Visual and Material Cultures

In existence prior to 2014, the group’s current concerns encompass the study of political, national, racial, ethnic and gendered identities in art history and art criticism, museum and periodical cultures; ethnographies of arts practices; examinations of multi-cultural heritage; cultural landscapes and environments; contested spaces and collective memory; and in a developing focus on non-western fields, the visual and material culture of Asia in transcultural and trans global exchange.  

Through their investigations of materials and techniques, Fine art conservators join academic researchers in specialist engagements with museums and art collections. Conservation researchers are also aligned to the International Research Centre for the History and Culture of Nanzhao and Dali Kingdoms, the result of considerable University and donor-investment. The Centre is a collaboration between Yunnan Provincial Museum in southwest China and the Woon Brothers Foundation, Singapore and Northumbria, and builds upon the establishment from 2018 of the University’s Woon Gallery of Asian and Buddhist art. 

For projects related to this group see Susan Ashley's multicultural heritage project and Louise Tythacott’s Nanzhao-Dali project.   

Visit the Visual Material Cultures website to find out more