Research Seasons
Each year our research programme is organised into specific areas of enquiry, explored through themed Research Seasons.
Each season includes a range of research events, conferences, lectures, film screenings and discussions, designed to showcase new thinking on different aspects of sculpture.
Current season
Bradford 2025: The Power of Public Sculpture
Autumn 2025
This research season presents a series of events supported by Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture.
Together we are celebrating Bradford and Britain’s rich sculptural, architectural and political history and looking to the future for the region and its artists.
Upcoming
Propose a research season
Do you have an idea for a research season, and want to work with us to develop a series of events?
If so, please contact Dr Clare O’Dowd, Research Curator: clare.odowd@henry-moore.org
Previous seasons
Beyond the Visual: Blindness and Expanded Sculpture
Autumn 2024 – Spring 2025
Engaging with contemporary sculpture using senses other than sight, to investigate not only the under-representation of blind and partially blind arts practitioners, but also the relationship between artworks and audiences.
Brâncuşi and Britain
Spring & Summer 2024
This Research Season encourages scholars and practising artists to reconsider Constantin Brâncuşi (1876-1957) and his impact amongst British artists, writers, and thinkers.
The Weight of Words
Summer & Autumn 2023
Accompanying our major exhibition of sculpture and poetry at the Henry Moore Institute, this season explores the profound connections between the plastic and linguistic qualities of words, in ways that range from humorous to haunting.
Reassessing Herbert Read
Winter 2022 & Spring 2023
This research season aims to give scholars, both emerging and established, a chance to reassess Read’s work from a contemporary perspective. It also seeks to revisit his achievements and increase the public’s direct and virtual access to his archive.
Researching Women in Sculpture
Spring & Summer 2022
This research season reflects upon women’s contribution to the field of sculpture, investigating archival and collecting practices that have historically obscured work by women and suggesting strategies for how these might be addressed going forward.
Sculpture & Poetry
Winter 2021
Celebrating practitioners and scholars who have developed imaginative ways of turning our attention to the connections between poetry and sculpture.
This six-month research season brought together two academic conferences and four public discussions between renowned artists and poets.
Monuments
Autumn 2021
New research uncovers the underlying messages behind monumental sculpture.
In this season we explore the relationship between monuments, gender and sexuality; re-examine monuments in the light of colonial memory; and consider artists’ responses to monumentality.
Fabrication
Summer 2021
The practicalities of how artists approach making sculpture, and their relationship with skilled fabricators, has often been shrouded in mystery.
We examine the blurred lines between art, craft and industry, revealing how sculptors realise their vision through collaboration and exchange.