Art and interdisciplinary research Royal College of Art in United Kingdom

Postdoctoral Researcher
Department: Contemporary Art Practice, School of Arts & Humanities (SoAH)
Grade: 7, 0.4 FTE (2 days per week)
Duration: Fixed-term contract, until 31 August 2028

About the Royal College of Art

The Royal College of Art (RCA), founded in 1837, is the world’s leading art and design university, ranked number one globally in the QS World University Rankings by Subject for eleven consecutive years. With a distinguished history and an international community of over 2,800 postgraduate students, the RCA is recognised for its rigorous research environment, its impact across the arts, design, and culture, and its leadership in interdisciplinary education. The College is home to world-class researchers, practitioners, and innovators, with a strategic vision to address pressing global challenges through creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking.

About the Project

This AHRC-funded project Scoring Warnings (SW) mobilises artistic practices to interrogate the instructional mode of address in disaster preparedness. It examines crossovers between emergency communication and contemporary art to explore more inclusive, engaging, and effective ways of communicating risk. The project is a collaboration between RCA, UCL’s Warning Research Centre, GNDR (Global Network of Civil Society Organisations for Disaster Reduction), UAL’s CRiSAP (Creative Research into Sound Arts Practice), and other partners.

By drawing connections between historical and contemporary images, texts, and sounds from both risk communication (warnings) and contemporary art (scores), the project will establish a critical interdisciplinary framework. The outputs will include exhibitions, workshops, interviews, academic publications, and a film, engaging diverse communities and audiences in dialogue about risk and resilience.

The Role

We are seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Researcher to join the project team, working under the Principal Investigator, Dr Aura Satz, in the School of Arts & Humanities. The successful candidate will contribute to the design, delivery, and dissemination of project activities, while also developing their own research interests aligned with the project themes.

Key responsibilities include:

• Conducting rigorous and collaborative research, including literature reviews, interviews, and participatory workshops.

• Supporting the planning and delivery of workshops with project partners in varied contexts.

• Assisting in the development of project documentation, maintaining the project’s digital and social media presence, and contributing to the creation of a digital research archive.

• Writing reports, preparing outputs for academic and public dissemination, and contributing to exhibitions, screenings, and other events.

• Collaborating with team members and external partners across higher education, industry, and civil society.

• Upholding best practice in research conduct, ethics, and data management.

Person Specification

You will hold (or be very close to completing) a PhD in a relevant field such as sound studies, film, contemporary art, communication/media, cultural studies, participatory practices, or disaster/risk studies. You will bring:

• A proven interest in multidisciplinary approaches connecting art, sound, and social/political themes.

• Experience in contributing to projects, with strong organisational and resource management skills.

• A track record of quality research outputs, ideally through practice-based methods.

• Strong collaborative and interpersonal skills, with flexibility and confidence to work across varied tasks.

• Excellent written, oral, and presentation skills, with ability to engage both specialist and non-specialist audiences.

• Experience in handling digital and social media content.

Desirable attributes include professional experience in related sectors (e.g. curating, NGOs), experience in collaborative HE/industry projects, or addressing issues such as aural diversity and access in artistic contexts.

What We Offer

• 27 days annual leave pro rata, plus extended breaks at Christmas and Easter

• A contributory defined benefit pension scheme

• Interest-free season ticket loan

• The opportunity to work as part of a leading research-intensive arts institution in a highly collaborative, interdisciplinary environment

RCA Benefits available here: https://www.rca.ac.uk/more/work-at-the-rca/staff-benefits/

The Royal College of Art (RCA)  aims to foster an inclusive culture which promotes equality, values diversity and maintains a working, learning and social environment in which the rights and dignity of all its staff and students and stakeholders are respected.

We recognise the broad range of experiences that a diverse staff and student body brings and how this  strengthens our research and enhances our teaching. In order for RCA to remain a world-leading institution we are committed to promoting equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) principles throughout all of our processes, from application through to appointment.

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