Sophie Hope

Dr. Sophie Hope received her BA History of Art from University of East Anglia, MA Curating from Goldsmiths and carried out her AHRC funded doctorate at Birkbeck, University of London in cultural democracy and the commissioning of art to effect social change. Dr. Hope was an independent curator for 10 years, working locally and internationally to develop a collaborative, socially engaged curatorial practice. On completing her PhD she worked as a full-time academic, developing her practice-based research and teaching on the MA Arts Policy and Management at Birkbeck from 2010-2023. She has been in post as the Lecturer in Socially Engaged Practices at Guildhall School of Music and Drama since 2024 where she is co-developing the Guildhall De-Centre for Socially Engaged Practice and Research.

Dr. Hope’s research interests are in socially engaged arts practices, evaluation, cultural policy and practice-based and participatory research methods. Her practice-based research is often developed with others through the format of devised workshops, using role play, games, storytelling, collage and movement to exploring subjects such as art and politics, physical and emotional experiences of work, stories of socially engaged art and the ethics of employability in the creative industries. She is interested in how artists use their practices to engage in dialogue, making and exchange with others.

Public engagement is at the heart of her approach to research and was awarded the Birkbeck Public Engagement Award for Engaged Practice in 2020 for her work. Sophie disseminates her research through exhibitions, podcasts, performances, articles and chapters and has received funding from Arts Council England, British Academy, CreativeWorks London and the Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Fund. Work she has produced has also been purchased by the University of Edinburgh Art Collection.