Creative 91直播 appoints Academic Research Lead for new Activating Collections Research Theme
The Creative 91直播 research platform has appointed Professor Ana Carden-Coyne as Academic Research Lead to oversee its new Activating Collections Research Theme.
Since appointing its first research leads in 2022, has continued to grow, nurturing exciting interdisciplinary research and convening research communities at The University of Manchester and the city region. In line with the University鈥檚 91直播 2035 strategy, the platform is working to convene a challenge-led research model in collaboration with our Cultural Institutions, partners and communities that champions our world-leading collections and archives, amplifying their reach. To achieve this, a new Research Theme focussed on activating the University鈥檚 and Cultural Institutions鈥� vast archival collections is being developed from September 2026. This theme compliments Creative 91直播鈥檚 existing three research themes - , and 鈥� which continue to remain relevant and are expanding in line with the aspirations set out in 91直播 2035.
I am thrilled to be taking up the role of Academic Lead for Research Partnerships. We are fortunate to have in our midst the extraordinary collections and specialised expertise of colleagues within the Whitworth Art Gallery, 91直播 Museum, the John Rylands Library and Jodrell Bank. This is a distinctive opportunity to expand scholarly horizons through our collections, enliven imaginations that will shape next-generation thinking, and cultivate interdisciplinary synergies among academic change-makers.
The newly appointed Academic Lead for Research Partnerships (Special, Scientific and Cultural Collections), , will work closely with the Platform鈥檚 leadership, Creative 91直播 Director Professor Michelle Phillips and Deputy Director , as well as with Associate Vice President (Cultural Portfolio), to develop and help coordinate activity across the theme.
In this role, Professor Carden-Coyne will focus on developing the academic work and grant capture on research collections across University of Manchester Library and the wider Cultural Institution collections鈥� research activities. She will partner and engage with our diverse community of academic researchers, curators, conservators and imaging specialists, and further grow the Platform鈥檚 interdisciplinary research networks to address strategic opportunities.
Professor Ana Carden-Coyne is Director of the Centre for the Cultural History of War (CCHW) in the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures. She is a cultural historian and curator inspired by people鈥檚 creative responses to war and conflict, acts of resistance, and calls for civil and human rights. Working closely with other disciplines, cultural practitioners, and museums energises her thinking. When activated through collaboration, co-curation, and shared decision-making, the cultural leadership of contemporary communities and artists not only enriches our collective knowledge, but also transforms our human connections. Her work is grounded in deep respect for the makers of objects, artworks, and stories that are held dear in the past and present, which can be brought to light for future generations.
As part of her recently funded Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) project (2021-24) she published the accompanying project book (MUP, open access) this year.
For more details on Professor Carden-Coyne's work and publications, please refer to her
The School of Arts, Languages and Cultures is delighted that Professor Ana Carden-Coyne has taken on this new and exciting role, and we look forward to further enhancing our research and collaboration profile with The University of Manchester鈥檚 fantastic Cultural Institutes and their staff. This is a terrific opportunity for the School to develop and expand further the kinds of engagement which have been hosted by the John Rylands Research Institute over the last twelve years.
I'm delighted to share the news of this important new appointment to the role of Academic Lead for Research Partnerships (Special, Scientific and Cultural Collections). This post sits at the very heart of our ambitions for the Library's research future, providing the academic partnership needed to help us unlock the extraordinary potential of our Special, Scientific and Cultural Collections and to embed them ever more deeply within the University's research culture. As we take forward the 'Activating Collections' challenge and our wider Imagine2035 strategy, this role will be pivotal in building new interdisciplinary partnerships, securing vital research funding, and ensuring our collections continue to inspire world-leading scholarship both within the University of Manchester and far beyond it. We look forward to the energy, expertise and vision Professor Ana Carden-Coyne will bring to our collections community, and warmly welcome her to the team.
Our archives and collections are among the University of Manchester鈥檚 great resources, a strength which has been highlighted by our new strategic approach to working with those collections across the cultural institutions. I am delighted that Prof Carden-Coyne, a brilliant and experienced researcher herself with a strong record of working with colleagues, across disciplines and externally, will take up this new role. Interdisciplinary, collaborative, place-based and internationally connected, Prof Carden-Coyne鈥檚 own work defines many of the qualities we value, as in her AHRC-funded collaboration 鈥楿nderstanding Displacement Aesthetics and Making Change in the Art Gallery with Refugees, Migrants and Host Communities.鈥� My team and I look forward to working with her to convene and support colleagues across the University as they engage with the collections and expert teams at the Whitworth, the Library (which includes Jodrell Bank鈥檚 archive as part of its collections) and 91直播 Museum.