The Guildhall School and Barbican Centre are delighted to announce Stefania Donini as the recipient of a new doctoral studentship, to undertake a project focusing on the changing role of arts centres.

As part of the ongoing development of the research degree programme at the Guildhall School, this unique fully-funded studentship offers the opportunity to work full-time for three years on a research project at the Barbican. The initiative complements the School’s existing doctoral studentship in association with the Royal Opera House, and builds on the longstanding partnership between the Barbican and the Guildhall School. The project will be supervised by a team which includes senior staff from the Guildhall School and the Barbican and is supported by research training and seminars.

The project will focus on understanding audiences, with Donini’s research addressing the changing role of arts centres against the backdrop of current social and political dynamics. It will investigate how ‘audience experience’ and ‘cultural branding’ models are produced through public programming and engagement strategies, using the Barbican Centre as a case study to outline challenges and opportunities for institutional change. The outcomes of this doctoral research will help inform future strategies and policies at both the Barbican and Guildhall School. One particular focus will be on how audiences can actively collaborate in shaping the spaces – both physical and virtual – and practices of the institution.