Many PGRs may not have experience of securing external funding or be aware that they are eligible to apply to organisations such as Arts Council England (ACE) to deliver a project.

The half-day round table (12-3pm) provides a forum in which PGRs interested in ACE can ask questions about the process, and receive guidance from ACE Relationship Managers about the available funding schemes. Chaired by Ian Sergeant (a successful ACE applicant), the session also involves other PhD researchers who have been successful with ACE, including Jenny Peevers (former Arts Council staff member), Chris Mapp (M3C student) and Anneka French (New Art West Midlands). Peta Murphy, a relationship manager of ACE, will also participate in the session. Please see below for bios:

Arts Council England

Peta Murphy is an experienced Relationship Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the non-profit organization management industry. Skilled in Photography, Art Education, Cultural Heritage, Theatre, and Event Management. Strong arts and design professional with a Master of Arts (M.A.) focused in Creative Industry & Cultural Policy from Birmingham City University.

New Art West Midlands

Anneka French is Project Co-ordinator at New Art West Midlands, Editorial Manager at this is tomorrow and reviews for Photomonitor and a-n News. She has worked at Tate Modern, Ikon and The New Art Gallery Walsall, and curated independent exhibitions at Grand Union and Croome (National Trust). She is currently working on BLAST! Festival and a solo exhibition at KH7, Aarhus, Denmark.

Craig Ashley is a curator and producer based in the West Midlands. He led the visual arts programme at Midlands Arts Centre (MAC) from 2009 to 2016. Notable exhibitions for MAC include Vanley Burke’s By the Rivers of Birminam (2012) and Barbara Walker’s Shock & Awe (2016). He is currently Director of New Art West Midlands, the contemporary visual arts network for the region.

Jenny Peevers is an independent arts consultant and producer, an associate director at Creative Health CIC and a part-time PhD researcher at Birmingham City University (School of Architecture and Design). Having studied fine art and urban design, her practice and research integrates art and urbanism and explores the interaction between art, people and place.

Chris Mapp is a practice based researcher who uses his solo and ensemble work to investigate notions of freedom, community and process in freely improvised musical performance. Chris’s research will examine the collective identity of both improvisers and their audiences, impacting on the fields of jazz and improvised music performance practice, interactive music technology, sound spatialisation and audience development.

Ian Sergeant has an MA in Contemporary Curatorial Practice. He is a director of performing and visual arts organisation Kalaboration, and artist led exhibition space Ort Gallery. His practice-led research is focused on the Visual Representations and Cultural (Re) Constructions of Black British Masculinity in 21st Century Birmingham.