News 15


David Pérez Karmadavis La manada (The Crowd), video, 2009


Did you know?


The production of Pantomime directed at the University by Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott is now available on the University’s YouTube channel.


www.youtube.com/user/uniessex


Karmadavis’s work focuses on the tense border between the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and the legacies of Guatemala’s 36-year civil war.


Research Art and justice


The relationship between art and justice in countries trying to make the transition from years of conflict to a peaceful democratic society is being investigated by a major new exhibition at the University Space at firstsite in Colchester.


The work of leading Guatemala-based artist David Pérez Karmadavis is the focus of new


exhibition Karmadavis: Art, Justice, Transition created by a partnership between Essex Collection of Art from Latin America (ESCALA), the Essex Transitional Justice Network (ETJN) and the Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies (LiFTS) at the University.


The guest curators collaborating on the show are Professor Maria Cristina Fumagalli from LIFTS and Dr Sanja Bahun, Senior Lecturer in LIFTS and ETJN co-convener.


Business partnership benefits legal firm


Helping vulnerable people to access affordable legal services despite changes being made to the legal aid system is the focus of a new partnership between Essex Business School (EBS) and Essex legal firm, QualitySolicitors FJG.


The firm, the biggest legal aid provider in the eastern region, asked EBS to review their current business processes and also their environmental impact. They wanted to find out what savings could be achieved to make services as cost-effective as possible while maintaining their quality.


The year-long collaboration attracted funding from the European Regional Development Fund and the East of England Development Agency through the Low Carbon KEEP project.


The project developed new client management workflows for legal aid service provision, identified paper processes that could be computerised and established which legal aid services could be offered remotely, saving time and costs for both clients and legal staff.


Senior partner Tony Fisher said: “This has been a great opportunity for the firm to move forward and embrace new and progressive ideas.”


Senior lecturer in management Patrick Hitchen, who led the project, said: “We have used the complex area of family legal work as the testbed and this approach can now be repeated for other legal services provided by the firm.


“It has proved invaluable in my work with students too as it is a good local case study and provided an opportunity to forge links with a key local business.”


The exhibition echoes many of the themes of the curators’ research work. Professor Fumagalli is preparing a book on the literary and cultural history of the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, while Dr Bahun is working on a research project about the arts and transitional justice.


Activities linked to the show include public talks, research papers and a symposium plus a regular ‘art in context hour’ where postgraduate students explain the issues covered by the exhibition.


Karmadavis: Art, Justice, Transition is at the University Space until 10 March 2013.


www.escala.org.uk


 Matthew Rowe, Artistic Director for Towner Art Gallery in Eastbourne, will become the new director of firstsite in January.


Help with your writing


Crime novelist Jim Kelly and TV, radio and stage dramatist Gillian Richmond are available to help any student looking to improve their writing skills.


Both writers have been appointed as Royal Literary Fund Fellows and although based in the Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies they can help students from any discipline. Assistance can cover anything from getting multiple ideas into essay form in a clear and accessible style to developing writing strategies and reviewing feedback on marked work.


Gillian is available on Mondays and Tuesdays from 10am-5pm, and Jim is available on Thursdays and Fridays from 10am-5pm. Both are based in room 5A.334 on the Colchester Campus. To make an appointment visit LiFTS administrative team in room 5A.201, or e-mail Gillian at: grichmon@essex.ac.uk or Jim at: kellyj@essex.ac.uk.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24