Sian is currently Director of Research for Art, Architecture and Design (UoA32) and Associate Professor in Research Practice at Birmingham City University (BCU). Originally an art historian, during a higher education career spanning more than two decades, I have worked in a variety of roles: research assistant, undergraduate teaching, Keeper of an Art and Design Archives, course leader for an MA in Contemporary Curatorial Practice, an Art and Design PhD and an accredited doctoral supervisor development programme, as well as Site Director for an Arts and Humanities Research Council funded doctoral training partnership.
My own research focuses on the practices, cultures and pedagogies that underpin research in art and design. I have explored artistic practices with archives, history, and institutions with a particular focus on creative research methods as knowledge generation, as well as the practices and pedagogies of doctoral education and how these are responding to creative practice in research. I am currently expanding this as a critical lens to consider research cultures and researcher development for practice research.
