Jo Pilcher

My supervisory interests cover a breadth of subject areas within textiles, fashion, design and craft. I am interested in research that explores embodied experience in both making and interacting with material culture in contemporary contexts. I have a particular interest in work that considers the politics of making and creating in postcolonial contexts. Please feel free to get in touch to discuss any doctoral project ideas.

My research focuses on postcolonial making practices, considering the relationships between people, place and object.

I initially completed a degree in Fine Art at University of Leeds before turning towards Design History for my MA at Royal College of Art/Victoria and Albert Museum and PhD at University of Brighton. While I do not consider myself a practitioner any longer, making forms a central part of my research: I am deeply interested in the relationship between maker and their making process, often experimenting with the materials the people I am researching use in order to gain some tacit knowledges of their making processes.

I am a Senior Lecturer, delivering Design History (Historical, Critical and Cultural Studies) to the 3D Design & Craft and Illustration degrees. I am committed to using decolonising approaches in my teaching practices, both in the material that I teach and the ways students are engaged with those materials.