Dr Michael Tan PhD, MA, BFA
Associate Professor
Summary
My research interest explores art and design practices in relation to health & well-being, care, ageing, and human flourishing. Inspired by assemblage theory, I am interested to explore the role of creative practice in shaping culture of care in various care settings and the wider context of medical/ health humanities and health communication.
About
I joined Lab4Living at Sheffield Hallam University as an Associate Professor in Art and Design in 2020; contributing to the lab’s ongoing work on the 100 Year Life & the Future Home as well as Post-graduate education development. My ongoing collaborations include The Repository for Arts and Health Resources project led by Sidney De Haan Research Centre for Arts and Health, Canterbury Christ Church University; The A-health Project (Mcgill University- Nanyang Technological University). I keen to explore collaboration or supervise projects related, but not limited to the following lines of inquiry:
- The Future of Care and wellbeing
- Wonderment and Wellbeing
- Therapeutic engagements/ experience (e.g. technology-inspired participatory)
- Therapeutic Objects
- Communicating Health
Teaching
College of Social Sciences and Arts
Research
Current Projects
My research interests include:
- Arts, Design and Culture for Health and Wellbeing
- Creative Ageing
- Socially-Engaged Art and Design
- Health/ Medical Humanities
- Art and design in Medicine Education
- Arts-based Social/ Health Research / Visual Methods
- Art & design-based Health Communication
Publications
Journal articles
Tan, M., Tan, C.M., Tan, S.G., Yoong, J., & Gibbons, B. (2021). Connecting the Dots: The State of Arts and Health in Singapore. Arts and Health. http://doi.org/10.1080/17533015.2021.2005643
Ho, A.H.Y., Ma, S.H.X., Tan, M.K.B., & Bajpai, R.C. (2021). A Randomized Waitlist-Controlled Trial of an Intergenerational Arts and Heritage-Based Intervention in Singapore: Project ARTISAN. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. http://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.730709
Tan, M., & Tan, C.M. (2021). Curating wellness during a pandemic in Singapore: COVID-19, museums, and digital imagination. Public Health, 192, 68-71. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2021.01.006
Tan, M. (2019). Art and Design Education in the Ecology of Care. International Journal of Art and Design Education, 38 (4), 878-886. http://doi.org/10.1111/jade.12273
Tan, M. (2018). Towards a caring practice: reflections the processes and components of arts-health practice. Arts and Health, 12 (1), 1-18. http://doi.org/10.1080/17533015.2018.1494452
Tan, M. (2018). Connecting reminiscence, art making and cultural heritage: A pilot art-for-dementia care programme. Journal of Applied Arts & Health, 9 (1), 25-36. http://doi.org/10.1386/jaah.9.1.25_1
Conference papers
Seah, C.E.L., & Tan, M. (2018). Multilink - a multi-sensorial game for persons with dementia. Proceedings of the DESIGN 2018 15th International Design Conference. http://doi.org/10.21278/idc.2018.0158
Book chapters
Tan, M.K.B. (2022). Caring Consciousness, Participatory Art, and Well-Being: The Caring Artist. In Palgrave Encyclopedia of the Health Humanities. (pp. 1-5). Springer International Publishing: http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26825-1_146-1
(2020). In GeoHumanities and Health. Springer International Publishing: http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21406-7_14
Books
Clift, S., Kreutz, G., Pritchard, S., Tan, M., Lehikoinen, K., De Quadros, A., ... Phillips, K. (Eds.). (2023). A critical appraisal of research in arts, health and wellbeing. Frontiers Media SA. http://doi.org/10.3389/978-2-8325-2731-3
Clift, S., Kreutz, G., Pritchard, S., Tan, M., Lehikoinen, K., De Quadros, A., ... Phillips, K. (Eds.). (2023). A critical appraisal of research in arts, health and wellbeing. Frontiers Media SA. http://doi.org/10.3389/978-2-8325-2731-3
Performances
Tan, M., & Barnes, A. (2022). Dying Matters - a participatory performance to explore the complexities and consequences arising from our struggles to talk openly about issues such as dying, and highlighting the importance of such exchanges. Lab4Living, Dying Dialogue Symposium (Toronto, Canada), Dying Matter Week 2023 (Sheffield- Lab4Living) https://lab4living.org.uk/projects/dying-matters/
Other publications
Tan, M., & Fisher, H. (2023). Stories from the Pandemic. OPUS: https://www.sheffieldstoriesfromthepandemic.com/share-your-story
Tan, M., & Fisher, H. (2023). Stories from the Pandemic. OPUS: https://www.sheffieldstoriesfromthepandemic.com/share-your-story
Postgraduate supervision
I am keen to explore collaboration or supervise projects related, but not limited to the following lines of inquiry:
- The Future of Care and Wellbeing
- Wonderment and Wellbeing
- Therapeutic engagements/ experience (e.g. technology-inspired participatory)
- Therapeutic Objects
- Communicating Health