Phil Barber is a Lecturer in Fine Art and Access and Participation Lead for the School of Design and Creative Arts. He also works as an artist and researcher. Originally from Birmingham, he graduated from Birmingham School of Art’s MA programme in 2008, where he was awarded both the Mike Holland Award and the Ikon Gallery Prize. Phil has been lecturing in HE for 18 years. He is recognised as a Senior Fellow of the HEA.
His doctoral research at Bournemouth University explores the contemporary relationship between conspiracy, misinformation, masculine identities and performance through art practice. A chapter of this work appears in the 2022 Palgrave Handbook of Media & Misinformation, and related work has been presented through exhibitions and other public-facing outputs, international conferences and guest lectures.
Phil has taught across all levels in HE, from degree to PhD, contributing not only to Fine Art but also to Film, Graphic Design, Photography, Politics and Media Studies. His work has included curriculum design, course development, validation, programme leadership and innovation in teaching and delivery. In 2021 he was recognised as a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. In 2022 he was the recipient of a Loughborough University Teaching Innovation award.
Phil has exhibited nationally, with work shown at venues and festivals including New Generation Art Festival, Flatpack Festival and Grand Union, amongst others. Working often with video, film, projection and new technologies, his practice explores contemporary culture, media and representation. Alongside this, he has directed a number of music videos and has also worked with the BBC through its Vision Intake Pool on projects including the 2010 Electoral Debates and programme concept development.
As Access and Participation Lead for the School of Design and Creative Arts, Phil’s work focuses on supporting equitable access, inclusion, participation and student success across the school, with a particular interest in helping students navigate and thrive within creative education.
Phil has taught in higher education for 18 years across Levels 4 to 8, with experience spanning Fine Art, Film, Graphic Design, Photography, Politics and Media Studies. Alongside teaching, he has devised, written and validated a number of higher education courses, and has contributed to curriculum development, programme leadership and innovation in delivery. He is a module leader, personal tutor and lecturer primarily on the BA Fine Art degree.
He has also worked with partner institutions to develop degrees in Professional Arts Practice and Creative Film. In 2021 he was recognised as a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, reflecting his contribution to teaching, curriculum design and higher education practice. In 2022 he was the recipient of a Loughborough University Teaching Innovation award.
As Access and Participation Lead for the School of Design and Creative Arts, Phil’s work focuses on supporting equitable access, inclusion, participation and student success across the school, with a particular interest in helping students navigate and thrive within creative education.
Phil’s research explores the relationship between conspiracy, misinformation, masculine identities and performance, using art practice as a means of critical enquiry. Situated across contemporary art, moving image and media culture, his work examines the aesthetic, affective and political dimensions of belief in the present moment.
His doctoral research at Bournemouth University in the Centre for Excellence in Media Practice has developed this inquiry through practice-based methods, exploring how contemporary political subjectivities are shaped through media, fantasy, identity and performance. A chapter of this work appears in the 2022 Palgrave Handbook of Media & Misinformation, and related work has been presented through exhibitions and other public-facing outputs, international conferences and guest lectures.
Phil welcomes applications from PhD researchers in Fine Art interested in practice-based enquiry, particularly where art practice can illuminate and interrogate social, political and cultural conditions that are difficult to access through conventional research methodologies alone.
Current PhD Supervisions:
- Qingyang Sun: Can art reconfigure memory and identity across cross-cultural and postcolonial contexts?