Research is an earth making practice. It is about recognising that what happens to others relates to what happens to us. Erinma Ochu and Jo Lansdowne have committed to spending time together over the next three years as mutual study partners. Each will develop their own research areas whilst working together to weave connections and find the common ground between them. 

• Dr Erinma Ochu is Wallscourt Associate Professor in Immersive Media at Digital Cultures Research Centre, UWE Bristol and will be inaugural Researcher in Residence at Watershed, Bristol. 
• Jo Lansdowne is Executive Producer of Pervasive Media Studio at Watershed and will be Visiting Professor at the Digital Cultures Research Centre, UWE Bristol 

Erinma’s research is focused on collective consciousness, the unifying force that binds communities together and acts as a foundation for providing a sense of self, whilst also driving social movements. Erinma will initially develop these research interests through their creative writing practices reflecting on self-love, queering metabolism and epistemic justice. They will be situated within the context of the Pervasive Media Studio community as a peer mentor to Jo, supporting internal research practice within the cycle of commissioning and cultural programming. 

Jo’s research focus will be on Whiteness as an individual, structural and planetary process of using up the world. Through practice-based research in the context of Pervasive Media Studio, she will ask how we make visible, and challenge, the ways in which Whiteness monopolises research and development resources. She will act as a peer mentor to Erinma, asking questions and offering reflections on their plans and connecting the work into other programmes as desired. She will also join the Digital Cultures Research Centre Advisory Board.

Together they aim to create mutually supportive ways of living and working that build trust and respect in a world that often makes that difficult. 

Erinma's research is supported for 1 year by a charitable donation from Dr Simon Chaplin, which they gratefully acknowledge.