Burcu’s PhD research explores the role of Higher Education (HE)-based arts providers within cultural ecosystems, highlighting them as unique spaces where teaching, learning, research, and practice converge. She works closely with our team and engages with members of our creative community, including educators, executives, students, and practitioners, to observe and document Lincoln Art Centre & The Barbican Creative Hub’s journey towards their strategic visions. 

“I am thrilled to be joining the Lincoln Arts Centre and the Barbican to document their tenacious journey toward making a difference within the realm of the arts and cultural scene, regionally and nationally.” Burcu Guney Yilmaz 

The research in residence comes at a critical point in Lincoln Art Centre & Barbican Creative Hub’s journey. Coming towards the end of our first year as National Portfolio Organisations as part of the University of Lincoln, one of only 12 Universities to be awarded NPO status. As we begin to look forward to the 2024/2025 year of our NPO, Burcu, being a multi-disciplinary artist, writer and educator with a professional background in music and theatre, will help us cement the importance of academia within our buildings and the wider artistic landscape.  

“Having a researcher in residence, as part of the University of Lincoln’s Arts Council England NPO project, helps us to not only better align with our academic colleagues, but also go beyond the standard metrics to really measure the impact of the programme. We are really looking forward to having Burcu on board and sharing any best practice and findings with our wider network of creative and cultural entities working across Lincolnshire.” Sally Denton, Executive Director of Barbican Creative Hub 

We can’t wait for Burcu to get stuck into her research with us, and we’ll regularly update our audience, participants and the wider University on the great work she gets up to.