ResDance Series 10: Episode 8: Co-production in participatory arts and dementia research with Olivia Turner and Katey Warran

ResDance Series 10: Episode 8: Co-production in participatory arts and dementia research with Olivia Turner and Katey Warran In this episode, Olivia and Katey explore the intersections of arts and health, reflecting on how these connections shape their respective practices and research. They discuss the importance of centering diverse ways of knowing and being, grounded in relationships and lived experience. Drawing on their work in participatory arts and dementia research, they examine how co-production informs every stage of their projects—from design and delivery to evaluation. The conversation highlights their approaches to meaning-making and collaboration with people living with dementia, as well as those involved in delivering the work. They also consider the value of capturing lived experience as a way to inform research and influence policy, alongside the role of evaluation and multi-voice storytelling in empowering both participants and practitioners. Throughout the episode, they reflect on their individual journeys and emphasise the central role of relationships in shaping their evolving practice. Biography: Olivia Turner Dr Olivia Turner is an artist and researcher at the University of Edinburgh. Her work is at the interstices of creative practice-led research, medical humanities and arts & health. She is currently undertaking postdoctoral research at the University of Edinburgh. This work focuses on participatory arts, co-production and social justice, meaning-making, and evaluation. She is Deputy Director of the Edinburgh Centre for Research on the Experience of Dementia and the PATHS (Public Health, Arts, Theory and Social Science) Research Group. She is also Associate Lecturer in Fine Art at Newcastle University. Contact details: Email: olivia.turner@ed.ac.uk Personal Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliviaturner-art/ Other social media handles: @oliv.turner Biography: Katey Warran Dr Katey Warran is Head of the PATHS (Public Health, Arts, Theory, Sociology) Research Group and Director of the Edinburgh Centre for Research on the Experience of Dementia (ECRED), both based in the School of Health in Social Science at the University of Edinburgh. She is the recipient of a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship exploring how to co-construct a Sociology of Arts and Health. She is also Honorary Fellow in the Social Biobehavioural Research Group at University College London, where she was previously Deputy Director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Arts and Health. Katey’s research explores the complex relationship between the arts and health, and she is currently co-authoring a book with Professor Norma Daykin on the Sociology of Arts and Health (Routledge, forthcoming). Staff Profile: https://edwebprofiles.ed.ac.uk/profile/dr-katey-warran Contact details: Email: kwarran@ed.ac.uk Personal Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kateywarran/ Fellowship:https://linktr.ee/socarthealth   Published sources and recommendations: https://linktr.ee/IMAGINED https://www.pathsresearchgroup.org/research Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research in action.