1-2pm, Wed 4 November 2026, online
Dr Suzy O’Hara, University of Sunderland and Dr Minty Donald, University of Glasgow – RACC Project
This webinar reflects on learning from the first Waste Futures Lab, delivered in Kirkcaldy, Scotland in May 2026 as part of the Resilience of Anthropocene Coasts and Communities (RACC) project. Waste Futures Labs uses arts and curatorial based methods to explore waste legacies with local communities, and asks how waste cultures might be reimagined as a force for positive change in the context of climate change.
Drawing on reflections from researchers and participants, we will share our approach to evidencing impact in arts-based projects. We will also consider how working in an interdisciplinary research team and with external stakeholders helps support the RACC research initiative. Our learnings are now informing our next Waste Futures Lab, due to happen in Spring 2027, where we will focus on the theme of waste values.
What is the RACC project?
RACC is a £2.9 million research project examining how climate-driven coastal flooding and erosion could release pollution from the UK’s historic coastal landfills—and how risks to coastal ecosystems and communities can be reduced. Led by Queen Mary University of London, RACC brings together five universities with government agencies, industry, local authorities, volunteers and communities affected by climate change.
The webinar includes a Q&A, which will be chaired by the Coast-R Network’s Professor Sarah Davies.
The webinar will take place via teams. Follow the link below to register and join:
Dr Suzy O’Hara
Dr Suzy O’Hara is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Practice in the School of Media and Creative Industries at University of Sunderland, where she leads the Centre for Creative Practice Research.
As a curator, educator, and practice led scholar, her research is concerned with exploring the central role that art-making and curatorial praxis play in addressing pressing environmental and social challenges impacting society.
Recent projects include curating public programmes that explore the role that cross – sector curatorship and interdisciplinary artmaking can play in engaging local communities with pioneering Big Data scientific discovery, marine environment and heritage protection, and urgent practical challenges caused by coastal erosion. With Victoria Bradbury, she is the co-editor of Art Hack Practice: Critical Intersections of Art, Innovation and the Maker Movement (Routledge, 2020).
For more information: https://colabsunderland.uk/
Dr Minty Donald
Dr Minty Donald is an artist whose practice explores humans’ interrelations with other-than-human matter and things, such as rivers or rocks. Minty works across disciplines including performance, sculptural practice, and writing.
She collaborates regularly with artist, Nick Millar. Recent projects include Waste Futures Lab, Kirkcaldy (2026), A River is Not a Line on a Map, Dumfries and Galloway (2026) and Piel de la Ciudad/Skin of the City (Glasgow and Madrid, 2024, 2025).
Minty is Professor Emerita, School of Cultural and Creative Arts, University of Glasgow.
For more information: https://donaldmillar.com/
