Play a leading part in an institution that’s internationally renowned for its practice-based and intellectually challenging approach to art, design and fashion research.
Read below to find out more about your new home of research or get in touch with an Art, Design or Fashion professor today.
For an informal discussion about Art, Design and Fashion research at Manchester Metropolitan, please contact Professor Martyn Evans.
Researchers in the School of Art undertake inclusive and impactful research through applied creativity that engages with critical issues of our time and makes a positive contribution to culture, society and the economy.Professor Martyn Evans
Our research strength
Working in the Manchester School of Art Research Centre, you’ll join an institution that’s a leader in art, design and fashion research.
In REF 2021, we were ranked second for the power of our research in Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory, with 100% of our research environment and impact rated as internationally excellent or world leading.
Our focus is to deliver impactful arts-based research through applied creativity as a foundation for collaboration and innovation, contributing to sustainable development and building a safer, more prosperous and ethical world.
As a result, our researchers are embedded in national and international creative and cultural landscapes where they challenge norms, set agendas and shape future research narratives.
We engage with a wide range of user communities and beneficiaries to co-produce research and resultant impact through mutually beneficial partnerships, while at the same time building our reputation as an innovator in the field.
Interdisciplinary expertise
Art: Research expertise is rooted in the evolving fields of contemporary art practice, curating contemporary art, and visual culture. We recognise the importance of both individual practice and collaborative and interdisciplinary work, and we promote digital and analogue art across real and virtual sites, platforms and realities.
Design: Our approach influences positive change in cultural, social, material, technological and innovation contexts. We purposefully focus on the themes of community, culture and heritage; design-driven innovation; design for health and wellbeing; and materiality and making. Our design research takes approaches that are challenge-led, collaborative, interdisciplinary and socially conscious.
Fashion: Specialisms include Fashion Business Management, fostering intellectual dialogue between the fashion business and management fields through groundbreaking collaborations in multidisciplinary research. Meanwhile, Fashion Design employs a holistic interpretation of fashion design spanning social, economic and political perspectives, and Innovative Materials and Product Development contributes to design and development of functional apparel.