Networks
The Centre’s networks connect and sustain researchers and professionals engaging with British art across an array of contexts, including museums, galleries, heritage, art spaces and live and online programmes as well as academic studies. Reflecting our commitment to champion new ways of understanding British art history and culture, our networks are designed to foster knowledge sharing; create spaces for people to experiment, inquire and grow professionally; and help develop an expanded sense of community in the sector. The Centre supports three ongoing networks: the Doctoral Researchers Network (DRN), the Early Career Researchers Network (ECRN) and the British Art Network (BAN), which focuses on curatorial practice and theory. The Networks team also organises two programmes aimed at developing relevant skills and knowledge: ‘British Art in Motion’, which provides training and mentoring for a selected group of undergraduate students leading to the production of short films on British art, as well as the ‘Art Trade Forum’, which brings together emerging researchers and professionals for a series of behind-the-scenes tours and talks during London Art Week. The team is additionally responsible for delivering the programme of Drawing Room Displays at the Centre, with three new displays in 2022–23 exploring themes reflected in the Archives & Library collections and the history of the Centre and its home at no. 16 Bedford Square. The strategic development and programming of the individual networks are led by Convenors. In 2022–23, the DRN was led by Co-Convenors Claudio di Tosta (University of Warwick) and Lauren Houlton (University of Westminster), and the ECRN by Co-Convenors Nick Mols (Cardiff University) and Alex Gushurst-Moore (University of Cambridge). Along with individual programmes of events exploring research skills, funding and professional development questions, both groups organised exhibition visits and worked together on the joint symposium ‘Expanding the Field: Rethinking Methodologies in British Art Research’. Featuring presentations from doctoral and emerging researchers in British art, the symposium was notable for exposing the intersections between practice-based and more established forms of 42
