Dr Simon Moreton
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Role:
Department staff:
Research staff:
- creativity
- political economy
- knowledge exchange
- Visual Culture
- Narrative
- Poetry
- Creative writing
- local history
- folklore
Teaching staff:
- Qualifications:
- BA (Hons) MRes (Exeter) PhD (Bristol)
- Position:
- Associate Professor Creative Economies
- Department:
- School of Arts
- Email:
- Simon.Moreton@uwe.ac.uk
About me
I am Associate Professor of Creative Economies for the College of Arts, Technology and Environment where I am part of the Digital Cultures Research Centre (DCRC). I am also an associate member of the Visual and Material Practices Group (VAMP) and the Humanities Research Group (HRG).
I research the politics of creativity in contemporary society and am an artist, working across prose, poetry, collage, and drawing. I write about my life but also about things like memory, the past, and how we’re influenced by the landscapes of the places we live – especially the British countryside. Most things I publish myself as handmade books and zines, and some things I make are published by other people. My work has been featured in domestic and overseas exhibitions, is taught on university courses, and has been critically acclaimed by a range of artists and authors.
I’m part of the DIY art world that believes in taking the means of producing art into our own hands. I believe that the way we talk about our lives through art connects us, and I try and live my art-life in a way that supports others, too.
Area of expertise
My research falls into three many areas; how we organise and support creative work including R&D in creative technology; what it means to be an artist in contemporary society; and questions of belonging and self in relation to history, folklore, place, and landscape.
I lead Fair Creative Economies, a project to explore ethical ways of organising in the creative economy. This is part of the £30M MyWorld (UKRI Strength in Places Fund) programme led by University of Bristol, where I also sit on the Senior Management board.
I have recently completed a project called Holy Hills, funded by UWE’s Research Investment Scheme. It entailed a series of walks on Titterstone Clee, and a period of archive research, to explore what it means to be in the landscape. This aligns with my interest in folklore, place, landscape and time including creative work on the ideas of Alfred Watkins and a recent article for Folklore about the ghosts of Pluckley, in Kent.
I was first a co-director and then director of the multi-million pound Bristol and Bath Creative R&D (2018-2024) part of AHRC's Creative Industries Cluster Programme (CICP). Our work focussed on supporting sustainable, inclusive, and responsible R&D in the creative sector. I also chaired the AHRC Monitoring and Evidence Working Group, hosting a national conversation about the impacts of the CICP.
I oversaw Container, an online magazine exploring how technology is used for creativity, community, and social justice. I have designed and supported evaluation for a range of arts and creative development programmes. I co-produced the evaluation of Watershed's Creative Producers International (Arts Council) programme and led on the writing of the final report. I worked with Watershed on Network for Creative Enterprise (Arts Council England/ERDF). I worked with neighbourhood arts and community development project We Are Bristol (Paul Hamlyn Foundation), and have worked with Bristol Festivals on an internally funded project to better articulate the many ways cultural activities benefit the city.
I co-lead the Object/Maker MA course (with Sofie Boons) and lead the Objects as Productive Objections module. I also teach across the School on topics such as drawing, presence, attention, zine-making and self-publishing. I taught on Visual Cultures, led the 'Cultural Value Networks' and 'Final Project' modules on UWE's Creative Producing MA. I also designed and led the New Scholars programme, a development scheme for early career academics and PhD students.
I am a reviewer for CATE's Ethics Committee.
Publications
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