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Australian festival ecosystems

Project summary

Program
PhD
Location
St Lucia
Research area
Creative arts and writing

Project description

‘Mapping the International Arts Festival Network of Australia and Aotearoa’ is a DECRA project funded by the Australian Research Council that examines arts festival programming in Australia and Aotearoa using the AusStage and Theatre Aotearoa live performing arts databases to reveal trends and patterns in touring circuits and how these can be strengthened to better support the nations’ cultural health.

A PhD scholarship is being offered as part of this project to further explore festivals using a data-driven or data-assisted approach.

The DECRA project sits across Theatre and Performance Studies and digital humanities, but PhD pitches that sit either within these research disciplines or in aligned areas such as cultural geography, tourism and/or event management, cultural policy, arts economies or focus on disciplinary festivals such as books, film, music, or visual arts are welcomed.

Projects considered for this project will:

  • interrogate the role of festivals in cultural ecosystems
  • expand the remit of the project to consider different kinds of festivals, such as Indigenous, regional, community, and diverse art forms and practices
  • engage with interdisciplinary festival studies theories and/or
  • employ digital humanities methodologies to explore trends within festival data (this may also involve connecting with other cultural databases such as AustLit).

 

Research environment

The School of Communication and Arts is a large, multi-disciplinary unit with an international reputation for outstanding research and teaching that unites the disciplines of communication, journalism, writing, literature, art history, drama, film, television, and digital media. SCA staff combine academic scholarship, creative practice, and industry skills with research expertise that brings together aesthetic and critical dimensions.

SCA is home to AustLit, the definitive bibliography and research environment for Australian literature and storytelling, and maintains strong connections to AusStage - the Australian live performing arts database.

SCA hosts formal centres, the Centre for Creative and Critical Writing and the Centre for Communication and Social Change, and a number of interdisciplinary research clusters.

UQ Drama is housed in the recently refurbished, historically significant Avalon Theatre.

 

Scholarship

This is an Fellowship support scheme scholarship project that aligns with a recently awarded Australian Government grant.

The scholarship includes:

  • living stipend of $39,220 per annum tax free (2026 rate), indexed annually
  • your tuition fees covered.

Learn more about the Fellowship support scheme scholarship.

Supervisor

Preferred educational background

Your application will be assessed on a competitive basis.

We take into account your:

  • previous academic record
  • publication record
  • honours and awards
  • employment history.

A working knowledge of festivals, festival studies, and/or digital humanities would be of benefit to someone working on this project.

You will demonstrate academic achievement in the fields of drama. theatre, and performance studies and the potential for scholastic success.

A background or knowledge of AusStage - the Australian live performing arts database is highly desirable.

How to apply

This project requires candidates to commence no later than Research Quarter 4, 2027. You can start in an earlier research quarter.

You must submit an expression of interest (EOI) by the closing date for the research quarter (RQ) you want to start in:

  • RQ 1 (January): 30 September
  • RQ 2 (April): 31 December
  • RQ 3 (July): 31 March
  • RQ 4 (October): 30 June.
  • RQ 1 (January): 30 June
  • RQ 2 (April): 30 September
  • RQ 3 (July): 31 December
  • RQ 4 (October): 31 March.

Before you apply

  1. Check your eligibility for the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).
  2. Prepare your documentation.
  3. If you have any questions about whether the project is suitable for your research interests, contact Dr Sarah Thomasson (s.thomasson@uq.edu.au).

When you apply

To apply, submit an expression of interest (EOI) for the program. You don't need to apply separately for the project or scholarship. How to submit an EOI

In your EOI, complete the 'Scholarship/Sponsorship' section with the following details:

  1. Are you applying for an advertised project: 'Yes'
  2. Project: 'Fellowship project scholarship'
  3. Scholarship Code Listed in the Advertisement: FESTIVAL-THOMASSON
  4. Link to Scholarship Advertisement: https://study.uq.edu.au/study-options/phd-mphil-professional-doctorate/projects/australian-festival-ecosystems

Submit an EOI

This project is not available to international students

Do you have questions?

The Graduate Research School is here to help.

Contact us