Sofia Cotrona began her AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership “The Social Impact of Co-curation and Participatory Practices in Large Museums” in September 2024 at Imperial War Museums and the University for the Creative Arts.
This project analyses the social impact that co-curating exhibitions with individuals systemically marginalised in museum’s narratives, workforces, and audiences may have on institutional practices in large organisations and the communities engaged. In the context of museums, co-curation sees staff and external participants contribute and benefit equitably from collaborative curatorial practices involving collections, interpretations and exhibition design. Using a mixed methodology, including participatory research and an analysis of museum policies and exhibition practices, Sofia presents an interdisciplinary research drawing from theories of cultural democracy and feminist curation.
Her primary focus is to critically analyse the opportunities and challenges of developing long-term co-curation strategies that advance an agenda of social justice valuable for marginalised communities in institutionalised cultural spaces. She also sets out to expand IWM social impact framework, contributing to the development of a collaborative evaluation strategy to measure the potential impact of co-curation.
Specifically exploring exhibition-making as relational practices mediating identity, cultural values, and power, Sofia will be embedded in a cross-departmental IWM team in London to investigate and support the co-curation and evaluation of a temporary exhibition set to open in 2027.