Venue: Theatre 2
Time: 4pm-5.30pm
Presenters: Professor Helen Phelan, Professor Anne MacFarlane, Dr Kathleen Markey and MECH-ART Panel
Chair: Sarbik Guha
This seminar is part of Sarbik Guha’s first creative work in his Arts Practice doctorate. Sarbik’s research undertakes a longitudinal arts practice investigation of songwriting as an under-explored participatory method in migrant health research. Supported by the Irish Department of Health’s Refugee and Migrant Health Partnership, the first phase of the research unfolded through a study called “Migrants Experiences of Communication in Healthcare (MECH-Art) in collaboration with Doras NGO, Limerick Migrant Integration Forum, researchers from Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, and the Participatory Health Research Unit, UL. 5 weekly Irish World Music Cafés were organised in October 2024—exploring migrants’ communication experiences in the Irish healthcare system, centralising songwriting as a method of engagement/data-generation. This has led to the co-creation of two original songs. This seminar will present the findings from this song co-creation process, co-created songs and documentation of the co-creation journey within the MECH-ART cafés.
Sarbik Guha is a singer-songwriter and community musician currently pursuing a PhD in Arts Practice at the Irish World Academy. His doctoral research explores songwriting as a participatory method in migrant health research.
Professor Helen Phelan is Director of the Irish World Academy of Music and
Dance, and Co-Director of the Participatory Health Research Unit, ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ. As Professor of Arts Practice, she is an internationally recognised advocate for the integration of artistic methods into research cultures. She is a multi-award winning Irish Research Council recipient for her work on music and migration. She is founder of the UL Singing and Social Inclusion research group, co-founder of the medieval vocal ensemble Cantoral, and current Chair of IMBAS, a national network for artistic research in Ireland.
Professor Anne MacFarlane (co-supervisor) is a leading social science scholar in primary healthcare research, participatory health research and migrant health. Anne established the UL School of Medicine’s Participatory Health Research (PHR) Unit, and is now Co-Director with Prof Helen Phelan. The Unit is designated as a WHO Collaborating Centre for Participatory Health Research with Refugees and Migrants (Ireland’s only WHO Collaborating Centre on migrant health research and 1 out of 3 globally).
Dr Kathleen Markey is an Associate Professor in Nursing and Course Director for the BSc Nursing Studies. Kathleen is also the chair of the Department of Nursing and Midwifery Learning, Teaching and Assessment Committee. She was nominated as a Teaching Hero as part of the 2020 student-led Teaching Hero awards by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in association with the Union of Students in Ireland. Kathleen’s particular research interests and scholarly activity are in the areas of cultural and ethnic diversity in healthcare, cultural competence development, internationalisation of curriculum, intercultural learning and refugee and migrant health.