Dr Bob Whalley

Biography

Joanne 'Bob' Whalley serves as the Director of Doctoral Training and Development in the Doctoral School at University of the Arts London UK, where she leads the development and delivery of a cohesive, cross-university doctoral training and development programme. Recognised internationally as a leading figure in the field of practice as research, Bob has dedicated over twenty years to guiding and supporting students at undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral levels, across the diverse spectrum of contemporary arts. As a fervent advocate for the artist-researcher's journey, she considers herself to be an artivist (artist + activist) teacher with a student-centred practice.

Throughout her career, she has consistently demonstrated a commitment to examining the role of collaboration in the process of knowledge creation. Her pioneering approach to the creation of knowledge builds from the significant milestone of completing the first jointly authored practice as research PhD within a UK arts discipline. Completed in 2004, and undertaken in collaboration with her research partner, Professor Lee Miller (Head of Postgraduate Research at Falmouth University UK), this has led to an academic career that has attended to both rigour and innovation.

As practitioner-scholar, Bob's research is situated at the intersection of a variety of disciplines, with a specific focus on the affective space that exists between the audience and the artwork. Her publications and practice are similarly interdisciplinary, exploring topics including practice as research, the dynamics of audience-performer interaction, and the medical humanities. Her most recent work considers the potential for affective exchange in extended reality, and interrogates the assumed centrality of the human-animal subject.

Before her tenure at UAL, Bob has held positions in numerous UK Universities, overseeing undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. Beyond her academic contributions, she has been instrumental in sculpting best practices in her field. This is evident through her role as an external examiner across the UK and her collaborative endeavours with universities and research entities in Finland, Portugal, and Sweden.