In early 2026 we hosted an exhibition of creative work developed by the artist in residence for the project, Michele Allen. 

Michele joined the participatory action research group in October 2024 and saw her role as that of creative note-taker, both insider and outsider, responding to group discussions and reflecting on her experience of being precariously employed in the institution for five years as an associate lecturer.   

This event and exhibition was held in the Boiler House space on campus and shared work developed during the residency including moving image, photography, drawing and a performance featuring commentary from the group. The title of the event was drawn from the ‘ground rules’ and ethos established for participatory action research undertaken by the group: We remember that ‘listening to understand’ is different to ‘listening to reply’.  

The exhibition aimed to create a space for reflection and dialogue around power structures and psychological safety within the institution and to amplify the voices of people who are often marginalised within those structures.   

There was a short performance ‘We listen to understand’ towards the end of the day, where the audience was invited to join in with a collective reading of text drawn from discussions with the group, who collectively spoke each other’s words. 

The Works 

Central to the exhibition were two large scale framed works resembling abstract looping scribble, made up of layers of text ‘notations’ created during PAR sessions.  A series of these works were also gathered in a vertical frame refencing the conversations, dialogues and discursive processes over time which underpin the research project.  

These ‘scrambled texts’ then became visible in moving image works, with words and phrases cycling through at different speeds sometimes operating on the edge of legibility. The soundtrack for this work featured field recordings made on campus focusing on extractor fans, air conditioning units and other ancillary functions which underpin the Universities’ built environment.  

The space was bisected by a diagonal line of tables holding a photographic concertina ‘Everyone Knew What You Meant’ made during the industrial disputes which interrupted the research project. Rather than re-iterating the dispute, the work showed the backs of placards, many of which are home-made, a refence to structures of dialogue and resistance. 

This work was printed at home on basic inkjet printer, sometimes failing, running out of ink and banding, a decision which reflects the artists experience of working from home, even when employed by large institutions, the need to find practical and economic solutions to making work as a freelancer and the intertwining of work and home life. Ideas which also fed into a series of small pencil drawings of repeated phrases, some employing ‘cross writing’ a technique employed historically in letter writing to save on paper and postage.

A second moving image work ‘Becoming Visible’ featured footage of the university campus layered over an interview with Dr Elaine Lopez describing her experiences of navigating academia as a parent carer and subsequent work creating a support network for parent carers in the University.  

This is part of an emergent body of work drawing on interviews with people within the PAR describing some of the more public facing work they are doing to support colleagues and make the university more inclusive.