Ms Malaika Cunningham
- Email: memec@leeds.ac.uk
Profile
I am a theatre practitioner and PhD candidate based in the School of Media and Communications at the University of Leeds. My research is part of the Centre for Understanding Sustainable Prosperity with Professor Kate Oakley and Dr Beth Johnson.
My research interests include: Theatre of the Oppressed, theatre, deliberative democracy, political engagement and neoliberalism.
My academic background is in Political Theory, having studied Politics and Philosophy up to MA level at the University of Sheffield.
I have subsequently worked at The Crick Centre as a research assistant on an AHRC funded project exploring the role of participatory arts in political engagement. Alongside my academic work I am an Artistic Director of The Bare Project theatre company. I am also a facilitator with Cardboard Citizens, and works with interactive arts company, Invisible Flock.
My publications include:
- Peer reviewed journal article: Co-authored with M. Flinders & M. Wood (May 2016) The politics of co-production: risks, limits and pollution.
- Evidence & Policy: A Journal of Research, Debate and Practice, 12(2), 261-279 http://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/tpp/ep/2016/00000012/00000002/art00007
- Conference Paper and Workshop Facilitator: Theatre of the Oppressed in Political Discourse. for ESRC Seminar Series on Civil Society Strategies for Democratic Renewal (Feb 2016) http://www.crickcentre.org/events/seminar-2-art-expression-and-democracy/
- Conference paper: Art as Politics: Participation, Expression and Innovation. presented at The Value of Arts Philosophy Conference, Sheffield University (June 2015) https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/philosophy/research/conferences/valuesofart
- Published report: co-authored with M. Flinders, Participatory Arts and Civic Engagement Project Report, AHRC Cultural Value Project (September 2014) http://www.crickcentre.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/AHRC_Cultural_Value.pdf
- Blog: Cunningham, M. (2014) ‘From STEM to STEAM: The potential for arts to facilitate innovation, literacy and participatory democracy’, LSE Impact Blog. Available at: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2014/03/14/stem-to-steam-creative-innovation