The Activist-in-Residence Scheme
The Activist-in-Residence (AiR) programme brings community organisers, artists and advocates into dialogue with academics to address social issues. In 2023–24 the scheme provided £20,000 for four residencies tackling real-world challenges and sharing practical outputs that travel beyond the university.
Over a defined period, each residency:
- Co-defines a challenge with community partners, grounded in lived experience and research.
- Co-produces activities—workshops, making, events and digital outputs—that invite wider participation.
- Shares and embeds methods and resources others can adapt across King’s and with external partners.
Explore the residencies
Read the public case studies and access resources from each project
- Race Across the Channel – Transnational antiracism in conversation (Prof. Reza Zia-Ebrahimi with activists Rokhaya Diallo & Grace Ly).
- Rebel by Default – Co-creating visibility and voice with women living with HIV (with Positively UK; Dr Katharine Low & Dr Ella Parry-Davies).
- Reimagining Language Justice through the Art of Translation – Radical translation, creative writing and access to political language (Prof. Sanja Perovic, Dr Rosa Mucignat & Cristina Viti).
- moving/homing – Migration, belonging and movement with ESEA communities (Dr Wing-Fai Leung, Dr Jonathan Gray & movement artist David Kam).
A festival in June 2025 celebrated the scheme’s achievements and highlighted how co‑production between academics and activists can reframe research impact.