Dr. Haili Ma
- Position: Associate Professor in Performance and Creative Economy, International Director
- Areas of expertise: Intangible cultural heritage/Chinese opera; Chinese cultural and creative industries/cultural policy; Creative economy in global contexts
- Email: H.Ma2@leeds.ac.uk
- Phone: +44(0)113 343 9847
- Location: 1.04 stage@leeds
Profile
My research focuses on Intangible cultural heritage/Chinese opera, Chinese cultural and creative industries, cultural policy and creative economy in global contexts. I am particularly interested in the evolution of traditional art forms and the distinctive role of artists in generating sustainable political socio-economic development.
Before coming to the UK in 1997, I was a member of the Shanghai Luwan All-Female Yue Opera Company, specializing in Xiaosheng (male role). I have continued to perform and produce whilst I pursue my academic career: between 2006-2007 I conceived and performed the lead character Song in Dis-Orientation, at Riverside Studios, Hammersmith, London in collaboration with Shanghai Yue Opera House; I sang Chinese opera and fused it with international musicians from Congo, Brazil, Iran, Pakistan and Palestine at the 2007 Manchester International Festival, which received a 5 out of 5 review; in 2012, I co-produced one section of the Manchester Carnival Parade, fusing Chinese opera movements with Maculele dance. I completed a PhD at the School of Performance and Cultural Industries, University of Leeds, in 2011, with Research Distinction.
I am the Principle Investigator of two AHRC UK-China creative industry grants: AHRC UK-China creative economy Newton grant (2018-2021) and AHRC UK-China creative cluster development grant (2019), leading a team of research institutions and industrial partners for international collaborations including Opera North, Slung Low, Leeds Play House, SME digital media companies in the UK and Shanghai Yue Opera House, Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre, Shanghai Media Group and Shanghai Pudong Municipal Government in China.
I am currently completing a monograph Understanding Cultural and Creative Industries through Chinese Opera, contracted by Palgrave Macmillan Publisher.
Responsibilities
- International Director
Research interests
Intangible cultural heritage/Chinese opera
Chinese cultural and creative industries, cultural policy
Performance and Creative economy in global contexts- 2018-2021, AHRC Creative Economy Newton Fund. Principal Investigator, in collaboration with Exeter University and Shanghai Theatre Academy (STA). Research topic: Creative Economy Development in China ‘Popular performance for new urban audiences: reconnecting M50 creative cluster with Shanghai All-Female Yue Opera’. Grant value: £1,157k (230kAHRC+237kSTA+£690k from project partners) http://cyxy.sta.edu.cn/zycyxm/list.htm
- 2019, AHRC UK-China Creative Industries Partnership Development Fund. Principal Investigator. Research topic: Bridging the Gaps - mixed reality performance of Chinese Opera in Shanghai’s rural and urban heritage sites. Grant value: £59,7000 (£24,800AHRC+£34,900 from project partners).
-
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.
-
2017-2018, National Natural Science Foundation of China. Principal Investigator. Research topic: Shenzhen Creative Class and Sustainable City Development. Grant received: £18k.
-
2016, AHRC IPS Fellowship. Principal Investigator. Research topic: Chinese Cultural Economy, modern tradition, the case of Chinese opera. Grant received: £4,500.
-
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.
-
2010, Shanghai Jiaotong University, China. Principal Investigator. Research topic: UK-China Cultural Dialogue. Grant received: £6k.
Selected invited keynotes, lectures and conference papers:
- 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.
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
- Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy
Student education
I teach across BA and MA programmes.
Research groups and institutes
- Centre for Cultural Policy