ENCATC Research Award 2020

Dr. Ali FitzGibbon, for her doctoral thesis: “The Artist in the Room: An investigation of the independent artist as stakeholder in the decision-making of subsidised theatre in the UK”, obtained from Queen’s University Belfast in the United Kingdom.

Dr Ali FitzGibbon is a researcher in management, leadership and cultural labour within the arts and cultural industries. Her interests lie in transdisciplinary research in decision-making in the creative economy and the role of freelance artists. She is currently Subject Lead for Arts Management and Cultural Policy at Queen’s University Belfast. She has over 25 years’ experience as a producer and programmer in international arts, theatre and festivals. She is on the editorial board of the Irish Journal of Arts Management and Cultural Policy. Her research has been published in a number of academic journals. She regularly works as a policy and strategic advisor at city and regional government levels on cultural strategies, artform policy. Most recently, on a post-COVID-19 cultural recovery strategy for Northern Ireland. She is currently a Co-Investigator on two projects investigating the impact of COVID-19 on freelance arts workers variously in the UK, Ireland and Greece.

Dr. Eman Kandil, doctoral thesis: “The EcoMuseums: An Approach for the Preservation of Heritage Attributes in Egypt’s Historic Urbanism” obtained from the Menoufia University in Egypt.

Eman Kandil is an Egyptian architect, heritage activist and academician. She is a lecturer of architecture at the High Institute of Engineering and Technology in Menoufia, Egypt and at several other academic institutions in the Egyptian Nile Delta. She received her Bachelor of Architectural Engineering and her M.Sc. degree in Architecture from Menoufia University, Egypt. Her 2014 master thesis was on exploring the attributes of “beauty” entailed in the built fabric of the Nubian historic settlements; a study that remains a key reference on the subject. Her Ph.D. dissertation she submitted to Menoufia University in 2020, explores the dichotomy in the international urban conservation approaches, more specifically those of the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) and the Ecomuseums, and proposes a comprehensive framework suitable for Egypt and other parts of the Arab Region. She practices architectural design and heritage conservation in various areas in Egypt. Her researches and practices aim to help regenerating traditional areas by accentuating their attributes of cultural values and identities those worth of preserving in their contemporary contexts.

Dr. Anastasiia Sedova, doctoral thesis: “Spaces ‘Out of Religious Use’ and ecclesiastic architecture as marketable real estate assets: A potential solution for Russia’s abandoned religious heritage artifacts” obtained from the Politecnico di Milano in Italy.

Anastasiia Sedova is Assistant Professor for the Department of Architecture and Director of the educational program in Building Design at Izhevsk State Technical University (Russia), where she is also a member of the Council of Young Scientists. She holds a PhD in Architectural Technology at the Polytechnic University of Milan (Italy) and was awarded the title of Doctor Europaeus. Her PhD thesis “Spaces ‘Out of Religious Use’ and Ecclesiastic Architecture as Marketable Real Estate Assets. A Potential Solution for Russia’s Abandoned Religious Heritage Artifacts” makes an important contribution to the decision making process with regard to the future of abandoned and obsolete ecclesiastical cultural heritage typologies, both in Russia and internationally. During her PhD path she has been visiting researcher in Technological University Dublin (Ireland), Moscow State University of Civil Engineering (Russia), and Burgundy School of Business (France). Anastasiia is a certified consultant in sustainable architecture (issued by DGNB), and she has expertise in project management (issued by IPMA Italy).