Dr. Ali FitzGibbon
Dr. Ali FitzGibbon was chosen as a finalist for the 2020 ENCATC Research Award for her PhD 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, educator, producer and consultant specialising in arts management, cultural policy and cultural labour. She joined Queen’s University Belfast full-time in 2019 and is now Senior Lecturer in Creative & Cultural Industries Management. She previously taught on the university’s MA in Arts Management and has over 25 years’ experience as a producer, programmer and consultant across theatre, festivals and multi-artform projects in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Her research explores cultural labour, precarity and inequality, decision-making, ethics, leadership and the role of artists in cultural organisations. She regularly contributes to policy and strategic work with arts organisations, public bodies and community and social-enterprise sectors. She is also Co-Director of the Cultural Policy Observatory Ireland and serves on the editorial board of the Irish Journal of Arts Management and Cultural Policy.
Dr. Eman Kandil
Eman Kandil was selected as a finalist for the 2020 ENCATC Research Award for her PhD 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 researcher and academic whose work focuses on the conservation and regeneration of historic environments. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architectural Engineering and an MSc in Architecture from Menoufia University. Her earlier research examined the architectural qualities and heritage attributes of historic Nubian settlements, while her doctoral research explored the relationship between Historic Urban Landscape approaches and ecomuseums as tools for heritage preservation in Egypt and the wider Arab region.
Her research and professional practice address cultural heritage, urban regeneration, community engagement and the preservation of local cultural identities. She has collaborated on research examining the regeneration of Egyptian rural heritage and, more recently, contributed to UNESCO’s University Heritage Forum project on Historic Cairo. Her recent publications also explore urban regeneration and the use of artificial intelligence in preserving historic urban character.
Dr. Anastasiia Sedova
Anastasiia Sedova was chosen as a finalist for the 2020 ENCATC Research Award for 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” obtained from the Politecnico di Milano in Italy.
Anastasiia Sedova is an architect, researcher and academic specialising in sustainable architecture, cultural heritage and the adaptive reuse of historic buildings. She holds a PhD in Architectural Technology from the Politecnico di Milano, where she was awarded the Doctor Europaeus title, and has undertaken research stays at institutions in Ireland, Russia and France.
Her research focuses on the transformation and reuse of obsolete heritage buildings, particularly ecclesiastical architecture, and on assessing the social, cultural and economic impacts of heritage adaptation. Her subsequent research has examined adaptive reuse and new uses for disused religious heritage.
Sedova has also worked in architectural education and project development. She has been an Assistant Professor at Izhevsk State Technical University and holds professional certifications in sustainable architecture from DGNB and project management from IPMA Italy.
