Manager for Arts and Culture Projects

Joining the University in 2017, Emma heads up the Arts and Culture Projects Team. Emma has international experience in establishing socially engaged cultural and community projects in partnership with non-creative sectors, educational institutions, arts and heritage organisations. She has specific specialisms in applied practices, widening participation and capacity-building agendas.

Prior to working at UoB, Emma was the Learning and Participation Manager at Trestle Theatre Company and Lecturer in Drama (MA and PGCE courses) for Middlesex University. In 2016, she was part of the All-Party Parliamentary Arts, Health and Wellbeing SIG Group, supporting the Creative Health inquiry. This derived from the Arts and Health practice that Emma developed at Trestle, as well as before Trestle, whilst she was a freelance cultural practitioner.

Emma has supported the Bedfordshire's cultural sector to apply for £3million of project funding over the last 5 years, including £480,000 during COVID. She has also successfully applied for funding for UoB worth £1.5million for revenue activity. Through her leadership, the Arts and Culture Projects team have mentored local cultural practitioners to develop nationally significant projects across 50 local authorities, delivered 1,200 knowledge exchange sessions and workshops to over 19,000 participants, supported creative practitioners to develop 615+ new collaborative partnerships across 15 industry sectors, and fostered the development of +42 new industry-academic partnerships laterally across the institution. 

You can get in touch with Emma Gill at emma.gill@beds.ac.uk