Soria-Donlan

Profile

I am the Project Manager of ‘Changing the Story: Building inclusive civil societies with and for young people in post-conflict settings’, an AHRC GCRF Network Plus project based at University of Leeds. I joined University of Leeds in 2016 as Research and Project Officer on the AHRC project Voicing Hidden Histories: Historical Drama as a Tool for International Development and Community Empowerment’. Both research projects are led by Professor. Paul Cooke. Together with Prof. Cooke, I co-edited a forthcoming book entitled “Participatory Research in International Development”, scheduled for release in late 2019.

An advocate for the freedom to create and experience art as a right for all, I have worked across the academic, cultural and creative sectors since 2008 as a producer, project manager, creative practitioner and researcher, with a continual focus on youth, diversity and arts-led participation. I completed an MA in French Cultural Studies in 2010 and a PGDip in Arts Management, Policy & Practice in 2013. In addition to roles at British Council, Contact Theatre and South Asian Arts UK, amongst others, I spent five years at the multi-award winning In Place of War, supporting artists and activists living in sites of conflict to build vibrant creative networks across the world. I am particularly interested in the relationship between researchers, grassroots arts organisations and young people, and the impact that such relationships can bring to social change when nurtured.

In addition to my role at University of Leeds, I am also a semi-professional musician as one-third of The Bobbysocks, and sit on the International Advisory Board of Mobile Arts for Peace, an international youth, arts and education project led by Prof. Ananda Breed at University of Lincoln. 

Qualifications

• BA(Hons) French and Linguistics
• MA French Cultural Studies
• PGDip Arts Management, Policy and Practice