle Centre Hospital in Newcastle. This involved a unique collaboration between hospital staff and academics and those in the community who were dramatically affected by the closure of the hospital. The results were reported in an invited paper presented at the inaugural 2006 Australian Medical Humanities Conference in Byron Bay. Another permanent installation (Sky Windows) installed in The John Hunter Hospital was undertaken in collaboration with professor Anne Graham (my supervisor) funded through an internal grant. I have built a long-term relationship with the hospitals in the region and have been instrumental in working to provide an understanding of the value of art in the health sector. In recent years in collaboration with Holbrook et. al I have also taken a principal role in research that focuses on doctoral supervision and examination in Fine Art resulting in four refereed publications

Teaching Expertise
My specialist area of teaching is Photomedia with a primary focus of Early 19th Century processes, artist books and silver based processes.My teaching has been focused in supporting the development of professional practices in the gallery program, sourcing specialist guest lectures for the public programs and mentoring candidates to apply for grants, prizes and scholarships. I have been actively engaged in the Directed Study course offered to undergraduate BFA students and have assisted many students with successful placements at: The Art Gallery of NSW, Newcastle Regional Gallery and Lake Macquarie Region Art Gallery, along with commercial companies. I have participated in the planning of arts program initiatives at Gosford, Wyong and Newcastle hospitals, which has included presenting concept proposals, participating in Arts for Health Seminars and Conferences. I have also supported students in conducting residencies within hospital environments in both Newcastle and Gosford and together with Trevor Weekes I have developed a long-term relationship with Eden Gardens through initiatives such as a yearly exhibition of student work at the Eden Gardens Art Gallery in Lane Cove. I have strong links to Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax, Canada, Goldsmiths College of Art in England and The Bauhaus, University of Weimar in Germany, The School of Art at Christchurch University in New Zealand together with substantive links to key academic staff at art schools around Australia. I have been responsible for the promotion of Fine Art at a regional, national and international level with the production of SOFA (a yearly journal promoting activities in Fine Art in 2002-05) and curating and instigating touring exhibitions of staff and student work including VERVE- Profiling the research of staff in Fine Art at the University which is touring in 2007 to regional galleries in NSW I was instrumental in developing a highly successful TAFE/Uni partnership with New England TAFEthat saw over 90 students articulate into the Bachelor of Fine Art Degree at the University of newcastle through a flexible program including online, campus based study at both Tamworth TAFE and Callaghan Campus of the university.

Administrative Expertise
I have held significant administrative roles at The University of Newcastle since 1994. These have included Program Co-ordinator for the Bachelor of Visual Arts (1994-98) Assistant Dean, Faculty of Art and Design (1998-2000) Deputy H ead of School, School of Fine Art (2000-01) Acting Head of School (2002-04) Assistant Dean, International, Faculty of Education and Arts (2006- current).I was an appointed academic member to the committee to develop and write a new Bachelor of Fine Art Degree at The University of Newcastle in 1999, which included the introduction of a Masters of Fine Art and PhD programs. I have chaired the TAFE/ University Articulation Advisory Group for Arts and Media and developed a flexible BFA program in partnership with Tamworth TAFE in 2000.

Collaborations
Practice as Research is a primary research interest and the project Coalopolis to Metropolis: New Adventures of Mark Twain outlines the recent success of this at an international level. The breadth of studio-based inquiry is beginning to claim a space within traditional domains of research. This exhibition emerged from discussions with Professor Graeme Sullivan at Colombia University in New York. It was shown at Pearl Street Gallery in Brooklyn (established by Colombia University as a research centre in Practice as Research)The research contributes to the discourse of Practice as Research evolving through an exploration of how artists interpret historically potent archival material by initiating new research frameworks and practices in collaboration with writers and social commentators. As one of 9 artists in this research project, and contributing editor of the catalogue my work consisted of five segments of a photo installation piece, which reflected on Mark Twains rail journey. The limit of peering out a window where what is seen is formed by what is known freeze frames reality in these works. The installation construct forms a rhythmic visual language that provides a potential to view traditional 2D images in a 4D virtual environment thus expanding the notional parameters of still photography. The significance of this research is that the artists were invited by Professor Graeme Sullivan, Chair of the Dept of Arts and Humanities at Columbia University in New York to exhibit the project at Pearl Street Gallery in Brooklyn NY in 2007. This project was selected to feature in a series of exhibition projects running over two years that ensured that art created within the framework of studio research was effectively placed within cultural discourse in the public domain. The exhibition was opened by Benjamin Genocchio, art critic for the NY Times and is profiled as a key example of Practice as Research in the following two books published in 2009. " Art Practice as Research: Inquiry in Visual Arts, Sage Publications, Inc. November (2009); and " Dean and Smiths edited book, entitled, Practice-led Research/Research-led Practice in the Creative Arts, Edinburgh University Press (2009) Chapter 2 Making Space: The Purpose and Place of Practice-led Research,