CHASE Annual Lecture: ART AND COALESCENCE IN TIMES OF RUPTURE
Wednesday 26 November 2025, 6pm to 8pm
Lecture Theatre 002, Business & Law Building, Northumbria University,
City Campus East, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST
We warmly invite you to an inspiring and thought-provoking evening of discussion with Dima Karout and Paul Nataraj at Northumbria University Centre for Health and Social Equity (CHASE)'s public lecture.
Dima and Paul will present how they respond to rupture as political, societal and temporal constructs within their respective practice. They will share how they develop coalescence through partnerships and with communities across the UK and beyond, grounded in collaborative acts of reclamation and repair.
Lecture Theatre 002, Business & Law Building, Northumbria University,
City Campus East, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST
We warmly invite you to an inspiring and thought-provoking evening of discussion with Dima Karout and Paul Nataraj at Northumbria University Centre for Health and Social Equity (CHASE)'s public lecture.
Dima and Paul will present how they respond to rupture as political, societal and temporal constructs within their respective practice. They will share how they develop coalescence through partnerships and with communities across the UK and beyond, grounded in collaborative acts of reclamation and repair.
What to expect
The Centre for Health and Social Equity at Northumbria University aims to improve health outcomes and social equity in the North East and beyond. We are honoured to be presenting this lecture as part of CHASE lecture series.
Free to attend. To register visit the CHASE lecture webpage by clicking here and scrolling to the registration form.
Image: Paul Nataraj, detail from We sound each other, Contested Desires, 2025. Photo: Matt Denham
- The lecture will bring together diverse perspectives and foster essential interdisciplinary dialogue.
- The discussion will be chaired by Andrea Carter, Lead Producer at D6 Culture, and Professor Monique Lhussier, founding Director of CHASE, will welcome guests.
- Through critical art practice and practice-based research, Dima and Paul will present how they respond to rupture and develop coalescence through partnerships and with communities both locally and internationally.
- There will be time for questions and answers as part of this conversation.
The Centre for Health and Social Equity at Northumbria University aims to improve health outcomes and social equity in the North East and beyond. We are honoured to be presenting this lecture as part of CHASE lecture series.
Free to attend. To register visit the CHASE lecture webpage by clicking here and scrolling to the registration form.
Image: Paul Nataraj, detail from We sound each other, Contested Desires, 2025. Photo: Matt Denham
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS
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Dima Karout specialises in socially engaged art, cultural heritage, placemaking, innovative learning, and creative health. With over 15 years of experience, she has collaborated with leading museums, universities, charities, local authorities, and inspiring art practitioners to develop long-term partnerships, design creative projects, implement participatory practices, and shape inclusive cultural strategies.
Notable projects include her leadership role in the Mayor’s London Borough of Culture, engaging over 100 cultural and policy leaders, artists and residents to shape and implement a borough-wide creative vision for Sanctuary. She designed the Migration Museum’s first residency and engagement programme for artists with experience of migration, and created large participatory installations at the British Museum, Shakespeare’s Globe and Brent Museum, among others — championing cultural rights bringing artistic practices closer to thousands of people from all backgrounds. Dima has a long-standing relationship with D6, contributing as a collaborator on past programmes, connecting artists and cultural organisations across the UK, Cyprus, Jordan and Türkiye. Dima is currently serving as a D6 Board Member. www.dimakarout.com Image: Dima hosting D6's International Human Rights Day event at the Star & Shadow. Photo: Amelia Read |
Paul Nataraj is a sound artist who is interested in sonic materiality in the space of diasporic memory and identity and postcolonial subjectivities. His work explores the connections and relationships between the objects of sound and assemblages of the self. He is one of the 22 commissioned artists participating in Contested Desires: Constructive Dialogues - an ambitious conversation between contemporary artists and the museums, archives and communities that shape our European colonial histories. D6 is one of the international partners of the project.
Recent exhibitions and performances include the Jerwood Survey III (national touring), Nottingham Contemporary (UK); Leeds City of Culture 2023 (UK); Kochi Biennale 2022 (India), and British Textile Biennial 2021 (UK). He was an Associate Researcher on the project, Migrant Memory and the Postcolonial Imagination at Loughborough University, working closely with the South Asian community in the Midlands and East London. He has also worked closely with the community in Whally Range, Blackburn, producing the podcast series, Kick Down The Barriers. He holds a PhD in Sound Studies from the University of Sussex. www.paulnataraj.uk Image: Paul Nataraj presenting at the Contested Desires conference Let's Talk about Decolonisation. Photo: Amelia Read |
Andrea Carter is an experienced lead producer of visual arts programmes at D6, engaging artists and civil society actors in programmes which address and support cultural rights. With a particular focus on artistic research as practice, artist professional development and equitable engagement of participants, she currently co-ordinates the Ethics group across D6's Contested Desires programme.
Andrea has studied and lived in the North East since 1998 and worked extensively in the fields of visual arts and heritage, with a long-standing focus on socially engaged practice and a greater representation of marginalised communities and networks. Image: Andrea Carter in discussion with artists taking part in ACT at the Star and Shadow, Newcastle. Photo: Amelia Read |
Professor Monique Lhussier graduated as an engineer in biological sciences, with a Masters in cellular nutrition and a PhD in sociology, and is a lifelong researcher. As a social scientist, she has expertise in marginalisation, welfare and wellbeing. Her work focuses on understanding processes of engagement for groups that are often deemed ‘hard to reach’ or in situations of social or health precarity. She has expertise in a number of research methodologies and is particularly known for her innovative work in realist approaches to research.
She is founding Director of the Centre for Health and Social Equity; and social justice lead for the NIHR North East North Cumbria Applied Research Collaboration. She is currently co-leading a £1.5M UKRI funded programme of work to help tackle homelessness in the North East and Cumbria, referred to as See Me North. |
ABOUT THE CHASE LECTURE SERIEs
The CHASE lecture series is part of the Centre for Health and Social Equity (CHASE) at Northumbria University, which is dedicated to helping all people live healthier for longer, supporting the most marginalised in society. The series sets out to raise awareness of marginalisation for various groups and challenges attendees to develop more inclusive practices and prioritise their work across social mobility and inclusion.
Special thanks to Professor Donna Chambers and Professor Fiona Crisp (Northumbria School of Design, Arts and Creative Industries, Northumbria University).
Special thanks to Professor Donna Chambers and Professor Fiona Crisp (Northumbria School of Design, Arts and Creative Industries, Northumbria University).
USEFUL INFORMATION
WHERE TO FIND THE LECTURE
Northumbria University has two campuses in the heart of Newcastle. The lecture is taking place in City Campus East in the Business and Law Buidling.
The address is: Lecture Theatre 002, Business and Law Building, City Campus East, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST.
This Google map shows the Business and Law Building in the City Campus East.
Once in the Business and Law Building, head into the main lobby and turn right on the ground floor to find the welcome refreshments and the Lecture Theatre 002.
TRAVEL
To find Northumbria University's City Campus East, the nearest Metro station is Manors, which is a 3-5 minute walk away. Another option is Monument Metro station, a 7-minute walk, from which you can head north from the Northumberland Road exit and cross over the pedestrian footbridge.
There are several buses that stop near the campus, including 27, 301, 308, 43, 56, X1, and X77, as well as regular buses from near Manors Metro.
We encourage visitors to use public transport but if you are driving there is pay and display on-street parking on Falconar Street or the NCP multi-storey car park on John Dobson Street followed by a short walk to the campus.
For more information please visit Northumbria University's website.
ACCESSIBILITY
The lecture theatre is on the ground floor and is wheelchair accessible.
There is detailed information in the university's access guides here:
Business and Law Building Access Guide
Lecture Theatre 002 Access Guide.
For further information or any questions please contact [email protected].
Northumbria University has two campuses in the heart of Newcastle. The lecture is taking place in City Campus East in the Business and Law Buidling.
The address is: Lecture Theatre 002, Business and Law Building, City Campus East, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST.
This Google map shows the Business and Law Building in the City Campus East.
Once in the Business and Law Building, head into the main lobby and turn right on the ground floor to find the welcome refreshments and the Lecture Theatre 002.
TRAVEL
To find Northumbria University's City Campus East, the nearest Metro station is Manors, which is a 3-5 minute walk away. Another option is Monument Metro station, a 7-minute walk, from which you can head north from the Northumberland Road exit and cross over the pedestrian footbridge.
There are several buses that stop near the campus, including 27, 301, 308, 43, 56, X1, and X77, as well as regular buses from near Manors Metro.
We encourage visitors to use public transport but if you are driving there is pay and display on-street parking on Falconar Street or the NCP multi-storey car park on John Dobson Street followed by a short walk to the campus.
For more information please visit Northumbria University's website.
ACCESSIBILITY
The lecture theatre is on the ground floor and is wheelchair accessible.
There is detailed information in the university's access guides here:
Business and Law Building Access Guide
Lecture Theatre 002 Access Guide.
For further information or any questions please contact [email protected].
