People and Topics
C
- Cathy Hampton
I've worked in the French section of the SMLC for more years than I care to mention, and in that time have worked on various 'student as researcher / producer' projects. I'm very interested in staff-student collaboration, both within my curricular teaching and as extra-curricular activities. My background is in French Early Modern Vernacular literature, and I've enjoyed experimenting with task-based assessments that encourage students to make connections between Early Modern French literature and ideas, and 21st-century social and cultural experience.
- Charlotte Woodhead
Dr Charlotte Woodhead is an associate professor at Warwick Law School, University of Warwick, UK. Her research focuses on repatriation and restitution, with a particular specialism in the work of the UK’s Spoliation Advisory Panel. In 2018 Charlotte was commissioned by the UK’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Spoliation Advisory Panel to write a report analysing the differences in processes between the 5 European restitution committees to address recommendation 3 of the 2017 London Conference Action Plan. Her recent research has focused on the relationship between law and ethics using the framework of the ethics of care, including how this can inform claims for restitution and repatriation. Between 2013-2019 she served as a member of the UK Museum’s Association Ethics Committee. Currently a member of the English Policy Committee of the Heritage Trust Network and a member of the Finance Audit and Risk Committee at Compton Verney, Warwickshire. Research on all aspects of UK law relating to cultural heritage, including legal history of the national museum collections, the National Trust, English Heritage and the export licensing system.
- Claudia Davies
Collections Assistant for Heritage & Culture WarwickshireLink opens in a new window, the Warwickshire County Council team with responsibility for museums and much more.
H
- Hannah Ayres
Hannah Ayres (she/her) is an Institute of Advanced Studies Early Career Fellow and PhD researcher based at the University of Warwick. Her research focuses on how queer and trans* individuals create, critique, and understand re/presentation in museums. Hannah is currently the co-host of Theoryish, a podcast that aims to bring academic theory to a wider audience in relevant, interesting, and accessible ways. She previously co-founded and co-convened (2019-2022) queer/disrupt, a research collective that focused on making queer and trans* knowledge, topics, and histories accessible to a wider audience. Hannah has previously contributed to The LGBTQ+ History Book (2023) published by DK. Hannah has spoken at a number of prominent institutions including The British Museum, V&A, and the European Sociological Association. Interests: queer and trans history; public history; queer theory; trans studies; memory studies; visual sociology; gender and social theory.
- Helen Wheatley
Professor Helen Wheatley is Professor of Film and Television Studies,Link opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window co-founder of the Centre for Television Histories , and Academic Director of the Warwick Institute for Engagement. She works collaboratively with archives and curators to engage the public with the history of British broadcasting, and has twice been awarded the university’s prizes for impact/community engagement for this work. Her last book, Spectacular Television: Exploring Televisual Pleasure Link opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window(IB Tauris, 2016) won the BAFTSS Award for Monograph of the Year in 2017. She has just published the monograph Television/Death (Edinburgh University Press, 2024).
J
- Jessica Bianchera
Jessica Bianchera is an art historian, art critic, and curator specializing in contemporary art. She is currently a second-year PhD in contemporary art history and museology at the University of Verona, where she conducts research titled From Private Collection to Public and Digital Enjoyment, focusing on the contemporary art collection of the Verona University and university museums of contemporary art. As part of this project, she is a visiting PSG in Culture, Media & Creative Industries at the School of Creative Arts, Performance and Visual Cultures at the University of Warwick (UK). She collaborates with the Contemporary Commission of the University of Verona, contributing to developing exhibition projects and enhancing artistic heritage. She is also the founder and artistic director of Urbs Picta, a cultural association dedicated to contemporary art projects. As an independent curator and researcher, she has worked or currently works with public and private institutions, including AGIVERONA, ArtVerona, Fondazione Cariverona, Collezione Panza, MART - Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto, and UniCredit. Her research focuses on contemporary artistic production, with particular attention to the role of art in contemporary society and the function of museums and university collections as spaces for research, experimentation, and cultural dialogue.
L
- Lily Crowther
Lily is a curator specialising in 19th-century craft and design. Her research interests are in the transmission of material knowledge and skill through collections, and the use of collections in HE teaching, both historically and in current practice. She works at Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum, where her most recent exhibition was 'Leamington Spa and the Black Atlantic', and she is studying for a DPhil at the Victoria & Albert Museum and the University of Oxford. She is also a trustee of the Brooking Museum of Architectural Detail.
M
- Melanie Stavrou
I am a researcher specialising in cultural and creative health, with interests spanning museum studies, social identity, and the creative industries. My Ph.D. examined how museums in the Republic of Cyprus shape national identity and contribute to social cohesion. I serve as Review Editor for Museums and Social Issues and currently hold research fellowships with the University of Warwick, including a collaboration with the National Rural Touring Forum. I was also primary researcher on the State of the Arts published in 2024. Alongside research, I teach on MA programs at Warwick’s Centre for Cultural Policy and Media Studies at the University of Warwick.
P
- Paul Long
Paul is the founder and CEO of the leading immersive experience company MBDLink opens in a new window. Combining a theatre background, with advanced technical capabilities, MBD have created some of the most advanced and impactful arts and museums VR experiences. This includes pioneering multi-person storydoing.
- Peter Lester
Peter Lester is a researcher, archivist and proofreader. He holds a Masters degree in Archive Administration from the University of Liverpool and a PhD in Museum Studies from the University of Leicester. His research interests focus on the exhibition and display of archives, encounters with archival material and the design and experience of archival spaces. He is also a professionally qualified archivist with over ten years' experience in the UK archives sector. His book Exhibiting the Archive: Space, Encounter and Experience was published by Routledge in 2022.
S
- Shankara Angadi
After studying at Cambridge and SOAS, which included research into the early British intervention in Karnataka, he is now a PhD student at Warwick, developing a thesis exploring British and South Asian cultural interaction in the 18th and early 19th centuries. In the late 2020s he is planning a travelling exhibition called Possession and performance: learning from South India in the past and present, which draws on his collaboration with anthropologists in India as well as his time as Director of the Asian Music Circle in the 1970s and 80s.
- Smriti Dutt
Smriti Dutt is a PhD researcher in the History of Art department at Warwick. Her research is based on the revival of traditional South Asian art and craft traditions. She is presenting a paper on the National Crafts Museum, which has been an integral part of her research. The museum has been central to the revival of several endangered traditional arts of India.
W
- WMG
"This talk will provide an overview of how WMG is using a range of digital technologies, more commonly found in engineering and manufacturing sectors, for cultural heritage applications. We will provide examples of how the CiMAT team in WMG is using laser and CT scanning, photogrammetry, 3D printing and immersive visualisation to digitise and communicate culturally significant objects and structures. With these state-of-the-art capabilities under one roof, we have collaborated with academic partners in the UK and worldwide, on a broad range of projects, with data capture activities taking place both on campus and in the field. Through these collaborations we have developed efficient workflows to maximise the quality of output, be that physical 3D prints or virtual reality experiences. We will present an example of an international collaboration with researchers at the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice as a case study to demonstrate the capabilities described above."