Nottingham, a UNESCO City of Literature, is shaped by its richly diverse demographic, and its cultural life has connections across the world.
Aims
Cultures Matter is a research and knowledge exchange cluster that draws on this web of connections. It brings cutting-edge research in arts and humanities to bear on how we negotiate cultural diversity and how communities engage with an often difficult and contested heritage.
We work with partners in the creative, culture and heritage industries, commerce and the public sector regionally, nationally, and internationally to ensure that academic research serves the needs of practitioners and yields real-world benefits for the wider public.
Objectives
Led within the Faculty of Arts at the University of Nottingham, Cultures Matter is driven by the following objectives:
- To explore hidden and contested histories as well as marginalised voices in order to engage with challenging and diverse cultural pasts, presents and futures.
- To facilitate and enhance communication between academic experts, the cultural sector and the wider public.
- To enable individuals, communities and organisations in the co-production of cultural knowledge.
Themes
To address these, our cluster is guided by four main themes:
- Dissent, Protest and Storytelling
- Sensitive Histories and Legacies in the Archive
- Technology, Materiality and Production
- Landscape, Environment and Sustainable Travel
Leads
Recent events and highlights
- Sensitive Histories Workshop 3: English Heritage (23 June 2025), led by Dr Jo Cormac and featuring guest speakers, Dr Peter Moore (Curator of Collections and Interiors at Audley End & Wrest Park) and Eleanor Matthews (Curator of Collections and Interiors for South Yorkshire, North Midlands and Lancashire).
- 'Jean Charles de Menezes: Mediation, Memory, Adaptation and Beyond' (15 May 2025), led by Dr Fernanda Amaral in connection with the Dissent, Protest and Storytelling strand
- Sensitive Histories Workshop 2: Contextualising Cultural Heritage (28 March 2025), led by Dr Jo Cormac
- 'Interdisciplinary Approaches to Rural Experiences' (19 March 2025), led by Professor Sarah Badcock and featuring guest speaker, Professor Jennifer Keating (University College Dublin), in connection with the Landscape, Environment and Sustainable Travel strand
- 'From Columbus to the Climate Crisis': Book launch with Dr Tao Leigh Goffe (CUNY) in conversation with Dr Victoria Okoye (University of Edinburgh) (3 March 2025). Led by Dr Hannah Thuraisingam Robbins and Dr Nathan Richards, Centre for Black Studies, and the Five Leaves Bookshop
- 'River and Society in Northern Italy': Book launch with Dr Marco Panato in conversation with AUP editors Dr Erin Thomas Dailey and Dr Chris Heath, Professor Ross Balzaretti and Professor Chris Loveluck (8 November 2024). Led by Dr Marco Panato in connection with the Landscape, Environment and Sustainable Travel strand
- Sensitive Histories Workshop 1: Contextualising Cultural Heritage (5 November 2024), led by Dr Jo Cormac
Contact us
For general queries about the cluster or to get involved, please contact Dr Tania Cleaves, Research Development Manager, Faculty of Arts.