Investigating the impacts of socially engaged art on cultural organisations and contemporary art practice

Tate St Ives and UWE Bristol are pleased to announce the availability of a fully funded Collaborative Doctoral Studentship from October 2026 under the AHRC’s Collaborative Doctoral Partnerships (CDP) scheme and Tate’s studentships.

Ref: 2627-OCT-CATE03

The expected start date of the studentship is 1 October 2026.

The closing date for applications is 10 May 2026.

This practice-based research project aims to deepen knowledge of contemporary socially engaged art (SEA) practices that are place based, human centred and generative, specifically in the context of museums and galleries.

This project will be jointly supervised by Georgina Kennedy and Cassie Penn, Tate St Ives, and Dr Steven Paige and Dr Sarah Bodman, UWE Bristol. The student will be expected to spend time at both UWE Bristol and Tate St Ives, joining rich research communities and benefiting from the doctoral training programmes at both institutions as well as becoming part of the wider CDP cohort across the UK.

The research will investigate SEA practices situated in a range of settings to locate regional and national experiences within a global practice context, that cultivate local people’s creative participation in the life of museums and cultural organisations. The scope/nature of the practice-based element of the research will be developed and negotiated by the student over the course of the project. The studentship can be studied either full or part-time.

For an informal discussion regarding the studentship please contact Steven Paige at steven.paige@uwe.ac.uk.

The studentship is available from 1 October 2026 for a period of four years, subject to satisfactory progress and includes a tax-exempt stipend, which is currently £20,780 (2025/26) per annum. In addition, full-time tuition fees will be covered for up to four years (Home). International students will need to pay the difference between home and international fees.

Students should have a master’s degree in visual arts or relevant subject or can demonstrate equivalent experience of more than five years in a professional setting such as museum or gallery context, working with artists, communities and organisations and applicable SEA practices. The studentship is open to both home and international applicants. We particularly welcome applications from people of global majority and lower socio-economic backgrounds, as they are currently underrepresented at this level in this area.

Please submit your application online. When prompted use the reference number 2627-OCT-CATE03.

Supporting documentation

• Upload your expression of interest*, all your degree certificates and transcripts and a recognised English language qualification is required.
• you will need to provide details of two referees as part of your application.

Expression of interest

*Your two-page expression of interest (A4 with font size no smaller than 10pt) must contain:

• your motivation for applying
• your interest in the topic
• how you would apply your experience, skills and knowledge to the studentship
• documentation/evidence of your socially engaged art practice
• what you would ideally use this PhD for once completed
• a separate sample of recent written work.

The closing date for applications is 10 May 2026.

Interviews are expected to take place online on 10-11 June 2026. If you have not heard from us by July, we thank you for your application but on this occasion you have not been successful