Creative Cambridge 2026

Dr Lucy Sheerman has worked in the School of Arts and Humanities at University of Cambridge since 2022, supporting researchers to develop external collaborations and partnerships. Prior to this she ran the Centre for Creative Writing at the University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education. Lucy has experience in the arts sector, fundraising and government relations. She is also a writer, publishing both creative and critical work. Her first degree is in English and she also has a PhD in English.

Emma is Commercialisation Director of DeepTech & Software in our Technology Development and Licensing team.

Emma develops technology licensing and venture creation projects, with a particular focus on early-stage software-based innovations. She works to connect researchers with industry, investors, and third-sector partners, allowing them to leverage their novel technologies to create impact at scale.

During her time at Cambridge Enterprise, Emma has supported the establishment of spin-out companies such as Trismik, Kalamna Global, Planarific and Thiscovery. She has overseen the licensing of data, software applications and research-based interventions to industry partners.

Emma is an advisory board member at the EU Impact Licensing Initiative and sits on the Governance Panel for ImpactU, the Research England funded capacity-building platform for social innovation in English universities.

Emma joined Cambridge Enterprise to develop a new business function in the humanities and social sciences, and in this capacity provided guidance and hands-on support to more than 500 researchers to help them navigate commercialisation pathways. Emma holds a PhD from the Faculty of English, University of Cambridge and was previously College Lecturer in Theology at Keble College, Oxford; Lecturer in English at Middlebury College; and a Progression Specialist at the social enterprise Causeway Education.

Sarah Wood is an artist-filmmaker, writer and curator. She gained early success with found-footage films before turning her attention to the meaning of archivisation and the politics of memory across five key works. All won film festival awards and were acquired by cultural institutions across the world. Another concern is migration – both the movement of displaced people and the migration of ideas via the situation that art creates.

Most recently her focus on the historical image has led to opportunities to respond to several filmmaker/artist archives – to explore how the site of art can model hospitality for the post-COVID landscape.

Idit is a Cambridge based conceptual artist, her work includes interactive installations, live events, games, audio visual works, walks and artists’ books where play operates as a productively provocative space to challenge audiences’ accepted understandings of contemporary dilemmas and conditions.

Her artworks have been presented across the UK as well as internationally. Collaborating with Helen Stratford as Play Anywhere Now or Never project the pair have been commissioned across the UK. Until 2020 Idit was associate lecturer at Central St. Martin’s College, where she completed an arts practice PhD. Idit initiated Cambridge Curiosity and Imagination in 2001 and is currently chair of Cambridge Artworks.

Ivan Collister is First Bursar and Fellow at King’s College, Cambridge. He was a senior civil servant in 10 Downing Street, amongst other roles, before his return to Cambridge in 2016.

Eleanor worked for the Mayor of London for 22 years where she championed the role of excellent design to enable successful regeneration and established sustainable places via strategy, planning, community collaboration and project delivery.

She was Head of Design at the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation, where she led the ambitious masterplan for a new urban district at Old Oak, with around 8,000 new homes and a major new town centre. Prior to joining the OPDC in 2016, Eleanor played a central role in the shaping and delivery of the Olympic Legacy as Head of Design at the LLDC, and prior to that at Design for London.

She is currently the Built Environment Fellow with the 1851 Royal Commission, where she is developing a strategic approach to embedding the places and infrastructure to help emerging communities thrive in the UK’s New Towns. She is also co-chair of the Greater Cambridge Design Review Panel and a member of Greenwich and Euston DRPs.

Dr Michal Gath-Morad is Assistant Professor at the University of Cambridge Department of Architecture and Fellow at Peterhouse. Trained as an architect and cognitive scientist (PhD, ETH Zürich), she directs the Cambridge Cognitive Architecture (CCA) group, where her team investigates how spatial configuration shapes psychophysiological and behavioral outcomes in high-stakes environments, from NHS emergency departments and cruise ships to analogue space stations. Her approach combines wearable sensing, computer vision, and cognitively grounded agent-based modelling with co-design and policy translation.

She holds an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship at TU Berlin and recently founded NeuroCīvitās, a Cambridge-wide initiative promoting mental and brain health through evidence-based and human-inspired design of the built environment.

Nema Hart is Director of South West and Inclusive Innovation at Arts Council England (ACE), the government‑funded body responsible for supporting creativity and cultural development across the country. Since joining ACE in 2003, she has held a range of influential national and regional roles, from managing strategic relationships with local government to leading international Art + Tech initiatives.

Nema splits her time between a national leadership role and regional responsibilities in the South West. Nationally, she leads ACE’s development work to support research, development, and innovation across the cultural sector; manages strategic relationships with higher education institutions and research councils; and leads ACE’s engagement with the Creative Industries Sector Plan.

In the South West, Nema works with regional teams, shapes place‑based development, and oversees strategic capital investment alongside making funding decisions, directly influencing cultural and creative development across the region.

Dr Cathy Kerfoot is Programme Director for Creative Industries at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). She is responsible for leading the delivery of UKRI’s £369m programme of investment in the Creative Industries, a portfolio which spans R&D, infrastructure, scale up, skills and policy and evidence.

Rosie Cooper is Director of Wysing Arts Centre, a contemporary arts residency centre and campus for artistic production, experimentation and learning in rural South Cambridgeshire with a national and international reputation. She has held this position since 2021.

This year, she led Wysing to complete a significant site-wide capital project based on access and environmental sustainability. Prior to that, she was Head of Exhibitions at the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea, where she led the organisation into an ambitious new phase of arts programming. She was previously Head of Programmes at Liverpool Biennial. In 2024, she served on the jury for the Turner Prize. She is also Chair of the Home Live Art board, and Co-Lead of Create Cambridge.

Zhuozhang Li completed his PhD on grassroots urbanism and Hong Kong cinema at the Centre for Architecture and the Visual Arts, Liverpool, in 2021. He is currently a Research Associate at the University of Cambridge, where he works on the Cambridge Room project with local communities and groups.

Research Associate, Department of Architecture, University of CambridgeAlongside research and teaching, his curatorial and artistic practice includes ‘Location, Imagination and Transformation (Design Trust Hong Kong, 2025)’, ‘Planting and Placemaking (Metal Culture UK, 2024)’, ‘Traces Under the Surface (Beijing, 2023)’, and ‘Knowledge is Power (Tate Liverpool, 2020)’.

Sarah Wood is an artist-filmmaker, writer and curator. She gained early success with found-footage films before turning her attention to the meaning of archivisation and the politics of memory across five key works. All won film festival awards and were acquired by cultural institutions across the world. Another concern is migration – both the movement of displaced people and the migration of ideas via the situation that art creates.

Most recently her focus on the historical image has led to opportunities to respond to several filmmaker/artist archives – to explore how the site of art can model hospitality for the post-COVID landscape.

Idit is a Cambridge based conceptual artist, her work includes interactive installations, live events, games, audio visual works, walks and artists’ books where play operates as a productively provocative space to challenge audiences’ accepted understandings of contemporary dilemmas and conditions.

Her artworks have been presented across the UK as well as internationally. Collaborating with Helen Stratford as Play Anywhere Now or Never project the pair have been commissioned across the UK. Until 2020 Idit was associate lecturer at Central St. Martin’s College, where she completed an arts practice PhD. Idit initiated Cambridge Curiosity and Imagination in 2001 and is currently chair of Cambridge Artworks.

Dr Idrees Rasouli is Associate Professor of Design and Urban Innovation and Chair of DesignLab at Anglia Ruskin University, Co-Lead of Create Cambridge, Academician of the Academy of Urbanism, and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. A recognised leader in design-led innovation, he builds high-impact ecosystems that connect communities, academia, industry, and government to deliver mission-driven research and socio-economic impact.

As Faculty Lead for Academic and Industry Partnerships at ARU, he drives transnational, cross-sector collaboration, advancing transdisciplinary research excellence, civic engagement, and social inclusion.

His research examines how culturally informed, contextually grounded, and ecologically responsible design shapes innovation in cities, organisations, and communities facing resource constraints, with a focus on urban ecosystems, energy infrastructures, and spatial dynamics.

Elizabeth Donnelly is a senior executive specialising in governance, policy, and institutional leadership across membership bodies and trade associations. As former CEO of the Women’s Engineering Society, she led a financial and organisational turnaround, growing income, expanding membership, and modernising how the organisation operated. She now works across sectors on strategy and governance, with a particular interest in how institutions adapt to new technologies, including where AI exposes both potential and limits, especially for women.

Lena joined AVEVA in 2021 and is responsible for developing and delivering the company’s global inclusion and culture strategy and plan.  Lena was attracted to this role because she’s the first postholder and setting a direction of travel was appealing, and because it is spans 50 countries. Lena is leading a project to bring artworks into AVEVA’s new office.

Prior to this Lena spent twenty years with the British Council as Country Director/Cultural Attaché in several overseas postings (Argentina, Georgia, Kazakhstan & Kyrgyzstan, and Mexico). She has also worked as an Education Reform Specialist for the Department for International Development and the World Bank and as a volunteer with Voluntary Service Overseas, in Kenya.

She was awarded an MBE in 2017 for services to cultural relations.

Lena describes herself on LinkedIn in a word: ‘internationalist’.

Professor Ho Law is a researcher and psychology practitioner at the intersection of design and emerging technologies. Alongside Dr. Idrees Rasouli, they co-lead and co-author SageAI, a pioneering project focused on “Shaping Creativity x AI by Design” within the Cambridge-Peterborough region. Their work explores how human-centric AI can empower creative sectors and drive urban innovation. At the Creative Cambridge Conference, Professor Law will discuss the symbiotic relationship between art, technology, and the city, drawing on SageAI’s insights into fostering inclusive, tech-driven creative ecosystems.

Brgs is a chartered Architect and co-founder of NEUBAU (NOY-bow) Architecture and Objects. She has practiced architecture and urban design globally and in the UK for 2.5 decades and was a senior architect / researcher at OMA/AMO on award winning projects. She is editor-in-chief of ‘Stairs’ Elements of Architecture, Venice Biennale.

Recent work focuses on collaborative design which serves the creative community, such as the Underpass Project, a social enterprise in Cambridge. Brgs has experience with curating multi-disciplinary teams and has established strong relationships with local creatives consultants and the council and strives to promote creativity as a catalyst for social value, in theory and practice.

Rosie Cooper is Director of Wysing Arts Centre, a contemporary arts residency centre and campus for artistic production, experimentation and learning in rural South Cambridgeshire with a national and international reputation. She has held this position since 2021.

This year, she led Wysing to complete a significant site-wide capital project based on access and environmental sustainability. Prior to that, she was Head of Exhibitions at the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea, where she led the organisation into an ambitious new phase of arts programming. She was previously Head of Programmes at Liverpool Biennial. In 2024, she served on the jury for the Turner Prize. She is also Chair of the Home Live Art board, and Co-Lead of Create Cambridge.

Rachel Drury is a creative strategist and producer operating at the intersection of arts, technology, and academia. As the Co-Founder and Director of Collusion, she leads an experimental agency that fosters interdisciplinary collaboration to produce ground-breaking public artworks. Under her leadership, Collusion has become an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation (NPO), known for its ART // TECH // PLAY programme which bridges the gap between creative practice and emerging technologies like AI and data science.

Deeply embedded in the regional ecosystem, Rachel is Co-Lead for the Create Cambridge compact, a cross-sector partnership championing culture’s role in civic change and innovation. Rachel regularly collaborates with universities on major knowledge exchange initiatives such as the SHAPE programme with the University of Cambridge, which facilitates R&D between academics and artists to generate novel public outcomes. She has served as a Research Fellow with Norwich University of the Arts, sits on Anglia Ruskin University’s Creative Industries Advisory Board, and recently brokered a new innovation-focused collaboration between the culture sector and five HEIs across East Anglia. A specialist in place-making and sector development, she has served on several NPO boards and is a leading advocate for the growth and impact of the UK’s creative industries. Her work is informed by a 15-year tenure at Arts Council England, where as a Senior Manager she oversaw regional partnerships and large-scale strategic investments.