ESP members Leah Carless, Kelly Large, Priya Mistry and Brian J Morrison have been selected to undertake Radical Sabbatical residencies at the University of Birmingham for 2019. This year the artists have proposed research projects that connect with the themes of Common-Wealth and The Unconditioned Mind. The artists will be paired with academics at the University to connect with current research and kick-start collaborations, conversations and ideas about how artists and researchers might work together.

The artists research interest touch upon ideas associated with unpicking the traits of loneliness, looking at MRI scans and their connections to emotional states, understanding the biologically adaptive role of delusions, unpicking the binaries of charisma and connections between obsessive compulsive disorder and body dysmorphia.

The residencies provide a platform for artists, curators and art-writers to respond to the multidisciplinary nature of research, and offer an opportunity for practitioners to develop new ideas, research and work in an exciting context of learning and expertise. Radical Sabbatical is a space for experimentation, knowledge exchange and cross-disciplinary engagement – a place for artists and academics to explore each others’ research and consider how it is produced and conveyed.

The artists and academics will make a presentation of their research as part of the Green Heart festival at the University of Birmingham 7–9 July 2019.