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Last updated 20th March 2026

I am Professor of Culture, People and Place, and Director of the Centre for Cultural Ecologies in Art, Design and Architecture. My work explores how cultural practices shape places, communities, and wellbeing. Currently, I am focusing on place-based cultural development, creative health, and transnational collaborations.

The Centre for Cultural Ecologies in Art, Design and Architecture is an interdisciplinary research platform that explores how cultural practices shape relationships between people, place, and environment. Through collaborative projects, public programmes, and knowledge exchange partnerships, the Centre supports co-created research that is contributing to policy and practice at local, national, and international levels. https://research.hud.ac.uk/institutes-centres/ceada/

I am particularly interested in working with co-produced creative methods and collaborative practice to bring together communities, cultural organisations, policymakers, and creative practitioners.

I lead several major research initiatives that demonstrate the societal value of arts and humanities research. As Project Lead for the AHRC-funded Post Office Cultures project, I am working with a team of partners across the UK and India to document post office buildings as sites of cultural memory and civic identity through creative digital scanning and storytelling. I also lead the National Creative Health Hub, at the University of Huddersfield, which is developing cross-sector partnerships to explore how creative practice can address health inequalities and improve wellbeing. In Kirklees, I lead the AHRC-funded Community Innovation Practitioner project, within the broader framework of our Cultures of _ programme, supporting place-based cultural development through community collaborations in the creative and cultural industries.

Within the School of Arts and Humanities, I serve as Strategic Lead for Research, where I support research culture, interdisciplinary collaborations, and staff development. I am part of the School Leadership Team and am coordianting lead for REF2029. I also manage UoA32 Art and Design, supporting colleagues in developing outputs, impact case studies, and research partnerships.

My work is grounded in civic engagement and partnership-building. I collaborate with local authorities, heritage organisations, health partners, and cultural institutions to develop research that contributes to cultural participation, place-based regeneration, and community wellbeing.

I welcome PhD and collaborative research in place-based cultural development, creative health, cultural ecologies, heritage and/or transnational cultural collaborations.