The Glasgow School of Art

Wellbeing by Design

7 - 9 September 2015

The Institute of Design Innovation at The Glasgow School of Art in partnership with Highlands and Islands Enterprise presents the inaugural conference on creativity and collaboration in practice-based inquiry. This conference will take place on the 7th, 8th and 9th September 2015 at the GSA's Highland and Islands Campus, Forres, Morayshire, with Professor Irene McAra-McWilliam, Head of the School of Design and the Institute of Design Innovation delivering a keynote.

The conference will bring together practitioners and researchers from Masters, Doctoral and Post-doctoral communities whose shared interests and inquiries utilise design approaches to support communities to live well. Through a lively series of presentations, discussions and exhibitions, delegates will collaboratively explore and expand the evolving definitions of ‘wellbeing’. At the same time, we will consider our individual and collective experiences and how reflective practice and reflexivity can support creativity, enhance collective knowledge, and be harnessed when exploring complex social challenges. 

The aim of the Wellbeing by Design conference is to provide an intimate, supportive and informal space to discuss our successes, as well as the struggles inherent in research inquiry.

Call for Participation

We invite applicants to complete the conference application form by 30th July 2015. In the application we ask for a short description of your background, your research focus and your practice.

For the conference event, we invite you to prepare a 10 minute overview of your work, which may include emerging insights, reflections, questions, or concerns. Areas of interest may include:

• the democratisation of care
• asset-based approaches
• social isolation and loneliness
• inequalities: health, culture, gender, race, sexuality, age
• marginalised, fragile or rural communities

Where possible, we encourage the use of research artefacts to support discussions of your work. We will endeavor to support multiple forms of presentation and media but kindly ask you to specify presentation needs in your application form so that we can accommodate.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 16/8/15

An application form is available here. Please submit completed form to Carolyn Wyllie at c.wyllie@gsa.ac.uk

Conference Fee: £50
Additional optional fee for conference dinner: £20

Both payable upon acceptance

If you have any questions please contact Marianne McAra at: m.mcara1@student.gsa.ac.uk