Dr Haili Ma
- Position: Associate Professor in Chinese Performance and Creative Economy
- Areas of expertise: Chinese Theatre; Intangible Cultural Heritage; Cultural and Creative Industries; Digital Performance and Creative Economy.
- Email: H.Ma2@leeds.ac.uk
- Phone: +44(0)113 343 9847
- Location: 1.04 stage@leeds
Profile
I am Associate Professor in Chinese Performance and Creative Economy with research interest focused on the artistic evolution of intangible cultural heritage in the digital era, and their contribution to sustainable socio-economic development.
Before coming to the UK in 1997, I was a member of the Shanghai Luwan All-Female Yueju Company (Luwan Yueju Tuan), specializing in male role (xiaosheng). I continued to perform and produce whilst pursuing my academic career. I am currently the Principle Investigator of three research projects, funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC): Creative Economy in China Newton Grant: Ghost in M50 Host (2018-2021), UK-China Creative Industries Partnership Development Grant: Bridging the Gaps (2020-2023) and Song of the Female Textile Workers, UK-China Digital Connectivity (2021). Each project takes Shanghai All-Female Yueju, a rural sing-song form turned popular Shanghai music theatre through the patronage of Shanghai female textile workers, as a case study to examine commonalities of UK-China post-industrial socio-economic conditions, whilst testing UK-China joint digital theatre productions and audience engagement.
I am the author of Urban Politics and Cultural Capital, the case of Chinese opera (Routledge 2016) and Understanding Cultural and Creative Industries through Chinese opera (Palgrave Macmillan forthcoming).
Responsibilities
- International Director
- Programme Director: MA Global Performance and Cultural Industries
Research interests
Chinese Theatre
Intangible Cultural Heritage
Cultural and Creative Industries
Digital Performance and Creative Economy- 2020-2023, AHRC UK-China Creative Partnership Development Fund. Principal Investigator. Research topic: Bridging the Gaps: mixed reality performance of Chinese opera in rural and urban Shanghai. Grant value: £1,632k (£500kAHRC+£1,132k from project partners).
- 2019, AHRC UK-China Creative Industries Partnership Development Fund. Principal Investigator. Research topic: 2019 Bridging the Gaps: mixed reality performance of Chinese Opera in Shanghai’s rural and urban heritage sites. Grant value: £59,700 (£24,800AHRC+£34,900 from project partners).
- 2018-2021, AHRC Creative Economy in China Newton Fund. Principal Investigator, in collaboration with Exeter University and Shanghai Theatre Academy (STA). Research topic: Popular performance for new urban audiences: reconnecting M50 creative cluster with Shanghai All-Female Yue Opera/Ghost in M50 Host. Grant value: £1,157k (246kAHRC+237kSTA+£690k from project partners)
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2018, ESRC Wales Doctoral Training. Lead Applicant, in partnership with Arts Council of Wales. Research topic: Sino-Wales cultural policy evaluation since the 2005 UNESCO convention. Grant recieved: £70k.
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2017-2018, National Natural Science Foundation of China. Principal Investigator. Research topic: Shenzhen Creative Class and Sustainable City Development. Grant received: £18k.
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2016, AHRC IPS Fellowship. Principal Investigator. Research topic: Chinese Cultural Economy, modern tradition, the case of Chinese opera. Grant received: £4,500.
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2015-2018, China National Social Science Major Research Funding. Co-investigator with Zhejiang University, China. Research topic: Basic Problems on Contemporary Aesthetics and Critical Theories. Grant received: £80k.
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2010, Shanghai Jiaotong University, China. Principal Investigator. Research topic: UK-China Cultural Dialogue. Grant received: £6k.
Selected invited keynotes, lectures and conference papers:
- 3rd December 2020, BEYOND Digital Future Conference, UK.
- 20th November 2020, Digital Economy in Global Era, UNESCO with Tong Ji University, Shanghai, China.
- 2nd-4thDecember 2019, UK-China Creative Partnership Development Forum, AHRC and UKRI, Shanghai, China.
- 4th-5thMarch 2019, Engaging the Parliament through Research, AHRC, London, UK.
- 6th-8thMarch 2018, Engaging with Government, Influence Cultural Policy through Research, AHRC and Institute of Government, London, UK.
- 25th-26thOctober 2017, Development through the Creative Economy in China, AHRC, RCUK, UNESCO Creative City, Shanghai, China.
- 18thMay 2017, The EU Global Challenge Forum – Ahead of the Curve, The Robert Bosch Academy and The German Commission for UNESCO, Berlin, Germany.
- 26thFebruary 2016, Culture and the Creative Economy in Global Context, Artists and Creativity, Chester University with UNESCO, UK.
- 8th May, 2015, Cultural Diversity and Equality at Global Cultural Economy Roundtable, The University of Warwick, UK.
- 29th-30th July, 2014, Re-inventing Tradition for the New Millennium, at the Cultural Economy Workshop hosted by Prato Monash University with UNESCO, Italy.
- 21st-23rd October, 2013, Chinese Opera: Folk Art and Mass Expression, at a workshop hosted by UNESCO: Cultural Economy, Sustainable Development and the Diversity of cultural Expressions, Shanghai Jiaotong University, China.
- Bridging The Gaps: Mixed Reality Performance of Chinese Opera in Rural and Urban Shanghai
- Development through the Creative Economy in China, reconnecting M50 creative cluster with Shanghai All-Female Yue Opera.
Qualifications
- 2007 – 2011, PhD, PCI, University of Leeds (full scholarship, Research Distinction)
- 2004 – 2005, MA in Asia Pacific Studies and Chinese Business, University of Leeds (full scholarship)
- 2001 – 2004, BA in English Literature with English Language, University of Salford (2:1)
Professional memberships
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- Member of the AHRC Peer Review College
Student education
I am the founder and director of MA Global Performance and Cultural Industries. The programme contextualises theories and practice of Theatre and Performance studies within the Cultural and Creative industries (CCIs) to critically examine what performance is and how it is produced and consumed within a variety of global-local and socio-political economic structures. Global performance in this context refers to both live and digital forms that are produced for educational and/or commercial purposes, with international audiences in mind. The programme will draw on interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary theories and research methodologies, such as theatre and performance studies, sociology and media studies. The programme equips the students with knowledge to either progress onto a research degree and/or pursue a career globally.
Research groups and institutes
- Centre for Cultural Policy