Pronouns: she/hers

Lecturer in Museum Education

Acting Depute Lead for CLIP RTG

I am a digital humanities expert, specialising in the connections between people and place via the process of heritage and interrogating the potential of creative practice and digital technologies to this end.

I have a background working in the cultural heritage sector, as a curator and as a specialist in digital technology implementation for museums, libraries, archives and art galleries.

I work with locally focused arts and culture organisations, often adopting a participatory action research approach, and am interested in supporting the implementation of co-designed interventions for engaging with archaeology and heritage and in challenging recognition of impact in the arts and humanities.

I have several years’ experience in field archaeology focusing particularly on the relationship between archaeological research, creative practice, and public consumption of the past within the context of the Anthropocene. I have been involved in exhibition design, staging, and evaluation for cultural heritage since 2004.

Researcher unique identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7756-5347

Zoom Office: https://uofglasgow.zoom.us/my/drnicolesmith

See Research Interests below for more information.

Co-lead for Clippings (CLIP RTG events programme): https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/education/research/clip/clippings/

I am the Depute Lead for CLIP RTG for Semester 1 2023/24: https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/education/research/clip/

My most recent work focuses on the development of participatory methodologies for community archaeology and museums. I make connections between people and place, developing methodological approaches to expressing the relationship between nature and culture with a focus on people and landscape.

I'm currently developing an evaluation toolkit for the Dear Green Bothy project here at the University of Glasgow, examining how we can tell stories about the impact of arts programming on engaging with arts and humanities research and its potential impact on the climate debate.

I am working on the Digital Narratives in Archaeology Research (DiNAR) project, developing co-design approaches to university-museum partnership working, part of the Digital Cultural Heritage ArtsLab. We have made and evaluated two exhibits; an AR storytelling experience at York Castle Museum, and an interactive VR experience at Yorkshire Museum as part of the British Museum and York Museums Trust exhibition, Viking: Rediscover the Legend. I am working with partners from several cultural heritage organisations and higher education institutions, including Scottish organisations, to design and implement impact activities that use experimental, practice-led approaches from this research.

I am currently part of an AHRC network (led by Central St. Martin's) investigating the potential of creative practice for co-designed digitisation of museum held objects with Indigenous communities. I have recently finished an English Heritage (Historic England) funded project investigating community heritage recording of death landscapes, with a focus on place-making and storytelling. As part of this work, I co-designed tools for use by community groups to record, analyse, and interpret archaeological material culture. In 2016-8, I worked on a high impact project with the National Trust and Durham University to roll-out guidelines for embedding archaeological practice into interpretation and programming at outdoor heritage sites across England and Wales.

I am Evaluation Lead for the College of Arts Dear Green Bothy programme - https://deargreenbothy.gla.ac.uk/about/

Researcher unique identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7756-5347

I am a member of the UKRI Early Career Researcher Network and am a Peer Review College member for the UKRI AHRC.

List by: Type | Date

Current Research Projects

2023    [Co-I] The Storied Land: Community Co-Authorship & Landscape Scale Immersive Digital Storytelling, AHRC IAA, University of Glasgow and National Trust Scotland

2021-2022           [Evaluation Lead] The Dear Green Bothy, College of Arts, University of Glasgow

2019-2023             [Named network participant] Concepts Have Teeth, And Teeth That Bite Through Time: digital imaging and Blackfoot material culture in UK museums, AHRC Network - Partners: Blackfoot Knowledge Holders, Central St Martins, National Museums Scotland; University Museums - University of Aberdeen; University of Lethbridge Art Gallery; University of Southampton; Winchester School of Art; University of Glasgow (PI Louisa Minkin, Central St. Martins)

2017-ongoing             [Named researcher] DiNAR: Within the Walls of York Gaol, AHRC Immersive Experiences (£75,000) – Partners: University of Glasgow, York Museums Trust

2017-2021             [PI] Discovering England’s Burial Spaces (DEBS), Historic England (£74,300) – Partners: Archaeology Data Service, Historic England, ChurchCare, Caring for God’s Acre, community groups

2017-2018 Co-I – Inhabit: Data, Immersion and Archaeological Practice

Design project, Digital Creativity Labs, University of York, POSTGLACIAL project (Star Carr), Goldsmiths University (Co-I awarded Creativity Research Priming, University of York, February 2018 £5,140). Aim: Investigating the potential of emerging forms of immersive technology and media to facilitate new interactions between archaeologists and spatial data. Outputs: Workshop in June 2018, three proof-of-concept VR experiences. Planned paper CHI 2019.

2017-2018: Named postdoc - Within the Walls of York Gaol (DiNar sub-project)

Partnership project, Department of Archaeology and Digital Creativity Labs, University of York with York Castle Museum, York Museums Trust (Named postdoc awarded AHRC Immersive Experiences £59,000). Aim: Development of methodology for cultural heritage sector to commission digital interpretation. Outputs: Case study - Virtual reality use in re-development work for York Castle Museum.

2016-2017: Named postdoc - Digital Narratives for Heritage (DiNar)

Networking project, developing projects with multiple partners (Co-I Culture and Communication Pump Priming Fund £2,477; Named postdoc Centre for Digital Heritage York Priming Fund £5,000). Aim: Examining potential of virtual and augmented narratives for cultural heritage. Outputs: Proof of concept projects with multiple partners, including York Museums Trust (Named postdoc AHRC Immersive Experiences £59,000); BBC, English Heritage, Cadw, Historic Environment Scotland (PI on AHRC Research Networking application in preparation), Uppsala University, digital SME Disir (ongoing collaboration), impact project with WEAVER Project (AHRC AH/N00356X/1), publications in preparation.

2016-2017: Co-I – VikingVR (DiNar sub-project)

Partnership project, DCLabs University of York with Yorkshire Museum, York Museums Trust (Co-I EPRSC Impact Accelerator York £23,030). Aim: Proof-of-concept project for virtual reality to present archaeological data to public audience. Outputs: Case study - Development of virtual reality room and engagement programme within British Museum and York Museums Trust ‘Viking: Rediscover the Legend’ travelling exhibition (May 2017-November 2019), several publications in preparation.

2016-2018: Co-I - Identifying and Communicating the ‘wows’ of archaeology outdoors

Aims: Identifying and communicating the ‘wows’ of archaeology outdoors for implementation of new methodology for interpretation at outdoor sites. Outputs: Durham University REF impact case study project, exhibition, evaluation programme, guidelines, white paper. Partners: National Trust, Council for British Archaeology (PI Durham University Research Impact Fund £7,500).

2012-2020: Co-Director - Basing House Project

Partnering with Hampshire Cultural Trust and University of Southampton. Aim: Research project at Basing House and in village of Old Basing and environs, focus on Civil War legacy. Community archaeology and student training survey and excavation (Co-Director for four field seasons, Fieldwork Fund University of Southampton £13,500). Outputs: Several publications, several exhibitions, artists-in-residence schemes. Currently planning season five in 2018. 2007-pres.: Co-Director - Re-reading the British Memorial Project Several community group partners across UK (PI Southampton Digital Humanities award £500, funding from individual community projects, predominately HLF). Aim: Community archaeology project. Co-design research to develop a methodology for low-cost digital technology use for graveyard and cemetery recording. Outputs: Several publications, conference papers, invited seminars.

Previous projects

2013-2014: Co-I – Computational Photography for Rock and Cave Art

Aim: Research to develop methods and methodology for cave and rock art recording, dissemination, and interpretation. Outputs: Several sub-projects, including Geodesic RTI Dome with BioArch University of York, Electronics and Computer Science University of Southampton (Co-I Creativity Pump Priming, University of York); Runic Network with Historic Environment Scotland, Uppsala University, University of Aarhus (Co-I Centre for Digital Heritage Priming Fund); Rock Art and Cave Art Research Network with Durham University, Altamira Museum, El Castillo Cave, Foz Côa, Creswell Crags Museum (Named researcher British Academy Small Research Fund); Computational Photography for First Nations Petroglyph Recording with Simon Fraser University, University of British Columbia (Co-I World Universities Network). Publication in preparation.

Completed Research Projects

2019                       [PI with Paul Gooding] Digital archives, collections & creativity research cluster, ArtsLab, University of Glasgow (£975) - postponed due to maternity leave

2019                       [Co-I with Michael Given] Framing heritage through play: Gameful design for place-making in urban environments, SGSAH AHRC Creative Economy Engagement Fellow (6-month fellowship) – Partners: Glasgow School of Art, Edinburgh World Heritage

2018                       [Co-I] Inhabit: Data, Immersion and Archaeological Practice, Creativity Research Priming, University of York, February 2018 (£5,140) – Partners: Digital Creativity Labs, POSTGLACIAL project (Star Carr), Goldsmiths

2016                       [Co-I] Digital Narratives for Archaeological Data (DiNar), Culture and Communication Pump Priming Fund (£2,477) – Partners: York Museums Trust

2016                       [Named researcher] Realising the Impact of VR for Heritage and Culture, EPRSC Impact Accelerator York (£23,030) – Partners: Yorkshire Museum, York Museums Trust

2016                       [Co-I] Mixed reality and game dynamics for the interpretation of cultural heritage, Centre for Digital Heritage Priming Fund (£5,000) – Partners: Uppsala University

2016                       [Co-I] Geodesic RTI Dome, Creativity Pump Priming, University of York (£5,000) – Partners: BioArch University of York, Electronics and Computer Science University of Southampton

2015-2017            [Co-I] Runic Network, Centre for Digital Heritage Priming Fund (£4,000) – Partners: Historic Environment Scotland (Maeshowe), Uppsala University, Moesgaard Museum, University of Aarhus

2014                       [Named researcher] Rock Art and Cave Art Research Network, British Academy Small Research Fund [PI Alistair Pike, University of Southampton] (£10,000) – Partners: Durham University, Altamira Museum, El Castillo Cave, Foz Côa, Creswell Crags Museum

2014                       [PI] Stories from Bones: Facilitating Public Interactions with Digitised Osteo-archaeology Datasets, Public Engagement Development Fund Award, Research and Development & Graduate Centre (£7,000) – Partners: Hampshire Cultural Trust, Bioengineering Research Group

2013-2014            [Co-I] 'Rock Art Land- and Sea-scapes': Computational Photography for First Nations Petroglyph Recording, World Universities Network (£10,000) – Partners: Simon Fraser University, University of British Columbia

2012-2017            [PI] Basing House Research Project, University of Southampton (£4,500, £5,000, £4,000)

2012-2017            [PI] Re-reading the British Memorial Project, Southampton Digital Humanities award, University of Southampton (£500)

Current supervision:

Amber Kai Watts: Processing Analog Archives Remotely

Olivia Sebastian: When Audiences Curate

Supervision topics:

I am interested in supervising topics in the following:

• Community archives
• Design thinking for heritage
• Lifelong learning and museums
• Anthropocene - Material culture and memory practices
• Place-making
• Participatory action research and practice research
• Working with communities – cultural heritage
• Visitor studies and evaluation
• Online collections management and public use / Digitisation of GLAM collections
• Creative practice and heritage
• Exhibitions design - co-design practices
• Cultural heritage and crowdsourcing
• Social media for cultural heritage
• Human computer interaction – in particular, design methods
• VR/AR for outdoor heritage sites
• Computational photography (inc. RTI, multi spectral imaging, etc.)
• Sensory experiences of heritage
• Digital narratives (non-linear storytelling)
• Heritage policy making and consultation/collaboration/co-design

Please do contact me via email if you would like to discuss undertaking a PhD in any of the above areas.

• Sebastian, Olivia
  When Audiences Curate
• Watts, Amber Kai
  Processing Analog Archives Remotely: Augmenting the Practicum Experience for Underserved Students

Past supervision:

Cassy Kist: Communicating Through Digital Artifacts on Social Media (with Glasgow Life)

I lead courses for MSc Museum Education, MSc Museum Education (Online), and International Masters (IntM) in Education, Museums and Heritage.

Grant committees & research advisory boards

• : AHRC Peer Review College, 2022

Co-lead for Clippings (CLIP RTG events programme): https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/education/research/clip/clippings/

Depute Lead for CLIP RTG (Acting).

I am a member of the School of Education Ethics Committee.