Dr Agata Lulkowska is an interdisciplinary creative practice researcher with a background in film, photography, and multimedia arts. Editor of the International Journal of Creative Media Research, founder of Rebellious Research Seminar Series for creative practice researchers, co-host of Taming Your Inner Artist Podcast, and Founder and Director of the Communities and Communication Conference and Festival. C3 Research Centre Co-director, Practice as Research group lead, Executive Committee Member at BAFTSS (British Association of Film, Television and Screen Studies), a vice chair of the MeCCSA Practice Network (Media, Communication and Cultural Studies Association), and editorial board member of Media Practice and Education journal.
She is also a former Artistic Director and Head of Programming at the Discovering Latin America Film Festival. Shortlisted for AHRC Research in Film Awards 2021, recipient of the International Award for Excellence for The Journal of Communication and Media Studies (June 2020). Currently appointed as an Associate Professor of Film and Creative Practice Research at Staffordshire University. The latest publications include a monograph on Filmmaking in Academia. Practice Research for Filmmakers, Routledge. The next project is a book series on Practice Research in the Arts, Intellect, and an edited collection on Fiction Filmmaking as Research.
Professional memberships and activities
- MeCCSA - Media, Communication and Cultural Studies Association
- Society for Artistic Research
- BAFTSS - British Association of Film, Television and Screen Studies
- IAFVC - International Association For Visual Culture
- RAI - Royal Anthropological Institute Student Fellow
- LASA - Latin American Studies Association
- RPS - Royal Photographic Society (expired)
- SLAS - Society for Latin American Studies
- WISPS - Women in Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin-American Studies
- AHGBI - Association of Hispanists of Great Britain & Ireland
- Corkscrew – Practice-based research network at Birkbeck
- CMSRN - Communications & Media Studies Research Network
SELECTED FILM & VIDEO WORK
- The Voice of Sierra Nevada, 2017, (research documentary; digital)
- H-Air, 2015, (Video Installation)
- We Are Yanesha, 2012, (research documentary; digital)
- Closer, 2009, installation
- Unspoken, 2007, (short; digital)
- Live is Always a Choice, 2007, (fake documentary; digital)
- Life was brutal once, 2002, (documentary; digital)
- La vie en rose, 2002, (documentary; digital)
- Berthe, 2002, (short; 35mm)
AWARDS AND DISTINCTIONS
- 2020: Recipient of the International Award for Excellence for the Journal of Communication and Media Studies
- 2018: shortlisted for one of the scholarships for Young Researchers granted by the scientific committee of the IV International Congress of Visual Culture by the International Community of Visual Culture
- 2018: AHGBI conference support grant
- 2017: SLAS Conference Grant
- 2015: CILAVS Travel Grant for the fieldwork in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
- 2014: Santander Travel Bursary
- 2014: Postgraduate Travel Award by Society for Latin American Studies
- 2012: AHGBI/Spanish Embassy Travel Award
- 2011: Premio Bertelli for the photography project ‘Little Treasures’, Bologna
- 2010: Postgraduate Travel Award by Society for Latin American Studies
- 2006: European Commission prize for the ‘Almost Like Home’ educational project and solo photographic exhibition, London in collaboration with teenagers of Polish origins and Ilford Park Polish Home
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
- 7th International Conference on Professional & Practice-Based Doctorates: The Role of Practice in Doctoral Degrees, 23-26 February 2021, Middlesex University London, UK Council for Graduate Education
- Sixth International Conference on Communication & Media Studies, 7-8 October 2021, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
- New Directions in the Humanities: Transcultural Humanities in a Global World, Venice, July 2020; Paper: Local research with global consequences: Transcultural practice-based research
- MeCCSA Brighton, January 2020, Paper: Voice of the voiceless: agency and power struggles of indigenous filmmakers and their intercultural audiences
- Eleventh Conference on East-West Cross-Cultural Relations: Dialogs in Transition: Luso-Hispanic Cultural Production and Global South Exchanges, 9th May 2019, Poland, Warsaw
- V International Congress on Visual Culture; 15-16 April 2019, San Juan, Puerto Rico; Congress' theme: Latin America from the Image: Historical Narrative and Visual Culture
- Third International Conference on Communication & Media Studies, 18–19 October 2018, University of California, Berkeley, USA; Presented paper: Indigenous Filmmaking with Mainstream Ambitions: Intercultural Communication Transcending Established Order
- 2nd International Conference Photography and Academic Research: Images in Post-Truth Era; 6-8 September 2018, Birkbeck, London; Presented Paper: Image re-enactions in the Arhuaco self-representation practices
- International Congress on Visual Culture; 28-29 May 2018, Rome; Accepted Paper: Audio-Visual Self-Representation As An Intercultural Communication - Indigenous Filmmaking For Mainstream Audiences
- Latin American Studies Association Congress (LASA2018), May 23 - 26, Barcelona, Spain; Accepted Paper: 'Colombian Indigenous Filmmaking through European eyes’
- AHGBI (The Association of Hispanists of Great Britain & Ireland) 2008 Annual Conference, 26-28 March, Leeds; Presented paper: ‘Indigenous filmmakers with mainstream ambitions: Creating a digital archive of the Arhuaco heritage’
- SLAS (Society for Latin American Studies) Annual Conference, 22-23 March 2018, University of Southampton; Presented paper: ‘The Arhuacos in a different light – a comparative study of the approach from Colombia and the UK’
- International Conference: Border Subjects/Global Hispanisms; 24-25 November 2017; Presented paper: ‘Transcending the borders of indigenous filmmaking in Colombia’
- MediAsia: The Asian Conference on Media, Communication and Film; 27-29 October 2017, Kobe, Japan; Presented paper: ‘Representing interculturally on the example of indigenous filmmaking in Colombia’
- La Paz es Ahora? Examining the question of Peace and Violence in Colombia; Newcastle University, 29th September 2018; Presented paper: ‘Narratives of violence through the indigenous eyes - Arhuaco filmmaking as a response to forced displacement’
- Student conference Birkbeck, University of London, May 2016. Fieldwork report from filming in Colombia, Sept 2015 - Jan2016
- RAI Anthropology and Photography Conference, British Museum, May 2014, London. Presented paper: ‘Photographer in the field: collaborative visual work as a research methodology to investigate Indigenous self-representation practices in Colombia’
- SLAS annual conference, April 2014, Birkbeck, London. Presented paper: ‘Colombian Dream comes true, or the emergence of new Colombian cinema’
- Student conference 2014, Birkbeck, University of London
- SLAS Annual Conference, April 2013, Manchester. Presented paper: ‘Researching visual representations of the Indigenous Identities’ for the ‘Fieldwork, Art, Science: Issues on Audio-Visual Based Research’ panel
- Between Bodies 2013 conference, Dublin. Presented paper: ‘Photography and touch - relation between body senses and photographic image’
- Travel Seminars, Oxford, November 2011. Presented paper: ‘Direct travel experience versus photography storytelling’
CONFERENCE CHAIRING
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Politics – Documentary and Photojournalism Panel at 2nd International Conference Photography and Academic Research: Images in Post-Truth Era; 6-8 September 2018, Birkbeck, London
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Politics / Art – Truth and Colonialism Panel at 2nd International Conference Photography and Academic Research: Images in Post-Truth Era; 6-8 September 2018, Birkbeck, London (invitation)
PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITIONS
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Tokyo International Art Fair: 22-23 May 2015 at the Quest Hall, in Tokyo, Japan
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Barcelona Showcase: Casa Battló, 27 April 2013
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‘Stolen Gazes’: solo exhibition of the research photography: Peltz Room, Birkbeck, 22 April-7th May 2013
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Showcase Cities: London, 20th February 2013, Richmix
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Amsterdam, Oude Kerk, 1st December 2012
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Paris: Art in Capital, Grand Palais, 28 November - 2nd December 2012
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Bologna: Trevisarte: Little Treasures: October-November 2012
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Showcase Cities: London, 18th April 2012, Richmix, London
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Barcelona, Casa Battló, December 2011
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Showcase Cities: London, 24th August 2011, Richmix
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Showcase Cities: London, 26th January 2011, Richmix
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Showcase Cities: London, 2 June 2010, Richmix
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Almost like Home, Copleston Centre, London, 2005
Academic qualifications
PhD (Practice-based, including a documentary film); Birkbeck, University of London, School of Arts, Thesis title: “The Arhuacos, film, and the politics of representing the ‘Other’ in Colombia”;
Film title: ‘The Voice of Sierra Nevada’;
MA in Film Direction (unfinished); Kieslowski Film School, Silesian University
MA in Film and Media Studies; Jagiellonian University
1st Honours Bachelor’s Degree in Digital Media Arts; London South Bank University
Expertise
Practice-based research, Non-fiction film, ethnographic film, short features, experimental film, art photography, intercultural communication, installations, politics of representation, the Other, festivals and exhibitions.
Research interests
Practice as research, Film Theory and Practice, Non-Fiction Film, Experimental Film, Audio-visual Storytelling, Intercultural Communication, Indigenous Film, Collaborative Filmmaking, World Cinema, Film Festivals, creative practice research.
Enterprise and commercial interests
Upcoming Invited talks:
- UCL Practice-based Research seminar series; presentation title: Taming your inner artist – challenges of creative practice-based research. 1st December 2021
- UKRI ECR Forum Member Webinar, 8th June 202: Decolonising local knowledge
through practice-based collaborative research
- Javeriana University, Bogotá, Colombia, 27th September 2021: Seminar on Indigenous Audiovisual creation processes, presented talk: Decolonising local knowledge through practice-based collaborative research
Upcoming conference presentations:
- Seventh International Conference on Communication & Media Studies, National University of Ireland Galway, 25-26 August 2022
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- External consultancy for VUE Cinemas (Since September 2020)
- WednesdayWisdom webinar: Film on Demand, 20th May 2020 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwhDxEgfrI8&feature=youtu.be
- My project features on the European Association for Digital Humanities website: http://eadh.org/projects/arhuacos-film-and-politics-representing-other-colombia
- Artistic Director for the 10th Discovering Latin America Film Festival in London in Collaboration with Tate Modern
- Invited Talk: Colombian Indigenous Films, Muxima, 22nd May 2016 (http://muxima.co.uk/colombian-indigenous-films-22nd-may/)
- Invited Talk: ‘Flickering Darkness’ - presentation and panel discussion at Birkbeck Cinema alongside with artist Juan delGado and Andrés David Montenegro Rosero, History of Art Teaching Fellow, University College London; https://vimeo.com/139346851
- Organised a special retrospective of Colectivo Zhigoneshi’s works at Birkbeck University, London and Q&A with Charlotte Gleghorn, Chancellor’s Fellow, Hispanic Studies, University of Edinburgh,
- Organised Tate Film: Luis Ospina and Grupo de Cali retrospective, Tate Modern, 28-29 November 2014; http://www.tate.org.uk/download/file/fid/44537
- Co-organised two editions of Arts Week, Birkbeck, University of London
- Co-organised ‘Thinking Visually: Iberian and Latin American Images in Practice and Research’, Birkbeck
Teaching
- Non-Fiction Film Production
- Film Practice: Processes and Deconstruction
- Film Production Processes
- Negotiated Film Project Research, Analysis and Communication
- Design Futures
- Directing and Producing
- Final Year Project and Dissertation
Publications
Articles
- Interdisciplinary approach in art/practice-based PhDs in film: scopes for experimentation – in preparation for submission (Journal of Media Practice and Education)
- Recontextualising Practice-Based Research in Creative Arts and Media – in preparation for submission in the International Journal of Creative Media Research
- ‘Whose impact is it? Decolonised approach in intercultural communication and creative methods in practice-based research’. In: Media Practice and Education Special Issue on Impact. Published in April 2022. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/25741136.2022.2056791
- Book Review: The Invention of Creativity. Modern Society and the Culture of the New by Andreas Reckwitz, translated by Steven Black, Cambridge, UK; Malden, USA, Polity Press, 2017, In: Cultural Trends, Routledge. Published in October 2021, (https://doi.org/10.1080/09548963.2021.1986368)
- Book review: Women in Iberian Filmic Culture, edited by Elena Cordero-Hoyo and Begoña Soto-Vázquez, In: Studies in European Cinema, Routledge. Published in May 2022 https://doi.org/10.1080/17411548.2022.2073770.
- Interdisciplinary approaches for decolonising practice-based Filmmaking programmes in Higher Education – in preparation for submission in: Screen Worlds: Decolonising Film and Screen Studies
- Peer-Reviewed: ‘Decolonising Local knowledge – Arhuaco Filmmaking as a Form of Cultural Oposition’, in: Art, Visuality & Indigenity in unsubmissive Key. Cuadernos de música, artes visuales y artes escénicas; Vol. 16 N.2, 2021, Pontifical Xavierian University, Bogota, Colombia, published in July 2021, (https://doi.org/10.11144/javeriana.mavae16-2.dlka)
- Peer-reviewed: ‘Decolonising local knowledge - Arhuaco filmmaking as a form of cultural opposition’ in: Art, Visuality & Indigenity in unsubmissive Key. Cuadernos de música, artes visuales y artes escénicas (Journal of Music, Visual and Performing Arts); Vol. 16 N.2, 2021, Pontifical Xavierian University, Bogota, Colombia (forthcoming)
- Peer-reviewed: ‘Intercultural communication and decolonial strategies in the Arhuaco filmmaking and collaborations’, together with a documentary ‘The Voice of the Sierra Nevada’, in: AnthroVision SI: Epistemic Disobedience: Transcultural and Collaborative Filmmaking as a Decolonial Option (Published: November 2020) https://journals.openedition.org/anthrovision/5872
- Peer-reviewed: ‘Voice of the Arhuacos: Transcending the borders of ‘indigenous’ filmmaking in Colombia’, in: The Journal of Communication and Media Studies, Common Ground Research Networks; published in April 2019 (DOI: 10.18848/2470-9247/CGP/v04i02/45-52)
- Peer-reviewed: ‘A Photographer in the field – art photography versus research image-making’ in: Journal for Artistic Research; pending resubmission
- Peer-reviewed: ‘Photography and touch - translating real-life experience into visual storytelling’ in: The International Journal of the Image; pending resubmission
Books
- Forthcoming (2023) Practice-based research for Filmmakers, Routledge
- In preparation (pre-agreed by Routledge): Taming your inner Artist: Practice-based research in filmmaking, moving image and photography.
Book Series
- Practice-Based Research in the Arts – exploring your research potential within creative practice, co-edited with Sharon Coleclough, Intellect, forthcoming
Book Chapters
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´Sexuality and solitude in contemporary French cinema’ in: ‘Reżyserki Kina. Tradycja i współczesność’, edited by Małgorzata Radkiewicz’, Rabid, Krakow
Journals:
- Special Issue on Practice-based research which I am editing for the International Journal Of Creative Media Research
Other
- In peer review: Media Practice and Education Special Issue: Whose impact is it? Decolonised approach in intercultural communication and creative methods in practice-based research.