About the Project
This fully funded PhD project is part of the North-Sea Heritage in Transitions ( NHT ) AHRC Doctoral Focal Award between the University of Aberdeen, University of the Highlands and Islands, and Robert Gordon University, which addresses the role of art history, visual arts and creative practice in a region undergoing cultural transition. NHT supports place-based doctoral research to strengthen and empower a regionally-significant cultural workforce for a national and international creative…
economy.
This PhD will be hosted by UHI Orkney at their Kirkwall Campus under the lead supervision of Professor Ingrid Mainland, with Dr Antonia Thomas (UHI Orkney) and Dr Siún Carden (UHI Shetland) as additional supervisors. The successful applicant will be part of an interdisciplinary cohort of North-Sea Heritage in Transitions students based in Aberdeen, Orkney and Shetland.
How can heritage and creative practice contribute to sustainable futures for Scotland's island communities?
Scotland's Northern Isles (Orkney and Shetland), with a combined population of fewer than 50,000 people, face significant transitional challenges relating to an ageing demographic, pressures from climate change and sea-level rise, and shifting patterns of migration which impact community cohesion and long-term sustainability.
At the same time, these communities are steeped in a rich heritage of island traditions, material culture and visual culture. As recognised by The Islands (Scotland) Act (2018), heritage - as a series of creative, relational and future-oriented activities - plays an important role in community empowerment and sense of belonging, while also contributing to tourism, inward migration and local economic resilience. In the Northern Isles, heritage crafts and creative practices forming part of the living heritage of contemporary island communities, are continually reinterpreted by artists, makers and creative practitioners. In many islands in Orkney and Shetland, heritage crafts and creative practice are intimately linked to traditional modes of farming and land management, many of which are under threat because of climate change. These islands therefore also allow an ideal setting to explore ecological approaches to heritage, which recognise heritage as a creative practice that involves a wide range of human and other-than-human actors in its making and unmaking (Bangstad & Pétursdóttir 2021).
This PhD at UHI Orkney asks how heritage and creative practice can contribute to more sustainable futures for Scotland's island communities. Combining approaches from art history, heritage studies, visual culture and anthropology, the project will investigate how artists, makers and creative practitioners engage with the heritage of the Northern Isles, and how contemporary creative practice contributes to understandings of place, identity and community wellbeing.
Rather than viewing heritage solely as something to be preserved, the project will explore how it can act as a catalyst for new forms of creative practice, cultural participation and sustainable island futures. It will examine how the traditional knowledge held by island communities and articulated through heritage-led creative practice can make a significant contribution to wider discussions around sustainability in the Anthropocene.
- The successful applicant will develop their own research question within this broad theme. Projects might explore topics such as:
- the continuing significance of at-risk and traditional making practices, e.g. textiles, jewellery, ceramics, woodworking and boatbuilding, as forms of material and intangible cultural heritage;
- exhibitions, museums and community-led heritage initiatives as sites of creative practice and cultural participation;
- digital heritage, creative technologies and new forms of island making, including cyber-crofting and digital craft networks;
- the relationship between heritage, creative practice and sustainable forms of cultural tourism and local economic resilience.
Depending on the applicant's expertise, the project may incorporate practice-based research, curatorial approaches, collaborative making, exhibition-making or participatory methods alongside archival and historical research. Applicants are encouraged to develop interdisciplinary approaches that combine humanities research with creative practice and meaningful engagement with local communities, museums, galleries and heritage organisations. Comparative perspectives that acknowledge historical and contemporary connections between the Northern Isles and the wider North Sea region are particularly welcome.
North-Sea Heritage in Transitions Training Programme
Each studentship will benefit from NHT’s bespoke training programme developed by the three partner institutions and in collaboration with international project partner, the University of Stavanger. Further information on the training on offer can be found on our website.
Candidate Background
Applicants should have a strong first degree (normally First class or 2.i, or international equivalent), and a relevant Master’s degree, in archaeology, art history, anthropology, heritage, ethnology, museum studies or a related field, and/or equivalent professional experience.
Applicants should be able to identify which island communities they wish to focus the project on and will ideally have lived experience and/or a professional background of working with those communities. A core aim of the overall NHT project is to work collaboratively with local and regional partners, such as museums, galleries, archives, heritage organisations, and community groups. Applicants are encouraged to identify key collections and organisations that relate to their project and articulate how they will work with these in their research.
Enquiries are encouraged, for further information please contact Professor Ingrid Mainland (Ingrid.Mainland@orkney.uhi.ac.uk)
Promoting equality, diversity and inclusion is core to the AHRC North-Sea Heritage in Transitions Doctoral Focal Award. We actively encourage applications from diverse career paths, backgrounds, and all sections of the community, regardless of age, disability, race, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation and transgender status, amongst other protected characteristics.
We also invite applications from those returning from a career break, professional practice or other roles. We typically require a minimum 2:1 in your first degree (or equivalent), but exceptions can be made where applicants can demonstrate excellence in alternative ways, including, but not limited to, performance in master’s courses, professional placements, internships or employment experience – this will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and is dependent upon approval from the relevant host institution. We offer flexible study arrangements such as part-time study (minimum 50%), however this does depend on the nature of the project/research so will be assessed individually.
Application Procedure
The full application procedure can be found on our website.
Please ensure you follow the application procedure carefully, as we cannot consider incomplete or incorrectly submitted applications.
This project ID is NHT_UHI_IM
Funding Notes
This fully funded, 42-month PhD project is offered through the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) North Sea Heritage in Transitions Doctoral Focal Award.
The studentship provides an additional six months for placements, work experience, or writing up. It is open to UK and international applicants, but international recruitment via AHRC funding is capped at 30%.
Funding covers tuition fees, a tax-free stipend at the applicable UKRI rate (£21,383 for the 2026/27 academic year), and access to a Research Training Support Grant for research activities.
Please note we cannot fund visa costs or healthcare surcharges for international students.
References
- Akagawa, N. & Smith, L. (2018). Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage: Practices and Politics. London and New York: Routledge.
- Bangstad, T.R. & Pétursdóttir, Þ. eds. (2021). Heritage Ecologies. London and New York: Routledge.
- Scottish Government (2026). National Islands Plan. Edinburgh: Scottish Government. Available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/national-islands-plan-2/ [Accessed: 5th August 2026]
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