PhD Student Karen Gray

Karen is a full-time PhD student in the School of Allied Health and Community at the University of Worcester.

Karen Gray’s doctoral research explores the methodological challenges involved in evaluating arts-based activities for people with dementia, with the aim of highlighting possible solutions for evaluative practice. Her work seeks to address some of the assumptions that underpin both research and arts practice, including those related to ethics and to what constitutes ‘value’ for all those involved in the arts and dementia. She is interested in exploring concepts of complexity, definitions of art and wellbeing, and the potential conflict between the desire to understand the benefits and impact of change for the individual and the need to deliver evidence that is generalisably useful.

Karen is a member of the team working within the Association for Dementia Studies. She is one of 8 doctoral students working within The Arts and Dementia Doctoral Training Centre (TAnDem DTC), a collaborative partnership between the Universities of Worcester and Nottingham, funded by The Alzheimer’s Society.

Her Director of Studies is Dr Simon Evans. Other members of her supervisory team at the University of Nottingham are Professor Amanda Griffiths and Professor Justine Schneider.

Between 2012-2015, Karen was Research and Evaluation Manager with arts and health consultants, Willis Newson. It was in this role that she first became interested in the potential for the arts to improve the wellbeing of people with dementia and where she began to understand how challenging it is to evaluate arts and dementia practice.

Qualifications