Collaborate project spotlight
Find out more about the partnership between Quarantine and Rox Middleton, School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol
The beauty project
Research partnership:
Quarantine with Rox Middleton, School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol
Research focus:
Exploring methodologies to better understand and articulate the value of beauty
This partnership was awarded a research grant in June 2022 as part of the first round of the Centre for Cultural Value’s Collaborate programme.
The fund supported innovative new partnerships between cultural sector practitioners and academics to explore under-explored questions around cultural value.
What did the project explore?
How is an audience affected by beauty? When the event is over, what remains?
Beauty can motivate audiences, and in both arts and science, beauty motivates processes of research and creation. But beauty is subjective, difficult to measure and at risk of being overlooked as a benefit and aim.
Theatre company Quarantine, alongside physicist Rox Middleton from the University of Bristol, worked with Lucy Tomlinson, a researcher in philosophy, and with performers and audiences to investigate ways to understand and articulate the value of beauty.
The partnership explored methodologies for better understanding and articulating the value of beauty, with a focus on live performance. They tested methods to evaluate intrinsic values and sought a new vocabulary for articulating the value of beauty in cultural production.
Explore The Beauty Project website