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Stephen Felmingham appointed as Professor of Artistic Research
Thursday, 29 September, 2022 — Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Stephen Felmingham has been appointed as Professor of Artistic Research, recognising both his outstanding contribution to academic leadership, teaching and research, and his distinction and reputation within the arts in Higher Education.
<p dir="ltr">Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic) <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/people/dr-stephen-felmingham" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stephen Felmingham </a>has been appointed as Professor of Artistic Research at Arts University Plymouth, recognising both his outstanding contribution to academic leadership, teaching and research, and his distinction and reputation within the arts in Higher Education.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Stephen's professorship was conferred by our Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive, <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/people/paul-fieldsend-danks" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Professor Paul Fieldsend-Danks,</a> following a meeting of the Professorial Committee, a panel made up of esteemed Professors drawn from institutions across the UK.<br /></p>
<p dir="ltr">Professor Felmingham is an artist and educator who has lectured extensively in drawing, painting, print and contemporary art practice on undergraduate and postgraduate programmes across the UK, including Falmouth University, Norwich University of the Arts and Leeds Arts University. After studying at Middlesex University and the University of the Arts London (Wimbledon), where he completed an MA in Drawing in 1999, he gained his doctorate from the University of Leeds in 2014 reading drawing, place and the contemporary sublime.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Professor Paul Fieldsend-Danks said: “This is a huge personal achievement for Stephen, one endorsed by independent reviewers who are experts in their fields, and something that recognises his significant contribution to knowledge and creative pedagogy. Stephen joined our community at the beginning of 2013 to lead our new <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/ba-hons-painting-drawing-printmaking">BA (Hons) Painting, Drawing & Printmaking</a>, at a time when core drawing and painting skills were in danger of being deprioritised across UK universities. Under his leadership, that course grew into one of our most successful degrees. Moreover, his national advocacy for drawing as a critical component in the artist and designer’s toolkit has helped to raise an awareness of the importance of this discipline as a way of thinking visually.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“During his time at Arts University Plymouth, Stephen has overseen our strategic partnerships nationally and internationally, in addition to leading the strategic academic development of our undergraduate, postgraduate and Pre-Degree portfolio of courses. His work has been instrumental in many of our recent successes, including students voting for Arts University Plymouth as the number one arts university for student satisfaction in the UK. I’d like to congratulate Professor Felmingham for his success and thank him for his continued commitment to creative arts education in Plymouth and the sector.”<br /></p>
Professor Stephen Felmingham at the Platform Graduate Award 2022
<p dir="ltr">Professor Felmingham was nominated a member of the LAND2 Research Network in 2009, was shortlisted for the Jerwood Drawing Prize in the same year and was a finalist in the Celeste Art Prize, New York, in 2010. He speaks regularly both on drawing and art and design pedagogy, his work is represented in collections nationally and internationally and he has exhibited widely in the UK and in Europe.</p>
<p dir="ltr">He has an active research interest in creative pedagogies, specifically research-led learning and alternative art school models and he leads on projects that work in and for communities, introducing this into socially-engaged art and education and connecting organisations (artist-led initiatives, community organisations, public and philanthropic funders) who are working with the agency of creativity in the social realm.</p>
<p dir="ltr">His research outputs have developed more recently into outward facing social practice projects, including work with refugee communities. This work includes co-founding Beyond the Now, a syndicated online platform working in locations across Europe, the MENA region and the Global South to open new creative, cultural and political affinities for a post-pandemic world.</p>
