This presentation examines a strategy that merges teaching, practice, and research, initially developed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It explores how learners, both in higher education and community settings, can be empowered with genuine agency to create. Martin Newth’s projects, ‘In Transit’ and ‘Constructing Landscapes/Building Worlds,’ involved creating short film essays in response to geographic contexts. The film-essays were works in themselves, which enacted research and foregrounded the process of art-making in response to place. However, the film-essays had a second, more important function, of inviting and provoking participants to respond and make their own short films. The participants' films were showcased at Tate Britain’s ‘Late at Tate’ event and various screenings in Hounslow, west London, funded by Arts Council England and Creative People and Places, thereby reaching new audiences.

This approach, shaped by the restrictions and context of lockdown conditions, initially operated within digital studios and explored how Covid-19 has altered our understanding of environments. Integrating Newth’s ongoing reflections as an academic leader on the interplay between research and teaching, the projects aim to create equitable conditions, as advocated by Paulo Freire and others, transferring agency from the artist/teacher to the participant.
By examining these projects, this presentation explores how art-making can facilitate empowerment and creativity, fostering a deeper connection between research and teaching while addressing the need for equity and participant agency. The presentation will explore the impact on Martin Newth's academic leadership and his ‘event-based’ approach to fine art curricula, emphasizing active, collaborative participation.